Fur Trading

At the top of Lake Michigan, on the shore of the Straits of Mackinac,stands a reconstruction of a fortified trading post from the New France era.In the 1600s and early 1700s,the French controlled the fur trade. This fort was built to protect their monopoly as well as offer safe refuge and supplies to Frenchmen living in the wilderness. In the winter months, many Native Americans hunted and trapped wild animals the Europeans prized for their furs. In the springtime, Native Americans might "Rendezvous" at the fort and other French settlements. A growing fleet of both Indian and French canoes would paddle through the Great Lakes and on to Montreal. In Montreal, the French residents would trade items the Indians wanted for their furs. Beaver and other furs might be traded for a quantity of a musket, powder and shot, blankets, cloth, mirrors, ax heads, knives, an iron kettle or a measure of brandy. When the Rendezvous ended, the Montreal traders shipped their bundles of furs to Quebec where ocean-going sailing ships transported the furs to France. Some furs might be used as a fur coat or collar. . . but most beaver furs were processed into felt and transformed into fashionable, expensive hats.