Social Studies Fur Trade

The French and Indian Fur Trade

 

This is a picture of an example of the French and Indian Fur Trade. Standing there 
is 3 french people and and an Indian trading beaver fur with them for maybe that 
barrel. 

By : Madison Germann 
 

 
Page 1 

Table of Contents: 
French Explorers……….. Page 3 
Relationships with Indians…. Page 4 
Missionaries……………….. Page 5 
Battles……………………....Page 6 
Fur trades…………………..Page 7 
Growth Rate of New France….Page 8 
References ………………….Page 9 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page 2 

French Explorers 

In the 1500s is when the fur trade began. In 1534 a man with the name 

of Jacques Cartier. He established France’s claim to the area now known 

as Canada. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain established the French empire. 

He established it in Quebec.     

This is Samuel De Champlain  

 
 

Page 3 

 
 

Relationships with the Native Americans 

In New France they established a friendly relationship with the 
Huron Indians during this time. The Huron Indians made friends 
with them because of military things and trading supplies. In fact 
the Iroquois tribe is an enemy of them. People from Canada did 
not only want to make friends, but they wanted beaver fur. 
Because unlike the British and Spanish, France is going to rely on 
the good relationships with the Indians, because the Native knew 
where the beaver were, and the French needed them to find the 
beavers for them, but for them to get the beaver they had to be 
good friends. 

 
This is a picture of the Huron Indians. They had good relationships with 
French. 
  

Page 4 

Missionaries 

1700 the population of Catholic New France grew at a very slow rate. 
Catholic Jesuit missionaries attempted to convert indigenous people to 
Christianity in the interior, Fur traders also settled the interior, 
established forts and forged relationships with the native americans allies.  
A missionary group called Jesuits was built by Catholics who came from 
France. 
  

 
This is a picture of a meeting with the Huron Indians and the colonist. 
 
 
 
 

Page 5 

Battles 

In 1689­1697 the King William’s War was going on, and then in 
1702­1713 Queen Anne’s War was happening, then the last war was 
King George’s War in 1742­1748. The british take the fort of Lewisburg, 
and the British gave it to them back and that causes them to have bad 
conflicts with each other. They all had a big battle in 1754. In 1754 the 
French and Indian war started and in that battle France lost it North 
American empire. 

   
This was King George’s War between the colonist and Indians. 

 
 
 
 

Page 6 

Fur Trades 

The most important animals during the fur trade was the beaver . It was 
their most important trade. There were these people that were called 
“Coureurs de Bois”, which means the “Runners of The Woods.” The 
runners of the woods would not be much included in the settlement or in 
the fur trade, but they were the people that would make the offers to the 
Indians and they would run back and forth to carry the trading materials 
and deliver them to one another. But, one of the biggest problem was that 
one of the trading items was alcohol, because it created problem for the 
Natives and their families. 

 
This was when they were trading things with the colonist.  
 

Page 7 

Growth Rate of New France 

France if you compared them to the British than they looked two times 
smaller than them, because of their population growth rate. In the New 
World they had a bad weather, Canada was hot and humid, and it was 
hard for them, because they didn’t have the technology that we had today. 
They had a bad problem which was that there were no cash crops, gold, 
silver, sugar, or tobacco. The British and Spanish were getting rich off of 
those things. In 1750, the French territory they grew larger and bigger 
than the spanish.According to the British they almost had everything. In 
New France the Government was almost completely autocratic, which 
mean that was ever British was enjoying the French were not. They had 
no elected representative assemblies and no trial by the jury. 

 
 

Page 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

References and Pictures 

Reference : 
https://youtu.be/TIKdC1KmDdw 

              

Hats Beaver fur 

  

Beaver 
Page 9