Background on The Fur Trade in Minnesota

Practical Partnerships: International, Multi-cultural, Interdependent

The fur trade, the first international business exchange between people in the Upper Mississippi region and Europe, was also notable as a multi-cultural enterprise. The fur trade depended on the expertise of people with dramatically different cultures and languages working interdependently. It was through the "practical partnerships" forged among these groups that the fur trade flourished in Minnesota from around 1785 to 1815. Making up these partnerships were:

• Native Americans: In Minnesota, fur traders relied on Indians - principally Ojibwe - to trap and kill the animals and prepare the pelts. (Later, as the fur trade moved west, mountain men became involved in trapping.) Native Americans also made invaluable contributions to the white man's survival, introducing him to wild rice, corn and other native foods, to winter survival techniques, and, to efficient transportation: the birch bark canoe. In addition, their interest in exchanging furs for European goods, such as iron tools, wool blankets, cloth, guns and other items, was critical to the success of the fur trade.
• British and Scottish traders: After the British defeat of the French in 1763, British and Scottish traders were dominant in the fur trade. The bourgeois, as the traders were called, managed the affairs of the trading posts, bartering with the Native Americans for furs in exchange for kettles, knives, guns, hatchets, cloth, beads and other items.
• French-Canadian voyageurs: The voyageurs - the strong, hard-working canoemen who transported furs and goods great distances, were primarily French Canadians. A good singing voice was considered a useful skill. Physical strength and stamina were essential. When forced to carry, or portage, their loads, voyageurs commonly carried two 90-pound packs at a time. Once the load was situated on his back, the voyageur is said to have "trotted" to the first "pose" or resting place on the portage.
  
  To cover the distances before them between spring thaw and the onset of winter, the voyageurs often paddled 16 to 18 hours a day -at a rapid clip. Some historians claim they paddled 40 to 60 strokes per minute, or nearly a stroke per second.
  
  Voyageurs were of two types: winterers and Montreal brigade. The winterers, who considered themselves superior, spent winters at inland posts trading with the Indians. In spring, they loaded their canoes with bales of furs and, with a crew of five or six men, traveled to larger posts, such as Grand Portage on the north shore of Lake Superior, to conduct trade.
  
  The Montreal brigade, traveling with a crew of eight to 10 men in canoes larger than those used by the winterers, transported goods to the posts and furs back to Montreal. The 1,200-mile Montreal to Grand Portage trip took six to eight weeks.

With the convergence of the two groups of voyageurs at the post, usually in early July, it was time for "rendezvous," a time for celebration and business. Within a few weeks, though, the voyageurs and traders were packed again and headed home, eager to get there before winter.