What were fur traders called?

What were fur traders called?

Unlicensed independent traders, known as coureurs des bois (or “runners of the woods”), began to do business in the late 17th and early 18th century. Over time, many Métis were drawn to the independent trade; they were the descendants of French trappers and native women.

What were fur trappers and traders called?

Today, fur trappers and traders are legendary figures in the American West and are often referred to as mountain men.

What was the Rocky Mountain fur trade?

One system was the Rocky Mountain Trapping System based on beaver pelts and a primary work force of European-American trappers, who met at a designated rendezvous each summer to exchange their pelts for supplies needed for the next trapping season.

Where were the Mountain Man Rendezvous held?

Riverton, Wyoming
The 1838 Mountain Man Rendezvous is an annual gathering held on the original rendezvous site in Riverton, Wyoming. It is known to be where Captain Bonneville rendezvoused with his company of 65 trappers in June 1835. Many historians believe the 1830 Rendezvous was at this site.

What did fur traders trade?

The fur trade began in the 1500’s as an exchange between Indians and Europeans. The Indians traded furs for such goods as tools and weapons. Beaver fur, which was used in Europe to make felt hats, became the most valuable of these furs. Today, almost all trappers sell their pelts.

What did the Ojibwe trade?

The Dakota and Ojibwe were the primary trappers of fur-bearing animals in the Northwest Territory. In exchange for these furs, French, British, and US traders provided goods such as blankets, firearms and ammunition, cloth, metal tools, and brass kettles.

What does fur trapper mean?

noun. a person or thing that traps. a person whose business is the trapping of animals for their furs.

When was the Rocky Mountain fur trade?

The Rocky Mountain fur trade era is defined as beginning in 1824 and ending in 1840. In March 1824, Jedediah Smith led a party of trappers into the Green River Valley, finding an abundance of beaver and few hostile Indians.

What was traded at a rendezvous?

The purpose of rendezvous was to trade beaver pelts for goods that were needed in the mountains by both the trappers and Native Peoples. Blankets, guns, powder and lead, knives, kettles and pots, cloth, food and spices, whiskey and such items were brought out to trade.

Who was rendezvous?

A rendezvous was a trading fair that usually lasted several days. It is a French word for an appointment or meeting place. Missouri trader Captain William Ashley held the first trappers’ rendezvous in 1825.

What is beaver fur called?

fur-wool
The North American beaver is the continent largest rodent. Its amphibious body is covered with a soft felt-like under fur that is 1 inch thick. This under layer of barbed hairs is called fur-wool and it is covered by a protective over layer of coarse guard hairs measuring about 2 inches in length.

Who was the leader of the Rocky Mountain fur trade?

On the first of June 1834, about 60 men and a caravan of horses and pack mules splashed across the Laramie River. They were headed for rendezvous in the mountains — the big summer fur-trading fair — and they were late. This mattered most to their leader, a Massachusetts merchant named Nathaniel Wyeth.

Where was the last meeting of the fur trade held?

This competition combined with a decline in demand for beaver pelts effectively destroyed the American fur trade system. The last rendezvous was held in 1840. Of the 15 annual meetings held, eight of the Rendezvous took place at a Green River site and five convened near the junction of Horse Creek and the Green River.

How did the trappers trade their furs at Rendezvous?

Every spring they sent the men the supplies they needed, overland, on the backs of pack mules. Every summer, the trappers would gather and trade their furs for tools, supplies, and luxuries at rendezvous.

How did the people in the fur trade get there goods?

Trade goods were shipped upriver from the coasts by canoe or keelboat. Furs were shipped back down the same way. Trappers, mostly Indians, brought furs to the posts and traded them for the goods the storekeepers had to offer.