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and spent a year as a captive. In 1765 William Howard, in command of
Michilimackinac, gave Henry a monopoly on the Lake Superior trade. French-Canadians who had remained in the interior, such as Blondeau and François le Blanc, continued to come and go. The first (unnamed) Englishman west of the lakes
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people. They helped transfer knowledge of the country from the
Indigenous peoples. Second, the pedlar competition forced the HBC to build posts inland. After 1821, the HBC monopoly became an informal government for western Canada. It is credited with contributing to the confederation of western and
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The pedlars were important for three reasons: they helped transfer woodland skills from French-Canadians to the
English-speakers who dominated the trade in the nineteenth century. Although English and Scots men had the capital to become traders for the HBC, most of the
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is a term used in
Canadian history to refer to English-speaking independent fur traders from Montreal who competed with the Hudson's Bay Company in western Canada from about 1770 to 1803. After 1779 they were mostly absorbed by the
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attempted to regulate the fur trade, but there was no practical way to control the western traders. In 1768 control of Indian trade was shifted to the individual colonies and thus to the
Governor of Quebec.
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had his canoes plundered on Rainy Lake in 1765 and 1766, but he reached Lake
Winnipeg in 1767. By 1767 the western trade seems to have been re-established. In that year 100 canoes traveled from
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eastern Canada. Third, the pedlars opened up much of the country west of Lake
Winnipeg. By the time the Canadian trade approached the Rocky Mountains, most pedlars had been absorbed into the
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struck the middle
Saskatchewan and resulted in the deaths of many of the native trappers, resulting in a large economic loss for the North West Company in 1782. In 1782 the French captured
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was built 40 miles east of the
Alberta border. One of its founders was Donald McKay, who was still a "pedlar" independent of the North West Company. For subsequent history see
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This gives the first dates some of the major
English-speaking fur traders arrived in Canada. Note the concentration near the ends of the two wars. 1759: Quebec falls,
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was in charge. The returns for that year show mostly French traders backed by English capitalists, along with a few English. They were trading in such places as
342:, the "first" interior post of the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1775 there were a number of pedlars upriver on the lower Saskatchewan near the old
427:, where they intercepted a large number of furs destined for Hudson Bay. In the winter of 1776/77, Peter Pond and Thomas Frobisher were on
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and wintered about 40 miles below Lake Athabasca. In 1781 the HBC decided to enter the Athabasca trade.
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of building posts on Hudson Bay, to where the Indians would bring furs to trade with them.
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gave up and joined the Hudson's Bay Company. After the British conquest of New France, the
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In the spring of 1775 Primeau and Joseph Frobisher went north from Cumberland Lake to
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carried goods from Albany, New York to Michilimackinac. In 1763 he was caught up in
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In 1779 the North West Company was established. Around 1780 a major
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Re-establishment of the fur trade and westward expansion
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made a deal with a French-Canadian to carry goods to
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191:(Scotland) 1767: Peter Pangman (New Jersey) 1769:
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407:, which disrupted the HBC trade. In 1786
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
334:wintered on Cumberland Lake. In 1774
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44:adding citations to reliable sources
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163:(Scotland) 1760: Montreal falls,
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277:Montreal fell in 1760. In 1761
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340:Cumberland House, Saskatchewan
310:. In 1768 James Finlay was at
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209:Alexander MacKay (fur trader)
413:Saskatchewan River fur trade
350:. In 1776 the pedlars built
458:A History of Western Canada
431:. In 1778 Pond crossed the
419:Northwest to Lake Athabasca
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279:William Grant (fur trader)
266:Royal Proclamation of 1763
225:Francis Badgley (merchant)
205:Angus Bethune (fur trader)
348:Alexander Henry the elder
298:to Michilimackinac where
287:Alexander Henry the elder
217:David Thompson (explorer)
173:Alexander Henry the elder
391:Battleford, Saskatchewan
322:West up the Saskatchewan
201:John Finlay (fur trader)
161:William Grant (seigneur)
304:Fort Dauphin (Manitoba)
300:Robert Rogers (soldier)
233:Peter Fidler (explorer)
213:Simon Fraser (explorer)
55:"Pedlar" fur trade
405:York Factory, Manitoba
252:French trade destroyed
241:Daniel Williams Harmon
387:Ruddell, Saskatchewan
312:Nipawin, Saskatchewan
258:French and Indian War
318:were on Cedar Lake.
273:Trade re-established
187:(Connecticut) 1766:
40:improve this article
479:Pedlars (fur trade)
429:Lac Île-à-la-Crosse
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291:Pontiac's Rebellion
285:. In the same year
221:William McGillivray
175:(New Jersey) 1763:
373:52.983°N 106.450°W
177:Benjamin Frobisher
149:North West Company
124:North West Company
445:Athabasca Country
316:B&T Frobisher
237:Peter Skene Ogden
231:(Scotland) 1788:
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197:Nicholas Montour
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29:This article
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425:Frog Portage
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314:and in 1770
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189:James McGill
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33:verification
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326:In 1773/74
256:During the
215:(New York)
167:(Scotland)
468:Categories
451:References
243:(Vermont)
229:Angus Shaw
185:Peter Pond
132:HBC policy
66:newspapers
474:Fur trade
219:(London)
140:voyageurs
96:June 2012
439:See also
401:epidemic
398:smallpox
364:106°27′W
155:Arrivals
361:52°59′N
80:scholar
338:built
119:Pedlar
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144:Métis
87:JSTOR
73:books
330:and
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59:news
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