| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
Contemporary actor costumed as a voyageur at a historic site in Minnesota
The voyageurs typically spoke French, and were French Canadian from Quebec or métis. They were often employees of French, French Canadian, or later British trading operations who travelled by canoe deep into uncharted North America to trade fur with the First Nations/ Native American peoples. The voyageurs typically interacted with the native peoples more closely than the settlers who were to follow in their footsteps. Many served as interpreters and guides for the French or the English.
During the struggle for supremacy in the fur trade in the late 19th century, the upstart North West Company challenged the more-established Hudson's Bay Company by employing a network of voyageurs. Unlike the Hudson' Bay traders, who traditionally stayed inside coastal posts and required natives to come to them, the voyageurs roamed along the river valleys as far as present-day Oregon, doing business directly with the natives. The success of the voyagers prompted a change in strategy by the Hudson's Bay Company, which began sending out its own expeditions into the continental interior. Eventually the Hudson's Bay Company caught and surpassed the North West Company in this technique.
Some coureurs des bois became famous, like Étienne Brulé, Louis JolietLouis Joliet also known Louis Jolliet ( September 21, 1645 May 1700), was a Canadian explorer born in Quebec who is important for his discoveries in North America. Jolliet, along with Jacques Marquette were the first white men to map the Mississippi River, Médard des GroseilliersMedard Chouart des Groseilliers ( 1618- 1696) was French explorer and fur trader in Canada. Des Groseilliers, a coureur des bois ("runner of the woods"), worked with the Jesuit missionaries among the Hurons near Lake Huron in the 1640s. From 1654 to 1656 and Pierre-Esprit RadissonPierre-Esprit Radisson (c. 1636- 1710) was a French-born explorer and fur trader. He came to New France as a teenager and was captured in an Iroquois raid, but was adopted by his captors and became accustomed to their way of life. After two years living w (who both betrayed France), Jean NicoletJean Nicolet ( 1598 1642) was a French explorer of North America. Nicolet, Jean Nicolet, Jean., Guillaume Couture , and La Vérendrye. The coureur des bois is a legendary character in the culture of Quebec and continues to be a subject of inspiration today.