Voyageur
As Voyageurs people were originally (almost exclusively French descent or Métis called), the transport tasks in the North American fur trade took over, especially the big fur trade canoes moving. This term later expanded to include all men involved in the fur trade, thus including the traders (bourgeois), their employees (commis) and contractually bound employees, often debt servants (engagés).
Voyageurs emerged when the large fur trading companies such as the Hudson's Bay Company or North West Company penetrated deep into the continent with branches and rivers were the only means of transport. The voyageurs were mainly recruited from the lower class of French descent. In some cases, previously independent traders , known as “coureur des bois” ( rangers ), were hired, which is why the voyageurs are considered the successors of the coureurs. Their work was associated with high physical strain and around 14 hours a day. They paddled and portrayed the big, heavily laden Canadians and were exposed to many dangers in all weathers when driving rapids or the Great Lakes . Often they ruined their health, with a life expectancy that was well below average.
Thanks to the fixed and much-frequented trade routes of the voyageurs, the French sphere of influence in North America was able to expand strongly from Montreal , with forts and trading posts being built along the routes . The voyageurs were folk heroes and were featured in many songs and poems.
history
In the decade before 1821, over 3,000 voyageurs were working. For 1738, 380 contracts could be proven, which corresponded to about a third to a fifth of the total number that were active, because these contracts were concluded for three or five years. As uncertain as the numerical record is to this day, the lower limits 500 voyageurs for 1784, 1120 for 1801, 2000 for the year 1816 can be determined. In 1790, George Heriot reported that 350 paddlers, 18 guides and 9 clerks were employed in transporting between Grand Portage and Montreal each year. In 1801, Alexander Mackenzie reported that the North West Company had 50 employees, 71 interpreters, 1,120 canoeists, and 35 guides.
They came almost exclusively from Montréal and Trois-Rivières . Most worked for a few years but returned afterwards. Usually only one family member worked as a voyageur, so they rarely brought relatives with them. Since they were also extremely mobile, their friendships were based on their work and the resulting contacts. Since almost all of them spoke French , this usually remained their only idiom, but many of them are likely to have gained more or less rudimentary knowledge of the Indian languages of their fields of activity.
The recruitment took place through agents in Montreal, but also at meeting points such as Grand Portage , Fort William or Fort Michilimackinac . It took place in late autumn, often in winter, rarely in summer. The contracts were sent to Montreal that spring. The groups put together often came from one community. For example, John McDonell's men whom Joseph Faignant recruited in 1793 were all from his Berthier ward in Quebec. Faignant had worked for the NWC since at least 1781 and had become a recruiter within the company.
The recruiters who were supposed to recruit a certain number of men were in competition with the fluctuating grain prices. The higher these were, the more a rural life was worthwhile. In addition, mild winters made traveling on the no longer frozen ground difficult.
The voyageurs took over techniques from Indians and occasionally from Eskimos , with which one could survive in the often harsh environment. This applied to clothing, means of transport such as dog sleds or snowshoes, but also edible plants or the construction of accommodation. Their lifestyle was very appealing to men who came from a feudal society with its innumerable constraints. Some did not return to European society.
Since most of them could not write, they left almost no records. The only exception is John Mongle, a voyageur from Maskinongé , who wrote a letter to his wife in 1830, or probably had one written. Sixteen counter-letters to voyageurs have been received. In his contemporary biography of the merchant's son Jean Baptiste Charbonneau , Abbé Georges Dugas also describes some aspects of the life of the voyageurs. There are also minutes of court proceedings. The vast majority of the tradition comes from the senior employees of the fur trading companies or from travelers who met them.
These reports are to be viewed with great caution, because they often served to depict the wild, harsh living conditions, nature, ethnic groups, and often to present oneself. Only those who had stayed at least one winter west of the Upper Lake were allowed to enter the Montreal Beaver Club . A positive description of their difficult work, their loyalty and efficiency always threw a good light on the managers. Occasionally they are described as simple men who followed their hunger, vanity, and lusts, and must be led like children. They only talked about horses, dogs, canoes and women, and strong men, as Daniel Harmon said.
Alexander Ross already referred to them as "sons of the wild". They are talkative and independent. He reports from the elder of a voyageur group that he has been active for 42 years, including 24 years as a canoe man. He rowed 50 songs every day, taking pride in the fact that he had never stopped rowing or singing, even in the wildest waters. He had twelve women - all of them splendidly dressed -, fifty horses and six racing dogs. 500 pounds had passed through his hands and he had spent everything on his pleasure. Although he has no more money, there is no happier, freer, more varied and independent life than that of a voyageur.
Like all male societies, they cultivated masculinity, which was reflected in the form of boxing matches, canoe races, drinking, playing and taking risks. Dance and music offered a different kind of community, which in turn combined French and Indian traditions. The almost theatrical performance of resistance to the demands of the leaders of the trading companies and the haggling over contracts and prices were part of it. In this way one gained prestige and “male capital” in the group. To be able to do more, or to be more Indian than the Indians, also served to gain reputation, as did the contempt for the bourgeois lifestyle. The analysis of the rituals, for example when setting out or arriving at the trading post, provides further information on the manner in which group solidarity was generated.
Her religious worldview was shaped by her Catholic homeland, rural magical ideas and the religions of the indigenous people.
The first scientific study of the voyageurs is considered to be the work of Grace Lee Nute from 1931. Otherwise, the results of the research stand in stark contrast to the reputation and high degree of romanticization of this group, which often represents Canada and on a variety of occasions as a trademark or advertising medium can be used. Apart from their origins, their number and their economic achievements, which could be inferred from the labor contracts, little was known. In 2004, Heather Devine analyzed the importance of voyageurs for ethnogenesis and family history. Carolyn Podruchny did not investigate her history as an employee until 2006.
The Voyageurs National Park , located in the north of the US state of Minnesota near the Canadian border on one of the traditional fur trade routes, is named in memory of the Voyageurs.
literature
- Carolyn Podruchny: Making the Voyageur World. Travelers and Traders in the North American Fur Trade. University of Toronto Press, Toronto 2006, ISBN 0-8020-9428-7 .
Web links
- Voyageurs ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
Remarks
- ^ Carolyn Podruchny: Making the Voyageur World. Travelers and Traders in the North American Fur Trade. University of Toronto Press, Toronto 2006, p. 4.
- ^ Carolyn Podruchny: Making the Voyageur World. Travelers and Traders in the North American Fur Trade. University of Toronto Press, Toronto 2006, Table 1.
- ^ Charles Bert Reed: Masters of the Wilderness , Chicago Historical Society, 1914
- ↑ Grace Lee Nute: The Voyageur. Appleton and Co., New York NY et al. 1931.
- ↑ Heather Devine: The People who Own Themselves. Aboriginal Ethnogenesis in a Canadian Family, 1660-1900. University of Calgary Press, Calgary 2004, ISBN 1-552-38115-3 .