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THE NORTHWEST TO 1870

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THE HUDSONS BAY CO. Founded by Radisson and Groseilliers. Granted Royal Charter - exclusive trade rights. Stay by the Bay policy. Strict standards little room for barter. Worked for salaries. Often had better quality goods. No booze and no fraternizing.

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HUDSONS BAY CO. RUPERTS LAND All lands drained by rivers flowing into Hudsons Bay (1/3 Can.) Made Beaver (MB) became common currency. Ice free ports from July to Sept. made trade swift and precise. Mb in Canada Like cigarettes In prison.

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THE NORTH WEST CO. - French Can. Traders that went to the Natives. - Emerged from the Montrealers. - Worked on commission and were much more aggressive. - Hiverants (wintering partners) stayed in the Northwest. - Fraternizing more common and marriages occurred. - Voyageurs (the muscle) paddled and transported the goods. - More willing to dicker and often used alcohol. Ft. William - Main trading post Ft. William Trading Post

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THE NORTH WEST CO. Fort William was established at head of Lake Superior. These headquarters also had to be time specific as winter froze rivers. The NWCo. moved inland and made trade easier for the Natives. Several inland posts were constructed.

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TRANSPORTATION YORK BOAT - HBCo. double ended wood boat. - carried up to 3-6000kiograms. - heavy & hard to portage. - 13 meters long / sail or paddle. CANOTS DU NORD/MAITRE -NWCo. Canoes - 7-11m long. - up to 4000 kilograms. -Made of birch bark. -Smaller but more portable for portages. Canot du Maitre Canot du Nord

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THE NATIVE PEOPLES OF THE NORTHWEST Home of four aboriginal nations. The Ojibwa, the Assiniboine, the Cree, and the Chipewyan. The inuit were further north. Natives became so involved in the fur trade that it disrupted their tradtional way of life. Became the middle men of the fur trade. Contact with Europeans resulted in disease. Smallpox and measles.

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THE NATIVE PEOPLES OF THE NORTHWEST The Assiniboin The Chipewyan

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THE BATTLE FOR THE FUR TRADE 1800-1810 HBCo. & NWCo. Fur trade battle grew fierce. Furs become scarce & posts moved farther and farther inland (as far west as B.C.) The race for the west was on.

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THE METIS (French for mixed) The NWCo. encouraged native/European marriages. It secured trading rights and helped hiverants lifestyle. Many lived in the Red River Valley and combined both Native and European lifestyles. Buffalo hunts Pemmican Sold to NWC Seigneurial land patterns Farmers

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THE BUFFALO HUNT HIDE BUFFALO CHIPS TAIL BLADDER. SCROTUM INTERNAL ORGANS MARROW HOOF/FOOT BONE SINEW / MUSCLE HAIR HORN SKULL BRAIN FAT TEETH TONGUE BEARD MEAT

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THE BUFFALO HUNT HIDE - blankets, robes, whips, saddles, Clothing, moccasins. BUFFALO CHIPS - fuel. TAIL - ceremonial ornamental. BLADDER - Bags, pouches. SCROTUM - rattles. INTERNAL ORGANS - food, containers. MEAT - Roasted - Boiled, dried. MARROW - Food, Soup. HOOF/FOOT Rattles, glue, spoons. BONE - Clubs, arrowheads, foods, knives, ornaments. SINEW / MUSCLE Thread, Bow strings.. HAIR - Halters, Padding, head dress, ornaments. HORN - Clubs, spoons, ornaments, Powder horns. SKULL - ceremonial. BRAIN - used for tanning. FAT - soap. TEETH - necklas ornaments. TONGUE Meat. BEARD Ornaments.

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Where have all the bison gone?? Today

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COLONY ON THE RED RIVER Enclosure brought Scottish farmers to N. America. Selkirk was director of the HBCo. and felt he could give Scottish farmers a home & supply HBCo. workers with food. Convinced HBCo. to give him 300 000 sq. km. => Selkirks Grant. Nobody even considered the people already living there. Scottish Enclosures - farmers forced to leave, as land was more valuable for grazing sheep. Selkirk

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PROBLEMS FACED BY RED RIVER SETTLERS Nobody even considered the people already living there. Scottish not used to harsh winters. Macdonells farmers arrived too late to prepare for winter. Farmers first crops were failures. Pemmican proclamation ordered to feed settlers. NWCo. retaliated against Pemmican proclamation.

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HBCo. Settlers vs. NWCo. Metis The confrontations escalated to the legendary Battle of Seven Oaks. Twenty one colonists and one Metis would die. It would bring the dispute to a full scale conflict. Selkirk hired Swiss mercenaries to help return the settlers for a third Time and made a deal with the local First Nations to lease the land for 100 lbs of tobacco per year. Selkirk would later return to England and died while fighting several court cases regarding his Red River settlement. Cuthbert Grant led the Metis in a fight to regain their land

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The Merger of the HBC and the NWC (1821) As the pelts declined the two fur trading companies had to merge => The Hudsons Bay Company. George Simpson was put in charge. He became known as the Little Emperor. Social elitists => his new wife refused to socialize with the locals. Note - Simpson had his original Metis family removed before his new bride arrived- Turn-Off. George Simpson Frances Simpson

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THE RED RIVER SETTLEMENT 1821-1860 For next 40 yrs. peaceful & stable self-sufficient community. By 1860, 80% mixed descent. Built around the needs of the HBC. To this day, Winnipeg St. is The widest street in Can. It was built to fit ten Red River Carts. Red River Cart Red River Rich Farm Land

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Le commerce est libre! Vivre la liberte By 1840, the Metis fought for the right to trade furs. Judge Adom Thom, found four Metis fur traders guilty of trading fur but ordered no sentence. The HBCs monopoly had been broken. Le commerce est libre! Vivre la liberte Business is open! Long live freedom Adam Thom

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CHANGES IN RED RIVER 1860-1870 Canada became a dominion. Canadians moved west to fertile soils of Red River. Most were protestant members of the Orange Order (anti-French / anti-Catholic / anti-Metis).=> tensions rose. Dr. John Schultz angered Metis with his NorWester Economic problems. Crop failures. Bison disappearing. HBC losing interest. Metis had no legal claim to land. Dr. John Schultz Farmers start moving West (Most were protestant anti-Fr.)

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CANADA PURCHASES RUPERTS LAND

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MacDonald buys HBC Ruperts Land, for his sea to sea nation. Became part of NW Territory. No one consults Metis farmers They have no legal claim to the land. In 1868, surveyors arrive to layout township grids. Seigneurial land patterns were not recognized Land speculators soon follow the surveyors. Tensions rose and Louis Riel takes on leadership of the Metis. Seigneurial land patterns were not recognized. LOUIS RIEL

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THE RED RIVER REBELLION A. Riel began by forming the Metis National Committee to fight for the Metis land. B.Riel then met with Governor McDougall but when things did not Go well he took control and seized munitions from Fort Garry. C. Riel established his Provisional Government to protect the Metis rights. He wanted to negotiate and had no intentions of rebelling against Canada. Riels Provisional Government Sometimes the best defence is a good offence.!! Munitions @ Ft Gary

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THE REBELLION (cont.) Schultz led the anti-Metis Canadian Party. Riel created the Metis List of Rights and set off to Schultzs home where he captured and held 48 of his followers at Fort Garry. MacDonald refused to negotiate with half breeds. Fort Garry Schultz would escape, but while trying to free other prisoners, several men,including Thomas Scott would be captured again. Schultz MacDonald Thomas Scott

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What would you do with Thomas Scott? Riels Provisional Government Thomas Scott

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THE EXECUTION OF THOMAS SCOTT While captive Thomas Scott was verbally and physically abusive & threatened the life of Riel. On March 4, he would be executed by firing squad. By March 9, Riel had talked to Ottawa and things seemed to settle as Canada was ready to discuss a new province for the Metis. Unfortunately, Schultz had made his way east and had made a martyr out of Thomas Scott. The Orange Order was furious and rallied around the execution. Despite six shooters, Scott still lived and a seventh shot was needed. Thomas Scott

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MANITOBA CREATED By April, MacDonald was willing to compromise. - 200 000 hectares of land for the Metis =>Manitoba. - Colonel Wolseley & 1200 men to sent to keep the peace. -Riel and his men were not be recognized as an official government. Riel fled Canada for the USA and was banished from Canada for five years. His men would later be granted amnesty. Manitoba 1870

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Thomas Scott Execution Use your textbook Horizons 2 nd Ed. p. 157-163. Do Page 163 #4. You are a resident of the Red River Settlement in 1870. Thomas Scott was executed yesterday. In a poem, letter, cartoon, or picture, describe your feelings about this event. You could take the viewpoint of a Metis, a colonist, or a member of the Orange Order. 10 Marks