Why did the French want fur?

Why did the French want fur?

France and England were bitter enemies at this time. Indeed, one of the principal goals of the French fur trade during the 1700s was to maintain strong ties and military alliances with the Indians. Between 1698 and 1763, France and England fought a series of four wars for control of North America.

Why did the French want to expand their fur trade?

The late sixteenth century witnessed the beginning of a dramatic growth in European demand for furs. Driving this demand were the vagaries of fashion: fur and fur-trimmed clothing were increasingly sought after as expressions of status, wealth, and style.

What did the French do in the fur trade?

The French traded iron tools, kettles, wool blankets and other supplies for the furs to make hats, while Native peoples exchanged furs for goods from around the world.

When did the French establish a fur trade?

In 1608, the French explorer Samuel de Champlain established a trading post on the site of the present-day city of Quebec. The city became a fur-trading center. The French expanded their trading activities along the St. Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes.

What did the French establish in the Americas?

Most colonies were developed to export products such as fish, rice, sugar, and furs. As they colonized the New World, the French established forts and settlements that would become such cities as Quebec and Montreal in Canada; Detroit, Green Bay, St.

Why is the fur trade important to Canadian history?

The intensely competitive trade opened the continent to exploration and settlement. It financed missionary work, established social, economic and colonial relationships between Europeans and Indigenous people, and played a formative role in the creation and development of Canada.

What were the two main reasons that the French established colonies in the Americas?

France established colonies in North America as a way to aid their trading with the Native Americans. French trading outposts had already been established in North America as a way to obtain furs and other resources for export.

Why did the French fur trade expand into the Great Lakes region in the mid seventeenth century?

The settlement of native refugees from the Beaver Wars in the western and northern Great Lakes combined with the decline of the Ottawa middlemen to create vast new markets for French traders. Resurgent Iroquoian warfare in the 1680s also stimulated the fur trade as native French allies bought weapons.

What did the French do to the natives?

They did not displace any Natives in the establishment of their settlement and continued to work closely with them in the fur trade. They respected Native territories, their ways, and treated them as the human beings they were. The Natives, in turn, treated the French as trusted friends.

Why was fur trade so important?

The fur trade drove European exploration and colonization. It helped to build Canada and make it wealthy. Nations fought each other for this wealth. But in many instances, the fur trade helped foster relatively peaceful relations between Indigenous people and European colonists.

What was the most important reason France was motivated to explore lands to the south and the west?

Answer. FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENT GAIN .

Why did the French want to colonize the Americas?

France colonized North America because of the great amount of furs they found there. The French traded with the Indians for furs that they then took back and sold in Europe because people were willing to pay a lot of money for furs in Europe. The fur trade was the first business in New Amsterdam.

Why was the French fort in Montreal built?

Built between the 1640s and the 1750s, a few were captured from rival British fur trading companies like Hudson’s Bay Company. The forts were located on waterways to provide transport of fur back east to Montreal or Quebec City. A few have survived or been re-built, but most are ruins or simply disappeared after abandonment.

Are there any French forts in New France?

The fortress is located within the “Historic District of Old Québec “, which was designated a World Heritage Site in 1985. This is a list of forts in New France built by the French government or French chartered companies in what later became Canada, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and the United States.

Why did the French build Fort Duquesne in Ohio?

The initial English efforts to encourage French evacuation of the Ohio Valley encouraged the French to construct Fort Duquesne. The outline of Fort Duquesne can be visited to this day at Point State Park.

Why was Fort Duquesne important to the French and Indian War?

The map is built upon the ArcGIS system, a platform from ESRI. After several generations of imperial rivalry, the construction of Fort Duquesne triggered the French and Indian War between the British and French in 1754. Despite the fort’s small size, poor construction, and underwhelming force, its power was in its location.