OF CANADIAN HISTORYOF CANADIAN HISTORY
The Hudson bay and river owe their name to British navigator Henry Hudson who discovered and explored them in 1609 and 1610.
Canada remains, in the twentieth century, one of the greatest sources for beavers in the world. 17th century Europe was particularly fond of the mammal's fur, whose price fluctuated according to to how it had been handled before being sold. This gave rise to a distinct classification. The most expensive pelts, called fat beaver and fat summer beaver, had been sown and worn by natives. Although sown, the demi-fat beaver pelt had never been worn. The muscovite beaver had neither been worn nor sown and was destined to be sold as is on the markets of present day Russia. Least desirable of all were those pelts that were stiff, sullied or shoddily tanned. They fell into the category of dry beaver or dry summer beaver.
Cavelier de La Salle, Ren�-Robert Born in Rouen, France, in 1643. He was murdered in 1687 in what was to become Texas. A man of exceptional learning for the time, he joined his brother Jean in Ville-Marie in 1667. His career as an explorer began three years later. As many others Robert Cavelier de La Salle was fascinated with finding the fabled navigation route that would lead to China. He is credited with discovering the Mississipi delta and exploring a territory which he claimed for Louis the XIVth on April 1682: Louisiana. The name of one Montr�al suburb: Lachine, which he helped found, may have originated in his obssession with China.
Established on May 2nd, 1670, in London, the Hudson Bay company owes its existence to the influential M�dard Chouart Des Groseilliers and Pierre-Esprit Radisson who, turning away from France, convinced the crown of England of the gains to be reaped from trading in the Hudson Bay. When given its charter by Charles IInd of England, the company chose the motto: "pelt for pelt." Its mission was to find the fabled westward passage and to trade in fur.
Charlevoix, Pierre-Fran�ois-Xavier de Born in France in 1682, died in France in 1761. He lived in Qu�bec as a student in 1710 and returned there ten years later as a jesuit and missionary. He stayed three years in New France and the various territories explored by the discoverers and the coureurs des bois. He travelled to Niagara, Detroit, Michillimakinac and sailed the Mississippi all the way down to Louisiana and from there went on to Florida. The many tomes he wrote testify to his great acumen and intellectual prowess. His most famous book, which was published in Paris in 1744, was an account of his stay in North America : A History and General Description of New France with a daily journal of a journey across Northern America accomplished in the service of the King.
Chouart Des Groseilliers, M�dard Born in France in 1618. Place and date of death have not been ascertained: perhaps 1696 in the Hudson Bay, or in the Sorel area. After he came to settle in Canada towards 1641, M�dard Chouart Des Groseilliers first worked for the jesuits, whom he accompanied in their missions throughout Huronia. His career as a coureur des bois may have begun in 1654 as the Ottawa tribesmen broke into the fur trade. After 1660 Des Groseilliers and his brother-in-law Radisson focussed their efforts on the seemingly inexhaustible pelt reservoir of the Hudson Bay. Five years later, as France remained indifferent, the pair offered their services to England, where they started the process that would lead to the establishment of the Hudson Bay Company. After France granted them a pardon for their betrayal in 1674, they turned against the rivals of France in the Hudson Bay. Des Groseilliers' career ended towards 1684.
Not before 1655 did a French-born European sail the Detroit river down to the site
of presente-day Detroit in the US. In 1701, Antoine Laumet, a.k.a de Lamothe Cadillac,
established a trading-post there that was soon built up into fort-Ponchartrain.
Duchesneau de La Doussini�re et d'Ambault, Jacques Born in France in 1650 and deceased in France in 1696, he was the fourth intendant in the history of New France. After Jean Talon's departure in 1672, Jacques Duchesneau was appointed to the post in 1675. He kept it until his return to France in 1682. He was noted for his criticism of the decisions made by governor Louis de Buade de Frontenac, particularly those that had to do with the fur trade.
Gaultier de La V�rendrye et de Varennes, Pierre Born in Trois-Rivi�res in 1685, deceased in Montreal in 1749. He was the grandson of Pierre Boucher. After serving for four yeras in the French King's Navy, from 1708 through 1712, he came back to New France to trade in furs. Towards 1730, his travels were mainly motivated by his quest for the westward trail to the Pacific, China and Japan. He was the first Canadian to reach Lake Winnipeg, but died before he attained his ultimate goal. The privilege of discovering the Rockies fell to his sons.
Born in France in 1639, died in Montr�al in 1710. He settled in Montr�al in 1675. Along with his brother Greysolon de la Tourette, he began a career as an explorer and a coureur des bois. He was relatively well educated, and tried to maintain a peaceful climate in most of the areas where his dealings took him. His name is associated with the American city Duluth. He founded several trading posts and played an essential role in the Michillimakinac outpost's rise to the fore.
Born in Qu�bec in 1645, died in New-France in 1700. He accompanied missionary Jacques Marquette in his expeditions, and participated in the discovery of Mississippi. In 1679, he explored the Hudson Bay, and eventually, the coast of Labrador. He was given Anticosti and the Mingan islands as a lordship. He is said to have died there. Lom D'Arce, Louis-Armand de, baron de Lahontan Born in France in 1646. He died after 1710, probably in Europe. He arrived in
Qu�bec in 1663, and stayed there ten years, on the territories that made up New France.
He served as an officer at fort Chambly, in Boucherville and on the fur trail. From 1687
to 1689, he went on to fort Frontenac, Saint-Joseph, and Michillimakinac. Then, beyond
lake Michigan, he explored the Wisconsin river and the Mississippi.
Born in Sweden in 1716. Died there in 1779. In 1747, naturalist Pehr Kalm began a journey in America which took him to present day New Jersey and New York state. Seeking specimens of native flora and minerals, he headed north to Canada, where he arrived in July of 1749. After receiving a warm welcome from the authorities in New France, he embarked on a forty day survey of the St-Laurent valley. A few years later in Sweden, he published a book recounting his travels in North America as a whole, but his manuscript teems with detailed observations on the flora, fauna, and customs of the inhabitants of New France. In 1997, a critical edition of the book, edited by Jacques Rousseau and Guy B�thune, was published by �ditions Pierre Tisseyre with the title: Voyage de Pehr Kalm au Canada en 1749.
Born in France towards 1584, died there in 1666. He was the fourth governor of
New-France. . In 1627, he was named president of the board of the Compagnie des
Cent-Associ�s, then chairman. He participated in the negotiations with England over the
restitution of the colony seized by the Kirke Brothers, in 1629.
Born in France in 1604, died in Martinique in 1690. Already a jesuit when he disembarked in Qu�bec in 1635, he began a career as a missionary which took him to Huronia until 1650. He then returned to the Qu�bec area with Hurons who had been driven from their homeland. Three years later, he was appointed dean of the Coll�ge de Qu�bec, and superior-general of the missions of New France. He was recalled to France in 1672. His correspondance with his superiors is of historical interest. For a while, he was one of the contributing writers to the Relations des J�suites.
Ideally located at the confluence of lakes Huron and Michigan, the island and straits of Michillimakinac, started serving as a trading post in 1679, soon to become the hub of the fur trade. The post was fortified in 1751. Its 7000 inhabitants included Frenchmen, Hurons and Ottawa tribespeople. The original name, meaning turtle, was changed to Makinac.
Generally speaking, pelteries are those pelts sought for the beauty and quality of their fur. In the 17th and 18th century, the were sown together to make boots, hats, blankets, coats, oversleeves, pelisses etc. Beaver fur was treated differently: the hairs were shorn and used to produce felt shapes that could be made into hats. The beaver pelt trade was dealt a blow by the changing fashion in Europe. Beaver hats were no longer popular.
Born in France towards 1644, died in Canada in 1717. Nicolas Perrot arrived in New France towards 1660, and became an interpreter and guide for the Jesuits whom he accompanied in their missions. His career as an explorer, coureur des bois and ambassador for peace began towards 1670 and went on for about thirty years, ending with the signature of Montr�al Peace, in 1701. It was for intendant Michel B�gon that he wrote his M�moire sur les moeurs, coustumes et religion des sauvages de l'Am�rique Septentrionale (Treatise on the mores, customs and religion of the savages of Northern America).
Born in France in 1640, died in England in 1710. It has not been determined when he settled in Trois-Rivi�res. He was captured by the Iroquois towards 1652 and was brought as a captive to Schenectady, in present-day New York state. Adopted by an Iroquois family, He escaped and was caught again. After he was freed in 1654, he began a life of changing loyalties, to the Dutch, the English, the French and the English again in turn. His partnership with M�dard Chouart Des Groseilliers brought into light his fiercely independent nature, his courage, and his remarkable ability to adjust. With Des Groseilliers, he founded the Hudson Bay company. Having gone over to England, he was pardoned by France, but upon feeling neglected by his motherland, he settled in London where he survived on a pension and dividends from the Hudson Bay Company. |
