European Colonialism In Canada

Marcy Norton’s presentation of commodified agricultural resources as a cultural force that had influence beyond it monetary value is an important point of view. In this it diverges from works like Jenifer Anderson’s article Natures Currency which looks at how the demand for mahogany completely altered the nature of the industry that supplied it, and from John Thornton’s Cannibals, Witches, and Slave Traders, which focuses on the internal African reaction to the depredations of the Slave trade. By looking at the multidirectional cultural and social influence the methods and uses of tobacco and chocolate had on Europeans, Norton clearly shows how Native American cultures were not just passive victims of European desires. Instead, they were active cultural participants in this new Atlantic

Before the Europeans came to Canada, Natives had their own culture, traditions and norms. These differences were obvious to the Europeans who sailed to Canada, their interactions with the Native peoples proved these vast differences. One major difference noted was that the Iroquois organized their societies on different lines than did the patrilineal western Europeans. Iroquois women “by virtue of her functions as wife and mother, exercised an influence but little short of despotic, not only in the wigwam but also around the council fire.” “She indeed possessed and exercised all civil and political power and authority. The country, the land, the fields with their harvests and fruits belonged to her … her plans and wishes modeled the policy and inspired the decisions of council.” The Europeans were astounded by this way of life.

This book is written with the purpose of revealing truths about the Native American people and the horrible ways in which they are treated. These chapters compare and contrast kin-ordered societies with modern western societies. In writing about the differences of these cultures, Brodley provides insight as to why these societies inherently coexist because of capitalism’s demand of all wealth and resources to join the market system. It also begins to describe the colonial intervention of indigenous peoples, which describes and the immeasurable effects this had on kin-ordered societies. This resource will help me a lot in my knowledge of the history and traditions of kin-ordered societies. One reason this is so important for my research is because it provides a helpful guide into certain aspects of their society that many Native Americans seek to return to. The limiting factor of this resource is that it broadly describes all kin-ordered societies and does not specifically mention the Yakama people.

In the 1800s the fur trade had a great impact on the lifestyle of the Cree Indians, both economically and culturally. The fur trade helped the Natives make an income and obtain goods they could not get before. However great the impact of the fur trading was on their economy, the decline in fur bearing animals had a devastating effect on their culture. It can therefore be said that although the fur trade had a positive short term impact on the Cree Indian’s economy, in the long term, the cultural ways of living that were adapted and lost impacted them negatively.

Before 1492 many North American Indian societies got their source of nutrition through hunting, or farming. Exchanging goods and services with other societies was the most common way of expanding consumption possibilities. Goods were exchanged mainly through trade which was one of the biggest factors in bringing Native American peoples into contact with one another. As tribes established permanent settlements, many of these settlements became well known for specific products or skills. This elaborate trading system set a steady base for the economy of Indian societies.

When the Europeans visitors started coming to North America they hoped to find vast amounts of gold and silver, but they found something else, which proved to be just as valuable as furs. The ecological impact of the fur trade on the Indians of the North America demonstrates that the Indians were not the beneficiaries, but the victims in fur trade with all the other Europeans countries which affected them socially, environmentally and economically. French and the English fisherman in 1500’s were the first to purchase fur from the Indians, in exchange the Indians received European manufactured goods such as knives, guns and steel blades, for example according to the text Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic, Subarctic, and Northwest Coast. Ed said, “That could be fitted to traditional adzes to cut more efficiently than stone or shell blades, yet initially spurned axe and hatchet blades because these required a drastic change in motor habits and coordination patterns. ”1 Many fishermen abandoned fishing and made voyages to North America only to trade fur.

Native Americans easily engaged in trade with Europeans. They wished to include new glass and metal items in their society. European and Native Americans viewed trade as a means for economic development. Native Americans viewed trade, also, as a way for communicating with individuals and maintaining interdependence. This is evident in the elaborate gift giving celebrations that occurred before exchanging of goods occurred. For Europeans, however, these social and spiritual functions of trade were limited a great deal more.

The fur trade began, as early 17th to 19th centuries; it was an important part of the political and economic development of North America. It offered a source of income and motivated searching of the continent that was significant to many early colonial industries. There were five countries involved in the Fur Trade in North America. These were England, Portugal, Holland, Spain and France. But by the late 17th century there were only France and England. As the market of beaver pelts in Europe grew, the fur trade became a more profitable trade than fishing and farming. The native peoples became involved in a global market because of the fur trade; they were the key to the development and continuation of the North America. According to R. M Maclver, the fur trade was a primary industry whose growth was a vital factor in the expansion of Canada. In 1578, when Europeans began navigating to Canada to explore and to fish, they found out that North American was a land that is rich in fur-bearing animals. North American became known of a new source of wealth because of the quality and quantity of beaver and other furs. This research paper studies the nature of the fur trade, the initiation of a cooperation between the English and French to the Aboriginal people, and the role of women in fur trade; the ecological ethnics, and how the fur trade affects and change the Native way of life. The ecological impact of the fur trade on the Aboriginal of North America demonstrates that the

Throughout history, Native Americans have been known for their ability to use the Earth’s natural resources to their full extent, using any and everything that they are able to get their hands on. For example, in the book Self-Determination: The Other Path of Native Americans, authors Ann M. Carlos and Frank D. Lewis examines the beginnings of what appears to be a budding entrepreneurial like “business” within the Cree Tribe. By the late 17th century, the Cree along with other Native American tribes were apart of the fur trade. They were hunting animals, preparing the pelts, and transporting them to the Hudson Bay Company in exchange for property rights, and European goods. Unfortunately though, Native Americans never even had a chance to be a part of the blossoming United States economic system because with the western expansion of the early United States came regulatory acts for Native American tribes to reservations. Not only was poverty on the rise along with loss of hope, many Native Americans felt their way of life and everything that they have ever known being ripped away from them, and couldn’t do anything about it. Ever since Native Americans were confined to their reservations, and were left trying to begin again with the new way of life that had been forced upon them, many lost the opportunities of wealth and success that the growing nation had to

Trade between the Aboriginal populations and the Europeans was both beneficial and not. Prior to the fur trade Aboriginals had always hunted and gathered just for what was needed. European trade goods greatly improved the Aboriginal people’s way of life. The fur trade brought metal tools and weapons that took the place of the Aboriginal people’s stone and bone ones. Clay, skin, bark, or wood pots and kettles were replaced by iron cooking pots and copper kettles. Along with these metal goods, guns were introduced, replacing bows and arrows. This made hunting faster and easier. As the fur trade grew, the Aboriginal people’s way of life changed more and more. The Mi’kmaq people, for example, their usual summer food gathering was replaced by hunting

Since the Europeans set foot on North American soil in 1620,they have had a devastating effect on the native population. I will be discussing the long term effect of North American colonisation on the Native Americans, focusing on such issues as employment opportunities, the environment, culture and traditions, health, as well as social justice.

Aboriginal women had occupied an essential position in the fur trade of the North American region from its birth during the 17th and 18th centuries. Even though this is true, the role of women, especially those of the Native American society, has been ignored a great deal in the entire history of fur trade. Contrary to the belief that the whole fur trade activity was only male-dominated, it very much depended upon Native women and their participation and labor in order to ensure survival as well as economic success. This paper will attempt to illuminate how Native women played the role as important producers when it comes to fur trade of the American Plains and, of course, the Canadian region. This paper will also deal with the two

The idea that First Nations (here on referred to as FN) in North America always lived in harmony with the environment has been a very controversial and touchy subject when under debate by historians. The language barrier and lack of written information leaves a lot to speculation and the chance of oral history being slightly changed over time leaves biases in the works of historians. This paper, however will argue the concept that FN indeed lived in harmony with nature as they were able to learn from their mistakes and treated the environment and nature with respect to ensure that the coming years would guarantee a plentiful harvest and would protect the lakes, river and nature around them. The FN had been able to realize the effects of

Colonialism and imperialism are two old terms that scaffold people’s thoughts about the systemic exploitation of environmental or natural resources in other lands. It is used to refer to European people, as the imperialists and colonialists, as they made expeditions throughout the world to find new lands and natural resources from the 1500s onwards (Taketani, 2003). Colonialism and imperialism in today’s context is embedded in a wider range of understanding and is manifested and realised in many forms. Colonisation follows typical procedures whereby dominion over beliefs, language and education, resources or land, principles and values, health and, finally, civilisation itself pass from the indigenous people to the colonisers (Nairn, 1990). The consequence for the native people is loss of privilege and wellbeing, collective disturbance, low educational achievement and the overpowering of culture, language and spirit (Wesseling, 2004).

Aboriginal cultures have not been well-received into white cultures; specifically, when the French and British explorers came to Canada. There were cultural barriers that made the exploration of Canada difficult as well as the interactions between the Aboriginal peoples and the European explorers. This barrier marks the start of the Europeans ability to claim whatever they want for themselves without disagreement or intervention. This European advancement on Aboriginal land and culture then creates tension upon the meeting of the groups.