The Fur Trade
For nearly 250 years, from the early 17th to the mid-19th centuries, the fur trade was a vast commercial enterprise across the land we now call Canada.
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May 26, 1603
Trading Posts Exploration & Expansion
Champlain Reaches Tadoussac
Samuel de Champlain reached Tadoussac on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River and set foot for the first time in the land claimed as New France. Tadoussac was already an important trading centre for Indigenous peoples of the north and south shores of the St. Lawrence.
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July 03, 1608
Trading Posts
Founding of Québec
Samuel de Champlain established a fortified trading post at Québec, the perfect location to foster the fur trade and to serve as the base for its founder's idea of colonizing the remote country.
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January 01, 1614
Trading Posts Indigenous Peoples
Dutch Establish Trading Posts
In 1614, Dutch fur traders established trading posts on the Hudson River, one on Manhattan Island and one at Fort Orange (present-day Albany, New York). This activity marked the beginning of an intense rivalry between two commercial empires, the Dutch and the French, and between their respective Indigenous allies, the Huron-Wendat and the Haudenosaunee, both of whom were supplied with guns by their European allies (see also French-Indigenous Relations).
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January 01, 1632
Trading Posts
Establishment of Fort Saint-Pierre
Fort Saint-Pierre was established as a trading post by some of the shareholders in the Compagnie des Cents-Associés around 1632. The fort was in active use until 1669.
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May 18, 1642
Trading Posts
Maisonneuve Founds Ville-Marie
Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve founded Ville-Marie, which was destined to become the most important trading post in New France and the future city of Montréal. Maisonneuve served as governor until 1665.
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January 01, 1672
Trading Posts Fur Traders Companies
Bayly Founds Moose Factory
Charles Bayly founded Moose Fort, which would later become Moose Factory. Moose Fort was the Hudson's Bay Company's second post and the first British settlement in what is now Ontario. In 1686, it was captured by the French in a daring overland attack led by Pierre de Troyes. It was returned to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1713 by the Treaty of Utretch; trading activities resumed in 1730.
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July 01, 1673
Trading Posts
Fort Frontenac Construction Begins
Construction began on Fort Frontenac during negotiations between Governor Frontenac and a delegation of Iroquois. The fort was meant to provide protection for Ville-Marie (Montréal) and to further fur trading interests in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley areas.
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January 01, 1676
Trading Posts
Jolliet Establishes Sept-Îles Post
Louis Jolliet established a trading and fishing post at Sept-Îles. It was ceded to the Hudson’s Bay Company in the 19th century.
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January 01, 1676
Trading Posts
Chicoutimi Trading Post
New France authorities built a trading post at Chicoutimi, an already important staging point on the route that Indigenous hunters took to sell their furs in Tadoussac.
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January 01, 1684
Trading Posts
Founding of York Factory
The first York Factory outpost, named after the governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, the Duke of York, was constructed on the narrow peninsula that separated the Hayes and Nelson rivers. The location was key to trade, as both rivers flowed from the heart of fur trading territory to the shores of Hudson Bay.
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January 01, 1694
Trading Posts
Cadillac Takes Over Fort Michilimackinac
In 1694, Antoine Laumet, dit de Lamothe Cadillac became commandant of Fort Michilimackinac (also known as Fort de Buade), located at the junction of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Although the fort was of crucial military importance given the war with the Iroquois, Cadillac was more interested in the fur trade and selling alcohol than in military strategy. He proved to be a poor commandant.
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January 01, 1717
Trading Posts
Knight Establishes Prince of Wales Fort
The Hudson’s Bay Company’s first permanent post on the Churchill River was built by Hudson’s Bay Company governor James Knight, about 8 km from the mouth of the river on Hudson Bay. It was called, Churchill, Churchill River and Churchill Factory until the name was formally changed to Prince of Wales Fort in 1719.
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August 26, 1731
Trading Posts
La Vérendrye at Grand Portage
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye and his three sons reached Grand Portage after being granted a fur trade monopoly by the French crown. In the autumn they built Fort Saint-Pierre at Rainy Lake, the first of eight posts that the family founded.
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August 26, 1731
Trading Posts Fur Traders
La Vérendrye at Grand Portage
La Vérendrye and his three sons reached Grand Portage. In the autumn they built Fort Saint-Pierre, the first of 8 posts.
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October 03, 1738
Trading Posts Fur Traders
Founding of Fort La Reine
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye arrived at the site of Portage la Prairie on the Assiniboine River, where he built Fort La Reine. After 1794, both the North West Company and Hudson’s Bay Company maintained trading posts at the Portage la Prairie site from the Assiniboine River to Lake Manitoba.
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October 03, 1738
Trading Posts
Fort La Reine Founded
La Vérendrye arrived at the site of Portage-la-Prairie on the Assiniboine River, where he built Fort La Reine.
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April 01, 1751
Trading Posts Alliances & Treaties
Construction Finishes at Fort Rouillé
Construction of French Fort Rouillé was finished in April 1751 and soon proved its worth in helping to build a French alliance with the First Nations of the region. In the 17th and 18th centuries, a foot path up the Humber River was the forerunner of today's Highway 400 — a key transportation route connecting Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay. It was on that path that Indigenous traders carried valuable furs to Lake Ontario and to the English post at Oswego. Fort Rouillé was constructed to help the French intercept this trade.
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April 01, 1754
Trading Posts Alliances & Treaties
French Establish Fort Duquesne
A French force under Sieur de Contrecoeur drove off the English from the area in April 1754. The French built Fort Duquesne to serve as a military stronghold and as a base for developing trade and strengthening military alliances with the Indigenous peoples of the area.
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January 01, 1776
Trading Posts
Frobisher Establishes Fur Trade Post at Île-à-la-Crosse
Montreal-based trader Thomas Frobisher built the first fur trade post in the area of Île-à-la-Crosse in 1776. Competing posts were set up by Alexander Mackenzie in 1785 and the Hudson's Bay Company in 1799.
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January 01, 1783
Trading Posts Companies
North West Company Establishes Sault Ste Marie Post
The North West Company built a post in Sault Ste Marie. It helped develop the fishery as a major food source for the fur trade. The NWC dug the first canal past the rapids in 1798 to move boats and canoes.
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January 01, 1786
Trading Posts Companies
North West Company Establishes Fort Resolution
The North West Company established a trading post on the site of Fort Resolution in 1786. The Hudson’s Bay Company established a post in 1815, and when the companies united in 1821, the post was called Fort Resolution.
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January 01, 1788
Trading Posts
Mackenzie Establishes Fort Chipewyan
The community of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, was established in 1788 by Roderick Mackenzie, cousin of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, as a trading post for the North West Company. It became an entrepôt for northern and western exploration and the expanding fur trade. It was also the scene of fierce struggles between the North West Company, theXY Companyand theHudson’s Bay Company, which culminated in the Hudson’s Bay Company gaining control of the fort in 1821.
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January 01, 1788
Trading Posts
Community of Fort Vermilion Established
Boyer’s Post on Peace River, later renamed Fort Vermilion, was established around the same time as the original Fort Chipewyan, making Fort Vermilion and Fort Chipewyan arguably Alberta’s oldest communities settled in part by people of European descent. The post moved to its present site around 1831.
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January 01, 1794
Trading Posts
First Fort at Fort St John
The first fort at Fort St. John (British Columbia) was built by the North West Company and named Rocky Mountain Fort in 1794. It was later renamed Fort St. John by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821. The Hudson’s Bay Company fort would be relocated three more times near the site of the present-day city; the last one at Fish Creek (1925–75).
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January 01, 1795
Trading Posts Companies
Hudson’s Bay Company Establishes Fort Edmonton
Fort Edmonton was established on the North Saskatchewan River by the Hudson’s Bay Company as a fortified trading post next to the rival North West Company, which had earlier built its own fort nearby. After the amalgamation of the two companies in 1821, Fort Edmonton emerged as the leading centre of the Saskatchewan district fur trade.
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January 01, 1797
Trading Posts
Construction Begins on Fort St Joseph
Fort St. Joseph was built by the British between 1797 and 1805. The most westerly British post, it was important to the fur trade and alliances with Indigenous peoples of the region.
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January 01, 1803
Trading Posts
North West Company Builds Fort William
The North West Company built a new fort at its Lake Superior headquarters, replacing Grand Portage, which had come under US jurisdiction. Until 1821, Fort William served as the summer meeting place of Montreal agents and wintering partners, as well as the company’s major shipping point for furs and other trade goods. The post gradually declined until it closed in 1883.
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January 01, 1804
Trading Posts
Fort of the Forks
Fort of the Forks was built by the North West Company in 1804. It was renamed Fort Simpson in 1821 after governor Sir George Simpson of the Hudson’s Bay Company. It was the oldest continuously occupied trading post on the Mackenzie River.
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January 01, 1805
Trading Posts
Operations Begin at Dunvegan
Dunvegan Post commenced operations in 1805. It was one of the most important fur trade sites on the Peace River. The post was built by Archibald Norman McLeod of the North West Company to trade with the Beaver and other First Nations who lived near the river. After 1821, the Hudson’s Bay Company operated the post, which was noted for its productive gardens and as a source of meat and leather for other posts in the district.
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January 01, 1805
Trading Posts
Establishment of Fort Nelson
W. Ferdinand Wentzell of the North West Company sent George Keith to establish a post at Fort Nelson in 1805, making it the third oldest European settlement in British Columbia. The post was abandoned in 1813 but later re-established by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1865.
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January 01, 1805
Trading Posts
Fort Good Hope
Established by the North West Company in 1805, Fort Good Hope was the oldest fur-trading post in the lower Mackenzie Valley.
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January 01, 1806
Trading Posts
Fraser Establishes Fort St. James
Simon Fraser established Fort St. James on Stuart Lake as a North West Company post in 1806. It became the oldest continuously inhabited European community in British Columbia. New Caledonia, the area surrounding the fort, was a trading district for the North West Company and was headquartered at Fort St. James.
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January 01, 1810
Trading Posts
Hudson’s Bay Company Establishes Fort Carlton
Fort Carlton was established in 1810 as a Hudson’s Bay Company fur trade and provision post. Initially called Carlton House, two previous posts had been in the area in 1795 and 1804 before being abandoned permanently for the present location. Until 1882, Fort Carlton remained an important fur trade depot in Western Canada.
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January 01, 1812
Trading Posts Indigenous Peoples
Hudson’s Bay Company Establishes Post at Turtle River
Peter Bostonais Pangman, a Métis leader and fur trader, joined John McLeod Sr., chief trader for the Hudson’s Bay Company, to travel up the Red River and establish a trading post at the fork of Turtle River (today’s Grand Forks).
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September 01, 1812
Trading Posts
Founding of Fort She-whaps
David Stuart of the Pacific Fur Company spent the winter of 1811 in the area of Kamloops and was impressed with the fur trading possibilities he found there. As a result, he built the first trading post in the area in September 1812 and called it Fort She-whaps.
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October 01, 1812
Trading Posts
Building of Fort Thompson
In November 1812, the North West Company installed a fort in the area of Fort She-whaps and called it Fort Thompson. The Hudson’s Bay Company took over trade in the area after its merger with the North West Company in 1821.
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July 17, 1814
Trading Posts
Capture of Prairie du Chien
British, Canadian and Winnebago, Sac and Sioux forces recaptured a Canadian fur trading post at Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin Territory after a three-day battle with the Americans. The post had been captured on 2 June 1814 by American militia and regulars under the command of Governor William Clark.
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July 17, 1814
Government & Crown Trading Posts Indigenous Peoples
Capture of Prairie du Chien
British, Canadian and Winnebago, Sac and Sioux forces recaptured a Canadian fur trading post at Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin Territory after a three-day battle. It had been captured on 2 June 1814 by American militia and regulars under Governor William Clark.
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July 20, 1814
Trading Posts
Burning of Fort St. Joseph
An American expedition to the Upper Great Lakes arrived off St. Joseph Island. A shore party burned the abandoned British fort and the fur traders' storehouses.
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January 01, 1823
Trading Posts
Fort Assiniboine
Fort Assiniboine, the first documented fur trade site at the confluence of the Freeman and Athabasca rivers in Alberta, was established in 1823, although there may have been earlier posts in the area. After George Simpson had a trail cut from Fort Edmonton to Fort Assiniboine, Fort Assiniboine became a transportation centre for goods carried by pack horse from Fort Edmonton to posts at Lesser Slave Lake (established in 1802), Jasper House, and Dunvegan
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March 19, 1825
Trading Posts
Founding Fort Vancouver
The Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River, near present-day Portland, Oregon.
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July 30, 1827
Trading Posts
Construction of Fort Langley
Construction began on the Hudson's Bay Company post of Fort Langley, at the mouth of the Fraser River.
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January 01, 1830
Trading Posts
Fort Pitt
Founded in 1830, Fort Pitt was the most important Hudson’s Bay Company trading post between forts Edmonton and Carlton, in Saskatchewan.
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January 01, 1831
Trading Posts
C.T. William Todd Founds Fort Ellice
Established in 1831 by C.T. William Todd, Fort Ellice (on the modern Manitoba-Saskatchewan border) was intended to protect from claims to Hudson's Bay Company lands from venturing American interests, as well as to sell provisions such as pemmican, tools and traps to passing traders. In 1862, the modest installation was replaced by a larger and more elaborate structure approximately 2 km east.
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January 01, 1840
Trading Posts
John Bell Opens Peel’s River Post
In 1840, John Bell opened Peel’s River Post (now Fort McPherson), the most northerly Hudson’s Bay Company post at the time. Bell had previously been the chief clerk at Fort Good Hope.
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June 10, 1843
Trading Posts
Hudson’s Bay Company Christens Fort Victoria
In 1842, Sir James Douglas of the Hudson’s Bay Company selected the port of Camosack (the harbour where the city of Victoria now stands) as a new fur trade post. The goal was to eventually replace Fort Vancouver (now Vancouver, Washington) as the company’s Pacific headquarters and to bolster the British claim to Vancouver Island. First known locally as Fort Albert, the fort was officially christened Fort Victoria, in honour of Queen Victoria, on 10 June 1843.
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January 01, 1848
Trading Posts
Hudson’s Bay Company Established Post at Hope
Hope was established in 1848–49 as a Hudson's Bay Company trading post. Located at the Western end of the Brigade Trail from Fort Kamloops, it was named Hope with the aspiration that the trail would provide an all-British route between Forts Kamloops and Langley.