TWO CLASSES OF TRAPPERS ROAMED ACROSS THE WILDERNESS OF NORTH AMERICA First and most numerous were the Canadian voyageurs these were mainly of French-Canadian descent -- many were Metis (mixed-blood) people voyageurs were almost amphibious by nature and training hardy, happy and amiable in disposition they glided over every harsh experiences with laughter and a song their quick sympathy and humane instincts resulted in a kinship with the Indians Second group was an entirely different class of men known as free trappers these were usually American by birth with Virginia and Kentucky being home for most patient and unrelenting during their annual trapping trips they were also given to wild debauchery and savage rioting they were bold, overbearing and indifferent to sympathy or company and they were harsh and cruel to the Indians there was always blood in their eye, thunder in their voice and a gun in their hands BRITISH GOVERNMENT RELAXES ITS SYSTEM OF FRENCH TRADING SUPERINTENDENTS British government placed trading superintendents in trading areas oversee operations of coureurs-de-bois (free traders) given privileges to trade in a specific region but, the “Superintendent system” of French overseers proved to be too expensive to administer instead, exclusive French trading privileges were abolished -- 1780 Into the vacuum left by the removal of the French fur monopolies rushed swarms of “free traders” principally Scotsmen from the Scottish Highlands who were contemptuously called “Peddlers” by the long-established Hudson’s Bay Company and colonists from New England Independent trappers and traders were forbidden by Hudson’s Bay Company to deal with Indians at all except in certain Indian villages and government posts where they were compelled to conform to a fixed scale of prices set by Hudson’s Bay Company they were not allowed to sell liquor or firearms to the Indians Independent traders varied by nationality some Frenchmen such as Etienne Champion obtained a license to trade south of Fort Michilimackinac on the upper Mississippi River some came from a Scottish background like American-born Alexander Henry “The Elder” who invaded the former French domain West of Fort Michilimackinac he was the first trader on Lake Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) Alexander Henry spent sixteen years in the wilderness traveling as far north as Beaver Lake and the Churchill River (in today’s Northern Manitoba) Some were Americans like Peter Pond who ranged the Great Lakes region Peter Pond became acquainted with Scottish traders Alexander Henry, Simon McTavish SearchableHistory.com 1780-1789 P. 1 and the English brothers Thomas, Benjamin and Joseph Frobisher Trappers and traders in Canada entered a period of unscrupulous competition competitive price cutting ruined business Indians were corrupted with liquor turf wars led to considerable bloodshed CAPTAIN COOKS’ CREW REACHED CANTON CHINA Sailing under their third commander, British Naval Lieutenant John Gore, an American British exploring squadron reached Canton (today’s Guangzhou)1China Lieutenant Gore commanded HMS (His Majesty’s Ship) Resolution Lieutenant James King sailed HMS Discovery Lieutenant King went upriver to the Chinese forbidden city of the mandarins to see what he could find by chance he took with him twenty sea otter skins -- their effect on the Cantonese was electric up to now, the Chinese had seen only sea otter pelts damaged in transit, now they had found a new source of fresh pelts to King’s amazement he was paid eight thousand dollars for twenty low-quality pelts and was besieged with requests for more Chinese merchants came on board the British vessels to bargain for furs acquired from the Moachat Indians at Nootka Sound members of the crew discovered furs traded for a high profit -- and the price went up daily some skins sold for 120 silver dollars each -- one sailor made $800 each skin all of the sailors received such handsome profits on furs they had obtained they became most anxious to make a return trip to Nootka Sound to secure a cargo of furs and make their fortune In wildest excitement the crewmen demanded the ships return to the Northwest coast men begged, blustered and even threatened mutiny however, the officers refused to return to North America coast two sailors deserted, presumably to try to find some way of getting back to America COOK’S EXPLORING SQUADRON RETURNED TO ENGLAND Resolution and Discovery arrived in London, England -- October 4, 1780 lucrative traffic in furs was soon made public fur trade on the Northwest coast of America would soon begin American Lieutenant John Gore, although the American Revolution was still ongoing, brought the expedition to a successful conclusion 1 Locations in parenthesis (i.e., today’s Guangzhou) were not known by that name at the time. SearchableHistory.com 1780-1789 P. 2 James King had left England as a second lieutenant on Resolution he returned to England in command of Discovery --- 1780 American John Ledyard also had returned to England he was confined to barracks because he refused to fight Americans during the Revolution CAPTAIN COOK’S EXPEDITION ACHIEVED MANY SUCCESSES Captain James Cook and his crew listed among their significant contributions that they had: •conducted the first scientific survey of Pacific coast; •mentioned the great abundance of forests available in the Pacific Northwest; •reported heavy runs of fish off the Pacific coast of North America; •discovered the wildly profitable fur trade selling Native America furs in China Captain Cook’s voyage served as a training ground for several ambitious young adventurers who later returned to the Pacific Northwest as sea otter traders and explore: •Nathaniel Portlock, •George Dixon, •James Colnett other members of Cook’s crew became explorers who added to the knowledge of the world: •Lieutenant George Vancouver later returned to the Northwest and completed Cook’s work; •Able Bodied Seaman (eventually commodore of the Russian Navy) Joseph Billings, commanded a Siberian Pacific expedition which lasted nine years they crossed Siberia to reach Asian waters -- he, in fact, accomplished little else; •Corporal of the Marines American John Ledyard, became a well known entrepreneur he proposed to walk across North America and did set out to explore the Nile River he also proposed a scheme to launch the United States into the lucrative fur business •William Bligh of HMS Bounty suffered from a mutiny of his crew [1789] this event was characterized in a [1932] novel and [1935] movie Mutiny on the Bounty Cook’s Expedition marked the end of the “Age of Exploration” however, details of Captain Cook’s findings were kept secret by the British government until four years after his death [1884] RUSSIAN ADVENTURERS ENTER THE FUR TRADE (Members of Vitus Bering’s second expedition to the Pacific coast had returned to Russia with sea otter furs [1742]) Russian traders and hunters had developed a brisk fur trade in the Aleutian Islands (they later moved on the mainland) Gregory Shelikof was among the first to operate a trading ship in North Pacific waters he was a businessman of grand ideas SearchableHistory.com 1780-1789 P. 3 Shelikof partnered with wealthy merchant Ivan Gollikof to form the Shelikof-Gollikof Company (sometimes known as the Shelikof Company) -- 1781 they organized independent trappers in the northern reaches of North America BENGAL FUR COMPANY IS CREATED BY ENGLISH BUSINESSMEN John Henry Cox, the son of a celebrated London clock maker, was based in Macau, China where he represented the family business selling clocks, watches and toys to Chinese merchants he had close connections with British East India Company’s the supercargoes (officers in charge of the trading cargo) he immediately saw the financial prospects presented by Captain Cook’s crewmen John Henry Cox formed Bengal Fur Company in Macau, China in conjunction with his partners -- 1781 John Reid the Macau representative of the Austrian Imperial East India Company who was conducting trade between China and India for the British East India Company Reid, a Scot by birth, was a naturalized Austrian subject; his position had consular status and enabled him to evade English charter requirements Daniel Beale who was a supercargo for the East India Company They carefully undertook preparations for a trading voyage to North Pacific waters FORT MACKINAC ON MACKINAC ISLAND REPLACES FORT MICHILIMACKINAC (Fort Michilimackinac had been a fort and trading post built by the French [1715] and was later used by the British as the key trading post in the Great Lakes region it was located on the mainland along the southern shore of the strategic Straits of Mackinac which connected Lake Huron and Lake Michigan at the northern tip of the lower peninsula [near today’s Mackinaw City, Michigan]) Fort Michilimackinac was abandoned by the British -- 1781 as the old wooden structure was too difficult to defend Fort Mackinac was built by the British to replace Fort Michilimackinac -- 1781 Fort Mackinac was located at a defensible location on the 150-foot high limestone bluffs of Mackinac Island high above the beautiful Straits of Mackinac and overlooked a good harbor (in spite of the terms of the [1783] Treaty of Paris which ended the American Revolution British soldiers remained in possession of Fort Mackinac until [1796]) AMERICANS TRADE FOR FURS IN THE LAKE ATHABASCA REGION (OF CANADA) American trader Peter Pond spent several years in the Lake Athabasca region sometimes in the company of fellow American Alexander Henry “The Elder”