Heirs of an Ambivalent Empire
The fur trade was the heart of the French empire in early North America. The French-Canadian (Canadien) men who traversed the vast hinterlands of the Hudson Bay watershed, trading for furs from Indigenous trappers and hunters, were its cornerstone.
Though the Canadiens worked for French colonial authorities, they were not unwavering agents of imperial power. Increasingly they found themselves betwe...
The fur trade was the heart of the French empire in early North America. The French-Canadian (Canadien) men who traversed the vast hinterlands of the Hudson Bay watershed, trading for furs from Indigenous trappers and hunters, were its cornerstone.
Though the Canadiens worked for French colonial authorities, they were not unwavering agents of imperial power. Increasingly they found themselves betwe...
