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History Pre-confederation (to 1867)

Trading Beyond the Mountains

The British Fur Trade on the Pacific, 1793-1843

by (author) Richard S. Mackie

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
Nov 2011
Category
Pre-Confederation (to 1867), Expeditions & Discoveries, Pacific Northwest
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780774842464
    Publish Date
    Nov 2011
    List Price
    $99.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780774806138
    Publish Date
    Jun 1997
    List Price
    $37.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780774805599
    Publish Date
    Feb 1997
    List Price
    $77.00

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Description

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the North West and Hudson’s Bay companies extended their operations beyond the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. There they encountered a mild and forgiving climate and abundant natural resources and, with the aid of Native traders, branched out into farming, fishing, logging, and mining. Following its merger with the North West Company in 1821, the Hudson’s Bay Company set up its headquarters at Fort Vancouver on the lower Columbia River. From there, the company dominated much of the non-Native economy, sending out goods to markets in Hawaii, Sitka, and San Francisco.

 

Trading Beyond the Mountains looks at the years of exploration between 1793 and 1843 leading to the commercial development of the Pacific coast and the Cordilleran interior of western North America. Mackie examines the first stages of economic diversification in this fur trade region and its transformation into a dynamic and distinctive regional economy. He also documents the Hudson’s Bay Company’s employment of Native slaves and labourers in the North West coast region.

About the author

Awards

  • Winner, Medal for Historical Writing, Lieutenant Governer

Contributor Notes

Richard Mackie is a freelance historian and lecturer who lives in Courtenay, British Columbia. He is the author of The Wilderness Profound: Victorian Life on the Gulf of Georgia (1995).

Editorial Reviews

This [is] exceptionally well documented history.

Choice

A thoroughly researched and comprehensive history of five decades of the fur trade ... clearly written and well documented ... an excellent resource for students ... and those interested in the fur trade.

The Record