Partners in Furs: A History of the Fur Trade in Eastern James Bay, 1600-1870

by Daniel Francis, Toby Morantz

The patterns and course of contact between traders from Europe and the Indian populations are described and both English and French sources are used to reveal the competition between the two groups of traders and its impact on the native people. As the Hudson's Bay Company was the one permanent European presence during the period, this ethnohistorical study makes extensive use of unpublished HBC papers. The authors also examine such issues as the rise of a homeguard population at the trading posts, the trading captain system, the development of hamily hunting territories, and the issue of dependence and interdependence. Partners in Furs provides new insight and makes a significant contribution to current scholarly inquiry into the impact of the fur trade on the native populations.

Genres: Canada

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1982

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, great historical background on the Hudson's Bay Company and its relationship with the indigenous people of the Eastern James Bay region of Quebec. The book presents a different perspective on the small, large, short and long-term effects of the fur trade in the region than that which we might assume otherwise: 'codependent' is the word that comes to mind. Notably missing are the voices of native peoples in this work.

[T.R. Ormond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1983, there are a lot of things in this book that seem dated. For example, rarely do the authors refer to the indigenous people of Eastern James Bay as Cree. Certainly never as Eeyouch. Instead, they call them "Indians," and sometimes refer to them as "homeguard" (which is a Hudson's Bay Company term). This feels odd. The Cree of Eastern James Bay were major news in the years leading up to publication of this book. Richard Preston's Cree Narrative was in print and Boyce Richardson's documentaries were being made. Surely the authors knew whom they were writing about. I scratched my head continuously during the reading of Partners in Furs over this.

Another challenge was the constant reference to place names that no longer seem to be in use (e.g. Clearwater Lakes vs. Wiyashakami; Digges Bay vs. Digges Strait). I really had to read this book along with extra maps in order to figure out where certain things took place (though this is more of a statement about my knowledge of the geography of the region).

If you look past the use of Indian and the geographical challenges, the book is quite good. I rated it 3 because I liked it (to use goodreads' rating system to the letter).

What the book accomplishes is to show a partnership. The introduction of European technology did not undermine or destroy Cree ways of life, nor were the Cree unaffected or indifferent. Likewise, the Europeans could not completely impose their ways on the land or its people. They had to accept Cree ways in order to survive. The authors present the history as one of prolonged exchange, and not only of furs.

I did not like Partners in Furs as much as Carlson's Home is the Hunter, but given the books' respective dates of publication, I think that makes sense. The two should be read in conjunction. I would say that this book is less pressing simply because it ends its survey in 1870. Carlson brings his book right up to 2006.