Economy and Development of New France

The Economy of Fur

• French made trading fairs with Amerindians.
• The Hurons-Wendats were the biggest fur suppliers.
• The Five-Nation Iroquois competed to get something from the fur trade.
• The Five-Nation attacked and destroyed Hurons-Wendats.
• French had to go to Algonquin territory personally.
• They started making licenses with 25% of everything that you made.

The Company System

• Created monopoly in trading industry.
• Sharing profits and lost in proportion in what they invested.

Hudson's Bay Company

• Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Medard Choart Des Groseilliers tried to make fur trade in Hudson's Bay.
• They had no support with the French, so they went with British and made the Hudson's Bay company.
• Many land and sea battles between the French and British ever since its creation.

Expansion of the Territory

• Searching North America for fur.
• Traveled the territory in waterways.
• French and British always in conflict to protect their commerce.

The Beaver Crisis

• Anything related to fur was getting old and was losing interest.
• Fur was piling up so the king demanded to stop the fur trade.
• In 1715, it regained its popularity after being ruined by rodents and insects.

The Economy of New France Before 1663

• France and trading companies had different views on enriching New France.
• The trading companies tried to convince the king to make settlement in New France.
• Samuel de Champlain made a paper describing how prosperous they could be.
• It was all focused on fur trade until 1663.

Agriculture

• Agriculture was the main attraction in the French regime.
• More cultivated lands, more population.
• Children started getting from grants made by lords.

Attempts to Diversify the Economy After 1663

• Some intendants tired to diversify New France's economy.
• Jean-Talon tries to make New France independent with self-production.
• Agriculture diversification came when wheat cultivation was added.
• Little workshops were created.
• Breweries started to form in the economy.
• Naval shipyards were also used to transport surpluses.
• Exporting was expensive but indeed useful through out the 18th century.
• Agriculture still remained the foundation of its economy.

The Currency

• Currency in New France was modeled from France, pounds.
• Animal pelts, wheat, cards were used when cash ran out.
• During 1760, Canadians found it hard to get their money back as they've only received one-fourth of their actually value.

The Obstacles to Diversification

• Scarcity of specialized labor, higher cost in production than France, and weakness of local market affected the new industries.
• Metal was only shipped from France.
• There was a lack of carpenters, so better pay was used to attract them.
• Economy diversification was encouraged by France because it was afraid of the competition.
• Though many opening of small businesses fail, some were successful such as the tanneries and shoe workshops.