Who are Voyageurs?

Who are Voyageurs?

Voyageurs were independent contractors, workers or minor partners in companies involved in the fur trade. They were licensed to transport goods to trading posts and were usually forbidden to do any trading of their own. The fur trade changed over the years, as did the groups of men working in it. …

Are Voyageurs Metis?

French-Canadian voyageurs lived in Métis communities and married Aboriginal women à la façon du pays (according to the custom of the country). The French-Canadian voyageurs passed on a vibrant folk culture with a love of storytelling, recounting legends, singing and dancing on to the Métis.

Who did the Voyageurs work for what was their job?

“Voyageur”, the French word for traveler, refers to the contracted employees who worked as canoe paddlers, bundle carriers, and general laborers for fur trading firms from the 1690s until the 1850s. This is why voyageurs were also known as “engagés”, a loose French expression translated as “employees”.

What is the difference between a voyageur and a coureur de bois?

Voyageurs were the canoe transportation workers in organized, licensed long-distance transportation of furs and trade goods in the interior of the continent. Coureurs des bois were entrepreneur woodsman engaged in all aspects of fur trading rather than being focused on just the transportation of fur trade goods.

What ethnicity were most voyageurs?

Most voyageurs were French Canadian, recruited from villages and towns, like Sorel, Trois-Rivières, Quebec and Montreal. Voyageurs could be identified by their distinctive clothing.

What does Voyageur mean in English?

voyageur in American English (ˌvwɑːjɑːˈʒɜːr, ˌvɔiə-, French vwajaˈʒœʀ) nounWord forms: plural -geurs (-ˈʒɜːrz, French -ˈʒœʀ) (in Canada) a person who is an expert woodsman, boatman, and guide in remote regions, esp. one employed by fur companies to transport supplies to and from their distant stations.

What was life like for the Voyageurs?

They were strong and healthy men who could withstand harsh weather conditions and maintain a very fast paddling pace. The route from Montreal to Lake Superior and back would take 12 to 16 weeks. The men paddled from sunrise to sunset, heaving back-breaking packs of trade goods and furs over grueling portages.

What ethnicity were most Voyageurs?

What was life like for the coureurs de bois?

The coureurs de bois were relatively young men, usually between 20 and 30 years of age, and who were not afraid of danger or physical exertion. They usually set off in the spring, travelling in bark canoes filled with goods to the “Upper Country” of the Great Lakes region. They did not return until the fall.

What was life like for the voyageurs?

What did the Voyageurs wear?

Voyageurs could be identified by their distinctive clothing. They often wore a red toque and a sash around their waist. The white cotton shirt was protection from the sun and mosquitoes. They also wore breeches with leggings and moccasins.