The Native Peoples and Champlain: Fur Trade

In Champlain's time, the survival of New France depended on the fur trade. Fur certainly interested more people than the idea of colonization. Through his travels, Champlain furthered the development of the fur trade and, at the same time, that of colonization.

For example, in 1609, French merchants promised Champlain to support his plan to form a colony at Quebec City, under the condition that the "city" would become a centre for storing furs.

Canada's Earliest Industry. Fox, Beaver, Mink and Other Precious Furs [ca. 1890]
National Archives of Canada/C-1229

In Europe, felt hats were in style, which resulted in a greater demand for beaver pelts.

The Beaver
Department of the Interior/National Archives of Canada/PA-47828

Alliances were formed to facilitate trade. The Huron and the French, for example, helped each other out by bartering, while the Iroquois aligned themselves with the English and the Dutch.

The colony was very dependent upon the fur trade and had barely begun to invest in agriculture. Did you know that Champlain enjoyed gardening in his spare time?

Message from the ancestors…

"Know that to be a leader and a chief you must be the servant of the least of your people." Tribal Law No. 33 of the Eastern Algonquin