This article was chosen[1] to give you insight into the working conditions of fur traders for the North West Company (and other Montreal-based fur companies) before the 1821 merger with the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Learning Goal: I’m working on a economics multi-part question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Question 1: (Reading) The Montreal Fur Trade

This article was chosen[1] to give you insight into the working conditions of fur traders for the North West Company (and other Montreal-based fur companies) before the 1821 merger with the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Read the following article:

Podruchny, C. (1999). Unfair Masters and Rascally Servants? Labour Relations Among Bourgeois, Clerks and Voyageurs in the Montréal Fur Trade, 1780-1821. Labour/Le Travailleur, 43, 43-70. https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/llt/1999-v43-llt_43/llt43art02/

1.A (3-2-1 REPORT)

Write a 3-2-1 report on the above paper in the usual fashion.

Use the provided template to write the 3-2-1 report

Question 3: (Challenge) Working for the HBC vs the NWC

In this question, you are asked to compare working conditions for voyageurs serving the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) after the 1821 merger, and the North West Company (NWC) before the merger.

For your source on the NWC, please refer to the reading for Question 1 (Podruchny, 1999).

For your sources on Hudson’s Bay Company working conditions in the late 1800s, after the merger, please read the following articles, written by and about people who worked for the HBC:

• “Jack Norris, Pioneer (1916)” on pages 143 – 151 of Stories from Canada’s Economic History: https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/willmore/wp-content/uploads/sites/5845/2022/08/SCEH2ED.pdf
• “Crossing the Plains to Fort Carlton (Summer 1875)”, on pages 26 – 38 of Stories of Indian Days: https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/willmore/wp-content/uploads/sites/5845/2022/08/storiesofindiandayscc.pdf

These two articles are related in an unexpected way: Isaac Cowie, the author of the article on Jack Norris was “the officer in charge of Manitoba House” at the time of the events related in the second article.

You can find the locations mentioned in the second article in the following map, which dates back to the 1880s and so gives you a good idea of what the area was like at the time:

https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/willmore/wp-content/uploads/sites/5845/2022/08/prairiemap.pdf

Manitoba House is at (X,Y) = (90,50), just above the ‘2’, using the coordinates on the (top, side) of the map. Fort Carlton is a bit southwest of (106, 52), on the North Saskatchewan River.

A. SIMILARITIES (5 MARKS)

Based on your reading, what are two ways in which working for the NWC (a Montreal-based fur trade) and working for the HBC as a voyageur were similar to each other? For full marks, please use evidence from the readings listed in this question to explain what you are basing your opinion on.

[Write your answer here, in from 5 to 500 words. If you use evidence from a reading, let us know which reading it is – since there are only three readings, there’s no need for a formal citation – it’s enough to write (Podruchny), (Jack Norris), or (Crossing the Plains).]

B. DIFFERENCES (5 MARKS)

Based on your reading, what are two ways in which working for the NWC (a Montreal-based fur trade) and working for the HBC as a voyageur were different? For full marks, please use evidence from the readings listed in this question to explain what you are basing your opinion on.

[Write your answer here, in from 5 to 500 words. If you use evidence from a reading, let us know which reading it is – since there are only three readings, there’s no need for a formal citation – it’s enough to write (Podruchny), (Jack Norris), or (Crossing the Plains).]

C. WHICH WAS THE BETTER EMPLOYER? (5 MARKS)

Based on your reading, was it better to work as a voyageur for the NWC (a Montreal-based fur trade) before the merger, or for the HBC after the merger? For full marks, please use evidence from the readings listed in this question to explain what you are basing your opinion on.

[Write your answer here, in from 5 to 500 words. If you use evidence from a reading, let us know which reading it is – since there are only three readings, there’s no need for a formal citation – it’s enough to write (Podruchny), (Jack Norris), or (Crossing the Plains).]