Canadian Fur Trade Relationships
Tangible Benefit in Marriage to First Nations and Métis Women
Oct 25, 2009
The knowledge and skills of First Nations people were vital to the success of the fur trading business. They knew the terrain, and habitats of the beavers that were the objects of the trade. They knew how to survive in the harshest weather.
Indigenous Women Known as Country Wives
Before the influx of European settlers in the western plains, fur traders married First Nations women, often Cree. There were no clergy in the territories, so arrangements and agreements were made with the women’s families. The women were commonly referred to as ‘country wives’.
The reasons for the unions were quite practical. They strengthened ties with the women's relatives and nations. The men learned about the language and culture, and used the information to their advantage in negotiations.
Of course, the tangible benefits were many. In most indigenous societies, women set up the camp and dismantled it whenever a move was necessary. They dressed the hides, gathered firewood, and prepared the meals. They had responsibility for making toboggans, moccasins, and pemmican, and for netting snowshoes. They knew about building and repairing birch-bark canoes that were essential for travel.
The women also knew the medicines and how to find the ingredients and prepare them. Many of the European men would not have survived without the women’s knowledge and wisdom. As the fur trade moved farther and farther into the interior, the women were invaluable guides.
Fur Trading Companies’ Marriage Policies
Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) policy was made by committee in London, England. It declared women and children would cause needless expense. During the mid 1700s, the company forbade men to marry. Women were not allowed in the forts.
Many of the factors who managed company outposts disregarded the rules. The majority of them had country wives. Some practiced polygamy. Until the 1780s, only high-ranking personnel entered into marital relationships.
Montreal-based North West Company (NWC) policy was quite different. All voyageurs, with permission of a boss, could marry. The practice was seen as assurance that the fur traders would stay in the territory and be more successful.
Through time, daughters of the mixed marriages became eligible for relationships. They often married at very young ages and were mothers in their early teens.
The NWC was responsible for financially supporting its employees’ families. As the numbers increased, the company issued a policy that forbade marriage to First Nations women. It encouraged union with Métis (mixed blood) women whose families were already connected to the company. However, with westward expansion and the need to make new alliances, exceptions were made.
Retirement Choices for Fur Traders
Country wives’ situations were quite unique. In many cases they were not merely servants, but were full partners in their marriages. When the men prepared for retirement, their decisions were not always easily taken. Some stayed in the territories with their families.
Regardless of potential difficulties for the women, some officers took their wives back to eastern Canada (New France) or the United Kingdom. The majority left their country wives behind and returned to their families ‘in the civilized world’. In some cases, new marriages were arranged to provide for the women and their children. All too often, the country wives were abandoned and left to fend for themselves.
Some of them had the additional humiliation of seeing their ‘husbands’ return with families from the United Kingdom or eastern Canada. At such times, the country wives were completely ignored. Their descendants know of them because the story tellers remember.
Related Article: Trading Partners and Aboriginal Country Wives
Sources:
The Fur Trade in Canada by Harold A. Innis, Revised Edition, University of Toronto Press, 1956
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