What does a voyageur do?

Asked by: Ryan Marshall

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.

What would it be like to be a voyageur?

The men paddled from sunrise to sunset, heaving back-breaking packs of trade goods and furs over grueling portages. There were many risks, many men drowned, suffered broken limbs, twisted spines, hernias, and rheumatism. The voyageurs needed food that was high in calories and would not spoil as they travelled.

What is the significance of voyageurs?

The voyageurs were highly valued employees of trading companies, such as the North West Company (NWC) and the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). They were instrumental in retrieving furs from all over North America but were especially important in the rugged Athabasca region of the Northwest.

Do voyageurs get paid?

The wintering voyageurs were paid once a year at Grand Portage, but they were paid in goods or in vouchers for merchandise from the company-run story. Because of the inflated prices at Grand Portage, the pay was worth only two-thirds of what it would have been in Montreal.

What is a French voyageur?

“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 was a typical day for a voyageur?

The long hard day
Daily life for the voyageur was exhausting. He worked about 15 hours a day for six to eight weeks at a time. Each day was different from the one before it, varying along with the weather and obstacles encountered en route.

What is a voyageur person?

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.

What does Voyageur mean in history?

voyageur. / (ˌvɔɪəˈdʒɜː) / noun Canadian. history a boatman employed by one of the early fur-trading companies, esp in the interior. a woodsman, guide, trapper, boatman, or explorer, esp in the North.

What physical characteristics did the Voyageur have?

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.

How many men are in a voyageur canoe?

Not only did the voyageurs paddle their canoes with a crew of four to six, but they would also portage their cargo.

Are voyageurs Metis?

From the 1770s until the 1821 merger, most voyageurs were French-Canadians from Lower Canada (now the southern portion of Quebec) and to a lesser extent Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) and Algonquins (Anishinaabeg). After the fur trade merger, the majority of boatmen working in the fur trade were Métis.

How many voyageurs were there?

There were two classes of voyageurs — mangeur de lard, or “pork eaters,” and hivernants, or “winterers.” The first class, dismissively called “pork eaters” because of their daily diet of salt pork and dried peas, were unskilled young men that carried trade goods and supplies to the rendezvous posts, such as Grand

What weapons did the voyageurs use?

Probably had a knife, probably had a flint, a striker, his pipe, some tobacco. Probably not a great deal more than that. JG: Would they carry any weapons? RC: The voyageur, probably not very many would have owned their weapons.

Who traded fox fur?

The roots of the white fox fur trade reach back to the Mackenzie Delta whalers in the 1880s. The American whaling ships were also interested in trading for furs. Aklavik (map) and Herschel Island quickly became centres for this new trade and the profits available soon became evident.

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

What is the difference between the coureurs des bois and the voyageurs? The coureurs des bois were active during the French Regime. They were small businessmen trapping fur animals and trading. The voyageurs, for their part, were hired hands.