Etienne Brule Fur Trade

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The economics of early Canada was dominated by Atlantic fisheries and later the fur trade. Etienne Brule, the first European to traverse across present-day Quebec and Northeastern United States and the first fur trader of Canada, did not bring significant volumes of foreign capital into the Canadian economy because of his associated Huron identity. The development of Atlantic fisheries was the first significant economic venture of the early Canadian economy, with settlements devoted to this activity along the Western fringe of Canada. Including the already present English and French influence, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch activity soon arose, the latter profiting greater than their northern counterparts. The tariffs that were put into place by the Native Canadian administration was the only major source of…show more content…
As well, due to the bulkiness of European goods, there was a limit and hence an insufficient amount of goods that could be sold to the receiving Natives. Central to this fur trade was the voyage of Etienne Brule, a French explorer widely regarded as the first European to view Canada beyond the St. Lawrence River. With his journey, he is seen as the founder of the ‘coureur des bois’ occupation, exchanging goods in return for fur with the many groups such as the Hurons and allegedly the Iroquois. Through a set of two voyages, one beginning in 1615 and the other in 1621, Brule and his associates expanded the territory of New France, extending the boundaries of the country northwards and westwards and establishing trading posts along his journey. Seeing the abundance of beaver fur, Brule became essential to the beginnings of the fur trade, quickly turning into an entrepreneur and jumpstarting the Canadian

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