What does coureurs de bois mean?
Definition of coureur de bois : a French or métis trapper of North America and especially of Canada.
Where does coureurs de bois come from?
Coureurs des bois were itinerant, unlicenced fur traders from New France. They were known as “wood-runners” to the English on Hudson Bay and “bush-lopers” to the Anglo-Dutch of New York.
How did the coureur de bois travel?
Soon more men came to this area of Canada to work in the fur trade, and made their living as Coureurs Des Bois. They became friends with the First Nations and traveled on their own. They would load their canoes with goods from France, and then travel north and west on the waterways.
Who were the voyageurs and the coureurs de bois?
What is the difference between the coureurs des bois and the voyageurs? The coureurs des bois were active during the French Regime. They were small businessmen trapping fur animals and trading. The voyageurs, for their part, were hired hands.
What did Voyageurs do?
Voyageurs were independent contractors, workers or minor partners in companies involved in the fur trade. They were licensed to transport goods to trading posts and were usually forbidden to do any trading of their own.
What did coureur de bois wear?
“A Coureur de Bois dressed in buckskin coat and leggings and wearing a cap of coon fur with the tail attached.”
How old were the coureur de bois?
between 20 and 30 years of age
The coureurs de bois were relatively young men, usually between 20 and 30 years of age, and who were not afraid of danger or physical exertion. They usually set off in the spring, travelling in bark canoes filled with goods to the “Upper Country” of the Great Lakes region. They did not return until the fall.
What did French fur traders wear?
There weren’t a lot of them in New France until the 1670s. “A Coureur de Bois dressed in buckskin coat and leggings and wearing a cap of coon fur with the tail attached.” Voyageurs and coureurs des bois wore similar clothing, for the most part.
How did the voyageurs survive?
They were strong and healthy men who could withstand harsh weather conditions and maintain a very fast paddling pace. The route from Montreal to Lake Superior and back would take 12 to 16 weeks. The men paddled from sunrise to sunset, heaving back-breaking packs of trade goods and furs over grueling portages.
Why did the voyageurs come to Canada?
Voyageurs were young men hired to transport goods to trading posts. They were forbidden to do any trading of their own. Until 1705, roughly 60 young men travelled on behalf of the Compagnie de la Colonie as far as the post of Detroit (founded in 1701).
Did the voyageurs get paid?
The wintering voyageurs were paid once a year at Grand Portage, but they were paid in goods or in vouchers for merchandise from the company-run story. Because of the inflated prices at Grand Portage, the pay was worth only two-thirds of what it would have been in Montreal.