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115-552: Pierre-Esprit Radisson (1636/1640–1710) was a French coureur des bois and explorer in New France . He is often linked to his brother-in-law Médard des Groseilliers . The decision of Radisson and Groseilliers to enter the English service led to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company . His career was particularly notable for its repeated transitions between serving Britain and France. There

230-425: A Jew's harp , tobacco pipes, beads, Rhenish stoneware, and Delftware . The excavations also revealed the former south moat and counterscarp , a pebbled path from the east entrance of the fort, a brewery owned by Jean Labatie built in 1647, and parts of several houses owned by Hendrick Andriessen van Doesburgh, Abraham Staats, and Hans Vos. From the excavations, scholars noted that venison (deer meat) made up

345-844: A Mohawk raiding party, he was captured by the warriors. Perhaps because of his youth, he received fairly mild treatment and, as he showed interest in Mohawk language and culture, was adopted and assimilated. In the Mohawk custom of adopting young captives, whether indigenous or European, to replace relatives lost to disease or warfare, Radisson joined a local Mohawk family near modern-day Schenectady in New York. Not long after Radisson's integration, which took about six weeks, while out hunting with three Mohawk, he met an Algonquin man who convinced him to defect and return to Trois-Rivières. Together, they killed Radisson's Mohawk companions, traveled 14 days, and sighted

460-488: A coureur des bois and in 1653 married his second wife, Margueritte. Her brother, Pierre-Esprit Radisson , also became a notable figure in the fur trade and is often mentioned in the same breath as des Groseilliers. Radisson and des Grosseilliers would also travel and trade together, as they did throughout the 1660s and 1670s. Together, they explored west into previously unknown territories in search of trade. Having incurred legal problems in New France because of their trade,

575-467: A Frenchwoman; they pulled out her breasts, and took a child out of her belly, with they broyled [broiled] and made the mother eat it, so in short she died". Sometime after his own wounds healed, Radisson spent some five months on a war-party expedition. With other Mohawk warriors, Radisson traveled to a trading post at Fort Orange , then controlled by the Dutch , located in present-day Albany, New York . There,

690-570: A brisk trade with the Indians. He recruited Jean-Baptiste into joining HBC service and left for England in September, leaving John Abraham in charge of the fort. (Eight days later two ships belonging to Charles Aubert de La Chesnaye arrived from Québec. Although there was conflict, no blood was shed. The French wintered near the English and returned to Québec with a moderate load of furs.) Radisson's differences with various Hudson's Bay Company underlings in

805-519: A company of men set out from the fort to assist the Mohican people in their war against the Mohawk , the powerful Iroquois tribe based in the Mohawk Valley to the west of the fort. The Dutch party was ambushed and three men were killed approximately a mile from the fort, roughly where Lincoln Park and Delaware Avenue are sited today. Whereas later settlement would be through the purchase of land from

920-651: A day, which was a large percentage given the small population in the fort. On September 8, 1664, the English , after sending numerous war ships to New Amsterdam, demanded the surrender of New Netherland and came to terms with the Dutch. On that date New Netherland became the Province of New York with Colonel Richard Nicolls appointed as the first English colonial governor ; New Amsterdam was renamed New York. Johannes De Decker sailed on that day from New Amsterdam to Fort Orange to rally

1035-512: A failed attempt to pay to arrange his wife's passage from Britain. He also failed to regain a position in the Hudson's Bay Company , as a further result of anti-French prejudice. In 1681 Radisson headed out to found a fort on the Nelson River under a French flag, albeit against the wishes of the French state. He did so as a means of capturing the market, fearing the construction of a British fort on

1150-497: A good reputation for himself, Nicolet was sent on an expedition to Green Bay to settle a peace agreement with the natives of that area. Médard Chouart des Groseilliers (1618–1696) was a French explorer and fur trader in Canada . In the early 1640s, des Groseilliers relocated to Quebec , and began to work around Huronia with the Jesuit missions in that area. There he learned the skills of

1265-568: A governor recognized him as a Frenchman and offered to pay for his freedom. But Radisson returned to his Mohawk village. He escaped on 29 October 1653, "at 8 of the clock in the morning". Reaching Fort Orange, he was hidden at a farm, then met a Jesuit priest Joseph Antoine Poncet , who made him "a great offer", whereby he returned to Holland in early 1654 under an agreement now unclear but perhaps involving missionary work. Later that year, 1654, Radisson returned to Trois-Rivières in New France. Over

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1380-506: A group of Algonquians, designated as the "Nation of the Isle", to learn native languages and later serve as an interpreter. The natives quickly adopted Nicolet as one of their own, even allowing him to attend councils and negotiate treaties. In 1620, Nicolet was sent to make contact with the Nipissing , a group of natives who played an important role in the growing fur trade. After having established

1495-572: A local veteran / soldier of the United States Army , killed on the Western Front in northern France , during the First World War (1914/1917-1918), and awarded the congressional Medal of Honor , the current second / replacement span built in 1969. It carries U.S. Route 9 and U.S. Route 20 highways across the upper Hudson River , between Albany on the west to Rensselaer, New York in

1610-413: A man of the early modern period for whom personal honour was an important value and as a working trader participating in the mercantile projects of the era. Radisson's life and writings have been interpreted from many different perspectives. Many French Canadians until the twentieth century accepted the verdict of his French contemporaries that he was a traitor to France. Pierre-Esprit Radisson's birthplace

1725-462: A new fort on top of State Street Hill named Fort Frederick ; it served both to defend the settlement from the Mohawk and other Iroquois to the west and to be on high ground to remind the Dutch inhabitants of English rule. The land around the old fort was sold to the Dutch Reformed Church for use as pastureland, but the fort structure continued to deteriorate. It was indicated on maps during

1840-441: A number of Mohawk villages and into Oneida villages, at least 100 miles from the fort. This journey was recorded in van den Bogaert's daily journal which is titled, A Journey into Mohawk and Oneida Country. In the 1640s a French Jesuit priest and missionary, Isaac Jogues , described Fort Orange as "a wretched little fort ... built of stakes, with four or five pieces of cannon of Breteuil". In 1648, dispute arose between agents of

1955-508: A number of outbuildings on the site of the old Dutch fort during the 1790s ; the address for the site of the old fort became 549 South Market Street (later Broadway). On his property traces of the old fort could still be seen as late as 1812. He lived at this location while he was the surveyor-general of New York. Following his death, his mansion and outbuildings were adapted for use as the Fort Orange Hotel. It burned down in 1848 but

2070-437: A result of warfare . The remaining marriages between Algonquins tended to be polygamous , with one husband marrying two or more women. Sexual relationships with coureurs des bois therefore offered native women an alternative to polygamy in a society with few available men. To French military commanders, who were often also directly involved in the fur trade, such marriages were beneficial in that they improved relations between

2185-411: A system of licenses for fur traders, known as congés . Initially, this system granted 25 annual licenses to merchants traveling inland. The recipients of these licenses came to be known as "voyageurs" (travelers), who canoed and portaged fur trade goods in the employ of a licensed fur trader or fur trading company. The congé system, therefore, created the voyageur, the legal and respectable counterpart to

2300-409: A way of establishing informal relations with the French in order to ensure the continued supply of European goods and prevent the French from trading with other Indians. Radisson reported on visiting one Ojibwa village in the spring of 1660, where there was a welcoming ceremony: "The women throw themselves backward on the ground, thinking to give us tokens of friendship and wellcome [welcome]". Radisson

2415-482: A year-long permit to explore New France; the governor granted it. Seeing the success of the trip and the number of furs they had brought back, d'Argenson levied high taxes on the men, ostensibly because they had exceeded the terms of their year-long permit by a couple of days. After seeking unsuccessfully in the courts to regain what had been confiscated by the Governor, Radisson and Groseilliers decided to go to Boston in

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2530-573: Is crucially intertwined with that of his brother-in-law, Médard des Groseilliers . Radisson came to New France in 1651, settling in Trois-Rivières. That same year, he was captured by the Mohawks while duck hunting. Although two of his companions were killed during this exchange, the natives spared Radisson's life and adopted him. Through this adoption, Radisson learned native languages that would later serve him well as an interpreter. He worked throughout

2645-522: Is no image of him other than that provided in his writings and those of the people who encountered him in New France, in Paris on the fringes of the court, on remote Hudson Bay, and in late Stuart London . Radisson should be considered in multiple contexts; for his achievement as a narrator of his own life, the range of his explorations, his experiences among the Indigenous peoples, and his social formation, both as

2760-613: Is the first European known to have visited the area where the city of Duluth, Minnesota is now located and the headwaters of the Mississippi River near Grand Rapids. In 1678 Du Lhut set out to make peace negotiations with the Sioux, Chippewas, and other tribes near Lake Superior. His negotiations were successful and were sealed by multiple intertribal marriages. Du Lhut's freedom as a courerur des bois allowed him to explore unseen lands. Du Lhut sought permission to continue exploring however he

2875-508: Is unclear, but was likely in France's lower Rhône region near the town Avignon . In a 1697 affidavit and a 1698 petition he reported his age as 61 and 62, respectively, suggesting birth in 1636. Yet a 1681 census in New France, Canada, reported his age as 41, suggesting birth in 1640. This coheres with baptismal records from Carpentras , a city near Avignon, that concern Radisson's father, Pierre-Esprit Radisson Sr. Radisson would trace his family,

2990-504: The 1880s , other than simply placing the bronze historical marker. The tablet was moved again in 1971 after the 1970-71 archeologist historical excavations discovered remnants of the Dutch fort which were prompted during the construction project for nearby larger / modern Interstate 787 and the highway interchange with the South Mall Expressway . The marker was returned to the actual verified site of historic Fort Orange, but not to

3105-545: The City of London , Radisson and des Groseilliers had the advantages of being the only men who knew how to survive in the North, and who also knew the local languages and customs of the Indians, and the geography. In 1670, Radisson was back in England and on 2 May received a royal charter giving him and his partners the exclusive rights to the land surrounding Hudson Bay; with this they founded

3220-593: The Dutch West India Company and agents of the patroon over control of Fort Orange and the surrounding settlement. The Director-General of New Netherland , representing the West India Company, was Pieter Stuyvesant , who saw the patroon's position, power, and land as a direct threat to the West India Company's ability to profit from the beaver pelt trade in Fort Orange. Several confrontations arose over

3335-508: The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). During the next few years, they made a number of highly profitable trips between England and the Bay region. With the founding of the HBC, Radisson became forced to deal with a European context; there he had to struggle for survival among rival monarchs, competing courtiers, and the changing political and economic world in which they operated. King Charles II in his charter for

3450-622: The Native Americans , the Dutch built Fort Orange without any consent. They continued to hold it only through the goodwill of the Mahican, and the occasional presents that they gave to the local Mahicans. When the Dutch established the Charter of Privileges and Exemptions in 1629 setting up the patroon system, Kiliaen van Rensselaer established his patroonship of Rensselaerswyck , surrounding Fort Orange on 24 miles (39 km) of shoreline along

3565-506: The Rupert River region on the shores of James Bay , where Des Groseilliers used his knowledge of frontier living to build dwellings for the crew for wintering over. About 300 Cree Indians came up in the spring of 1669 to trade furs in exchange for European goods. Radisson sought the support of a royal patron to secure a crown monopoly on trade within the Hudson's Bay region. Prince Rupert of

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3680-446: The coureurs des bois sometimes paddling twelve hours a day. Packing a canoe for such a trip was often arduous, as more than thirty articles were considered essential for a coureur des bois's survival and business. He could trade for food, hunt, and fish—but trade goods such as "broadcloth, linen and wool blankets, ammunition, metal goods (knives, hatchets, kettles), firearms, liquor, gunpowder and sometimes even finished clothing, took up

3795-443: The intendant Duchesneau estimated there were eight hundred coureurs des bois, or about 40% of the adult male population. Reports like that were wildly exaggerated: in reality, even at their zenith coureurs des bois remained a very small percentage of the population of New France. In 1681, to curb the unregulated business of independent traders and their burgeoning profits, French minister of marine Jean-Baptiste Colbert created

3910-437: The majolica variety and not delftware . Porcelain was rare, found only as a few shards. The remains of many clay pipes were found, often with the "EB" maker's mark of Eduard Bird (c. 1610–65) of Amsterdam . The site was in continual use and artifacts recovered include 1830s creamware or pearlware and 1860s copper bottom coffee pot remnants. The artifacts from the excavation are housed and occasionally exhibited at

4025-406: The 1660s and 1670s with his brother-in-law, des Groseilliers, on various trade and exploration voyages into the west of the continent. Much of Radisson's life during this period is wrapped up in the story of des Groseilliers. Together they are credited with the establishment and shaping of the Hudson's Bay Company . Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut (1639–1710) was a French soldier and explorer who

4140-432: The 1660s, several factors resulted in a sudden spike in the number of coureurs des bois. First, the population of New France markedly increased during the late 17th century, as the colony experienced a boom in immigration between 1667–84. Of the new engagés (indentured male servants), discharged soldiers, and youthful immigrants from squalid, class-bound Europe arriving in great numbers in the colony, many chose freedom in

4255-515: The 1680s suggests that he was not admired by the English seamen who had to work with him, because of their rooted detestation of the French. In 1685 Radisson was made "Superintendent and Chief Director of the Trade at Port Nelson", where he seems to have accomplished little. In 1687 he made serious charges against the superintendent of York Factory . The HBC rejected the charges and Radisson was removed. Thereafter he lived in England on an HBC pension, which

4370-520: The 18th century, labeled as "ruins of an Old Fort." Richard Smith, a traveler, observed by 1769 that there was "nothing to be seen of Fort Orange... but the Ditch which surrounded it". After the American Revolutionary War , the deteriorated site of the old fort was memorialized as a historic site and was the site of many historical observances. Simeon De Witt built a large house or mansion and

4485-647: The 25th, Captain John Manning was given control of the fort, which was renamed Fort Albany; Beverwyck was named Albany. In 1673 the Dutch retook New York City, which they named New Orange, on July 29, then retook Albany on August 3. In September, Albany was renamed Willemstadt and Fort Albany became Fort Nassau. The Treaty of Westminster , signed on February 19, 1674, renamed New Orange and Willemstadt back to their English names; Fort Nassau became Fort Albany and Willemstadt became Albany. In 1666, Jeremias van Rensselaer , then-patroon of Rensselaerswyck, had petitioned

4600-659: The Canadian comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall depict two trappers, Jacques ( Dave Foley ) and François ( Kevin McDonald ), canoeing through high-rise offices and cubicles to trap businessmen wearing designer Italian suits as a parody of this moment in Canadian colonial history. The Revenant (2015), directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu , depicts a group of uncharacteristically violent, anti-Indian coureurs des bois in North Dakota, which

4715-596: The City of London in order to fund its operations. In 1672, Radisson married Mary Kirke, the daughter of Sir John Kirke, one of the City investors in the HBC. As anti-French and anti-Catholic sentiment increased in England following discontent expressed in events such as the Bawdy House Riots of 1668 , both Prince Rupert and Sir John decreased their support for the men. Although Radisson's reasons for doing so are not fully clear, he left London in 1675 with Grosseiliers to reenter

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4830-497: The Dakota. As Radisson's account was written for an English audience, he was vague as to whether he and Des Groseilliers took up this offer. When Radisson and Groseilliers returned to Québec on August 24, 1660, with many furs, the merchants waiting for them were delighted to be able to sail with the pelts to Europe, but the Governor was jealous of their success. In 1659 Groseilliers had met with Governor Pierre de Voyer d'Argenson to gain

4945-527: The English Thirteen Colonies for their next explorations. They would seek English financing there to support their expedition. Throughout their 1659–1660 voyage, the French explorers had heard references to a "salt sea" as an area with an abundance of good furs. They determined the reference must be to Hudson Bay and began to seek financing and sea-going ships for their new explorations. They could reach this destination by travel on waters outside

5060-426: The French and the natives. Native leaders also encouraged such unions, particularly when the couple formed lasting, permanent bonds. Jesuits and some upper-level colonial officials viewed these relationships with disdain and disgust. French officials preferred coureurs des bois and voyageurs to settle around Quebec City and Montreal . They considered the lasting relationships with native women to be further proof of

5175-549: The French aristocracy's fears of insubordination which only served to confirm their ignorance; and coureurs des bois became emblematic of the colony for those in the metropolis. The myth of the coureurs des bois as representative of the Canadians was stimulated by the writings of 18th-century Jesuit priest F-X. Charlevoix and the 19th-century American historian Francis Parkman ; their historical accounts are classified as belonging to popular rather than academic history. Charlevoix

5290-449: The French left, ending the expedition. Radisson soon returned to Québec . Radisson's biggest influence in Canadian history dates from the period of 1658 to 1684, when he was an active coureur-des-bois , fur trader, and explorer. In August 1659, Radisson persuaded his brother-in-law, Médard Chouart des Groseilliers, to hire him for his journey around Lake Superior . The year-long trip was planned to collect furs, in order to participate in

5405-473: The French rather than with the Dutch, who were active along the Hudson River and Atlantic coast. The boys learned native languages, customs, and skills, and tended to assimilate quickly to their new environments. A year after leaving Étienne Brûlé in 1610, with a Huron tribe , Champlain visited him, and was surprised to find the young man attired completely in native clothing and able to converse fluently in

5520-775: The Hayet-Radissons, to the town St. Malo , whereas records suggest either Paris or Avignon. According to Radisson, he emigrated from France to Canada on 24 May 1651. He may have arrived with his two sisters, Élisabeth and Françoise. They may also have been accompanied by their maternal half-sister Marguerite Hayet, who would eventually marry Radisson's later fur-trading partner, Médard Chouart des Groseilliers. By sometime in 1651, these three women were living together in Trois-Rivières . In 1651 or 1652, while hunting fowl near his Trois-Rivières home, Radisson became separated from his hunting group. After discovering its several men killed by

5635-416: The Hudson River and 24 miles (39 km) inland on each side of the fort. This land patent was interpreted by van Rensselaer as including Fort Orange and the settlement that had begun outside its walls. He began purchasing and acquiring title to the lands from the Mahican. In 1630, Gillis Hoosett purchased in van Rensselaer's name the lands to the south and north of the fort from the natives. Later in 1630

5750-476: The Hudson's Bay Company also founded a proprietary colony named Rupert's Land , declaring that the lands adjacent to Hudson's Bay or rivers flowing into Hudson's Bay now belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company. In theory, much of modern Canada then belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company, as Rupert's Land was a vast region. In practice, the company maintained a few trading forts on the sea coasts of northern Ontario and northern Québec , to which they later added forts on

5865-457: The Huron language. Early explorers such as Brûlé educated the French colonists on the complex trading networks of the natives, served as interpreters, and encouraged the burgeoning fur trade. Between 1610 and 1629, dozens of Frenchmen spent months at a time living among the natives. Over time, these early explorers and interpreters played an increasingly active role in the fur trade, paving the way for

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5980-531: The Indigenous people's ritual practices and marrying Indigenous women. French Canadians associated the coureur des bois with being ungovernable and fearless men. The biggest problem with the coureur des bois was their interference with the missionary effort of the French Canadians. They denounced the French priests and missionaries and undermined their evangelistic efforts by supplying the Indigenous peoples with liquor . The coureur des bois refusal to submit to

6095-462: The Iroquois also sometimes ate the hearts of exceptionally brave men to acquire their courage. Radisson's fingernails were pulled out while he was forced to sing, one finger was cut to the bone, and he watched ten Huron Indians get tortured to death. The next day, an old man burned Radisson, tied to a scaffold, and a young man drove a red-hot dagger through his foot. After three days of similar treatment,

6210-598: The Mohawk brought out Huron prisoners and, using tomahawks , bashed in the heads of some, whereas the rest were adopted by individual families. Once eventually released, the overwhelmed Radisson found that, as he would recall, "all my pains and griefs ceased, not feeling the least pain. [My father] bids me be merry, makes me sing, to which I consented with all my heart." He felt deep gratitude to his adoptive parents, whom he described as very loving, for saving his life. By Iroquois standards, Radisson's torture had been moderate. Radisson recounts witnessing other torture: "They burned

6325-592: The New York State Historic Trust with the cooperation of the New York State Department of Transportation from October 20, 1970, until March 1971. The first test hole was made in what had been the cellar of the De Witt house, which had obliterated all remnants of the old fort. Digging at a site under Broadway in front of the house turned up many pieces from the Dutch colonial past. Among those were

6440-516: The Radisson Hotel in Minneapolis in 1909, is also named after him. The Canadian Coast Guard named CCGS  Pierre Radisson after him. American writer Sinclair Lewis wrote several novels about Grand Republic, the seat of the fictitious Radisson County, Minnesota . Sterling North dramatized Radisson's life and adventures in his young adult novel Captured by the Mohawks . Radisson

6555-638: The Rhine , the king's first cousin and a war hero on the royalist side during the English Civil War , became that patron. Prince Rupert was not considered to be a good businessman and was not one of the king's closest friends, but he was the only member of the royal family prepared to champion the Radisson–Des Groseilliers project of fur trading at Hudson's Bay, and critical to their getting a royal charter from Charles II. While soliciting financing from

6670-510: The beginning of the fur trade in the North American interior . Initially they traded for beaver coats and furs. However, as the market grew, coureurs de bois were trapping and trading prime beavers whose skins were to be felted in Europe. While French settlers had lived and traded alongside Indigenous people since the earliest days of New France, coureurs des bois reached their apex during

6785-423: The colony, creating a lasting myth that would continue to define New France for centuries. Shortly after founding a permanent settlement at Quebec City in 1608, Samuel de Champlain sought to ally himself with the local native peoples or First Nations. He decided to send French boys to live among them to learn their languages in order to serve as interpreters, in the hope of persuading the natives to trade with

6900-573: The colony. A successful coureur des bois had to possess many skills, including those of businessman and expert canoeist. To survive in the Canadian wilderness, coureurs des bois also had to be competent in a range of activities including fishing, snowshoeing and hunting. As one Jesuit described them, venturing into the wilderness suited: The sort of person who thought nothing of covering five to six hundred leagues by canoe, paddle in hand, or of living off corn and bear fat for twelve to eighteen months, or of sleeping in bark or branch cabins. The life

7015-399: The continent, instead of through a number of internal rivers. The first voyage to Hudson Bay was unsuccessful since the winter of that year came early, and they judged their rations on board insufficient to survive it. The pair were forced to return to Boston but were promised two ships and crew for a second attempt the following year. This second attempt was cancelled after one of the ships

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7130-555: The coureur de bois and the natives often included a sexual dimension; marriage à la façon du pays (following local custom) was common between native women and coureurs des bois, and later between native women and voyageurs. These unions were of benefit to both sides, and in later years, winter partners of major trading companies also took native wives. As wives, indigenous women played a key role as translators, guides and mediators—becoming "women between". For one thing, Algonquin communities typically had far more women than men, likely as

7245-458: The coureur des bois. Under the voyageurs, the fur trade began to favor a more organized business model of the times, including monopolistic ownership and hired labor. From 1681 onwards, therefore, the voyageurs began to eclipse the coureurs des bois, although coureurs des bois continued to trade without licenses for several decades. Following the implementation of the congé system, the number of coureurs des bois dwindled, as did their influence within

7360-624: The coureurs des bois were seen more frequently as explorers than their voyager counterparts. The voyager's ties to fur companies dictated how and where they trapped, whereas the courerur des bois were free to explore and trap in any place they could find. The coureur des bois freedom and intimate ties to the Indigenous peoples resulted in many French people viewing them as only a step above Native American men. Most coureurs des bois were primarily or solely fur-trade entrepreneurs and not individually well known. The most prominent coureurs des bois were also explorers and gained fame as such. Étienne Brûlé

7475-441: The east. For almost 100 years, the original installation site of the plaque did not mark the true accurate site of the colonial era Dutch military post of Fort Orange. The Albany Institute of History and Art has a cannonball labeled as "Dug up at Fort Orange site July 22nd 1886", the date / year that the bicentennial marker was placed. No known accurate historical research or archeological excavations digging were done back then in

7590-463: The emergence of the coureurs des bois proper in the mid-17th century. The term "coureur des bois" is most strongly associated with those who engaged in the fur trade in ways that were considered to be outside of the mainstream. Early in the North American fur trade era, this term was applied to men who circumvented the normal channels by going deeper into the wilderness to trade. Traditionally,

7705-464: The establishment of Rensselaerswyck. In 1651, Stuyvesant declared the jurisdiction of the fort to extend 600 paces around the fort, thereby severing it from Rensselaerswyck; he appointed Johannes Dyckman as commissary of Fort Orange. In 1652, Stuyvesant, to settle this dispute once and for all, set up a "Court of Justice for the Village of Beverwyck and its dependencies", the first municipal government for

7820-591: The events that led up to the Glorious Revolution . The English ambassador, Lord Preston , asked that they be punished. Compromise plans were made to send Radisson back to the Bay to pick up the remaining furs and divide the profits fairly. Lord Preston recruited Radisson back into the English service and Groseilliers returned to Québec. In 1684 Radisson sailed for the Hayes River in the vessel Happy Return , where he found Groseilliers' son Jean-Baptiste conducting

7935-399: The ever-lucrative fur trade . In the winter of 1659–1660, Radisson and Des Groseilliers lived just south of Lake Superior in what is now Wisconsin , associating with groups of Huron, Ottawa , Ojibwa and Sioux (Dakota) Indians. When Radisson arrived at an Ojibwa village on the shores of Lake Superior, where he spent much of the winter, he later reported giving three types of presents: to

8050-475: The fears and apprehensions which they had of the Ancien Régime . If order and discipline were proving difficult to maintain in continental Europe, it seemed impossible that the colonies would fare any better, and it was presumed things would become even worse. Accounts of young men choosing a life where they would "do nothing", be "restrained by nothing", and live "beyond the possibility of correction" played into

8165-477: The first permanent Dutch settlers and farmers came to Fort Orange and settled on the outskirts of the fort; their village was first called the Fuyck and later Beverwyck . In 1634 the commander of Fort Orange ordered Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert west into the Mohawk Valley and Indian country, for the purpose of understanding why the fur trade had declined. The trip lasted six weeks and took Bogaert and his men through

8280-852: The former location of the northeastern bastion. As the Fort Orange Archeological Site, the area of the fort was declared a National Historic Landmark (and added to the lists of the National Register of Historic Places ) on November 4, 1993, (maintained by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior ). Prior to the 1970 excavations, no 17th century Dutch colonial era artifacts had been discovered in Albany. The excavations were undertaken by

8395-511: The fort using stone. In response, van Schlechtenhorst declared it illegal for anyone to quarry stone within Rensselaerswyck for the fort or for anyone to sell the material to the fort's commander, Carl van Brugge. All material for the fort had to be shipped in from outside the colony. Van Schlechtenhorst claimed that Fort Orange had been illegally built on the patroon's lands, while Stuyvesant noted that Fort Orange had been built 15 years prior to

8510-410: The fur trade. The requirement of licenses to participate in trapping and trading furs limited the types of people who could participate in the lucrative trade. Trapping and trading without one of the required licenses was a legally punishable offense. The coureurs des bois were seen by the French government and French citizens as problematic because they did not abide by the licensing laws. Additionally,

8625-477: The future city of Albany. At the time when Beverwyck consisted of roughly 100 structures huddled next to the fort, Stuyvesant set up Beverwyck at a safer distance from the cannons of the fort and laid out future Albany's oldest streets- State Street and Broadway . By the end of the 1650s, the fort was in disrepair again, and both Fort Orange and Beverwyck were enclosed by a wooden stockade in 1660. In 1663, smallpox raged in Fort Orange, killing one person

8740-578: The government of New France preferred to let the natives supply furs directly to French merchants, and discouraged French settlers from venturing outside the Saint Lawrence valley. By the mid-17th century, Montreal had emerged as the center of the fur trade, hosting a yearly fair in August where natives exchanged their pelts for European goods. While coureurs des bois never entirely disappeared, they were heavily discouraged by French colonial officials. In 1649,

8855-541: The importance of the latter in terms of number and proportion in terms on influence on trading. But Charlevoix was influential; his work was often cited by other authors, which further propagated the myth of the Canadian as a coureur des bois. Finally, romans du terroir (rural novels) also added to the myth of the coureurs des bois by featuring them out of proportion to their number and influence. The coureurs des bois were portrayed in such works as extremely virile, free-spirited and of untameable natures, ideal protagonists in

8970-521: The kettles were typically used much more by the women for cooking than by the men. Giving paint and make-up only to women overlooked the fact that Ojibwa men used make-up and painted their faces just as much as Ojibwa women did. But Radisson may have learned that kettles were used prominently by the Huron in their Feast of the Dead , and thought that the Ojibwa men might use them in their own version of that feast. On

9085-420: The lawlessness and perversion of the coureurs des bois. The role and importance of the coureurs des bois have been exaggerated over the course of history. This figure has achieved mythological status, leading to many false accounts, and to the coureurs des bois being assimilated with " Canadiens " (French Canadians). The mythmaking followed two paths; initially, people in France judged the colonies according to

9200-592: The life of the coureur des bois. Furthermore, renewed peaceful relations with the Iroquois in 1667 made traveling into the interior of Canada much less perilous for the French colonists. The companies that had been monopolizing and regulating the fur trade since 1645, the Cent Associés and the Communautés des Habitants , went bankrupt after the Iroquois war . The Compagnie des Indes occidentales , which replaced them,

9315-438: The majority of space in the canoe." Food en route needed to be lightweight, practical and non-perishable. The business of a coureur des bois required close contact with Indigenous peoples. Native peoples were essential because they trapped the fur-bearing animals (especially beaver) and prepared the skins. Relations between coureurs and natives were not always peaceful, and could sometimes become violent. In general, trade

9430-614: The majority of the meat eaten by the settlers and soldiers of the fort, followed by pork . The greatest number of fish bones and scales were found in a pit 20 feet (6.1 m) south of the pebbled entrance path dating from before 1648. Sturgeon were found infrequently in later 17th-century deposits. Eating and drinking utensils consisted of lead-glazed red-bodied and white/buff bodied earthenware, tin earthenware, Rhenish German stoneware , Chinese Empire porcelain , glass roemers, Spechter glasses, and façon de Venise glassware. The tin-glazed earthenware , at least prior to 1650, were of

9545-555: The male-chorus marching song Tramp Tramp Tramp (Along the Highway) , which included the words, "Blazing trails along the byway / Couriers de Bois are we" [sic]. (Some later versions change Rida Johnson Young 's lyric to "For men of war are we.") In James A. Michener 's 1974 historical novel Centennial and the 1978–1979 NBC television mini-series of the same name , the colourful, French Canadian or French Metis , coureur des bois, from Montreal , Quebec , Canada, named Pasquinel,

9660-527: The men, women and children of the village. He gave each of the men "...a kettle, two hatchets [tomahawks], and six knives and a blade for a sword"; the women "...2 and 20 awls, 50 needles, 2 graters [scrapers] of castors, 2 ivory combs and 2 wooden ones, with red painte [vermilion], 6 looking-glasses of tin"; and to the children "...brasse rings, of small bells, and rasades [beads] of divers colors...". American historian Bruce White wrote that Radission and Des Groseilliers did not entirely understand Ojibwa society, as

9775-420: The new governor Louis d'Ailleboust permitted Frenchmen familiar with the wilderness to visit Huron Country to encourage and escort Hurons to Montreal to participate in the trade. While this did not legally sanction coureurs des bois to trade independently with the natives, some historians consider d'Ailleboust's encouragement of independent traders to mark the official emergence of the coureurs des bois. In

9890-497: The new government of Governor Nicholls to recognize Fort Albany (Fort Orange) as part of Rensselaerswyck. Governor Nicholls informed him that he would be wise to drop the matter until he heard from the Duke of York . In 1678, Governor Andros issued to the patroon's heirs a grant reaffirming the patroon's rights over Rensselaerswyck, but leaving out Fort Albany and the immediate area around the fort. The English abandoned Fort Orange and built

10005-536: The next three years, he would embark on several missionary expeditions. His writings largely ignored this period, so little is known about his whereabouts during it, apart from a documented a deed of sale that he signed in November 1655. In 1657, Radisson accompanied a joint Franco–Iroquois expedition into Onondaga territory to aid a Jesuit priest named Simon Le Moyne operate his mission and to promote further fur trading. In 1658, under rising tensions with local Iroquois,

10120-537: The other hand, White notes that the two Frenchmen clearly understood some aspects of Ojibwa gender roles very well: the gift of tomahawks for the men acknowledged that Ojibwa men were hunters and warriors, while the gift of awls for the women reflected that Ojibwa women gathered rice, gardened, cooked, fished, built bark houses, and wove mats. Ojibwa women also played important roles in the fur trade. Some married winter partners or traders, establishing relations that gave advantages to their bands. Others used their sexuality as

10235-449: The romanticized novels of important 19th-century writers such as Chateaubriand , Jules Verne and Fenimore Cooper . The coureurs des bois were known for their trapping abilities by outside parties but French Canadians knew these men as being looked upon without favor. The courerur des bois lived outside of the typical confines of society and had to adapt to the expectations of the Indigenous peoples around them. They did this by adopting

10350-464: The same river and thus further dominance of the bay by the Hudson's Bay Company. He recruited Grosseilliers the following year to build a more permanent base. In the winter of 1683 he and Groseilliers went to France to deal with their legal problems. (They had seized two English parties in time of peace and paid Québec tax on furs from Hudson Bay from their Nelson River fort, which may not have been part of New France .) Here they found themselves pawns in

10465-421: The sea coast of northern Manitoba . It was not until the late 18th century that the Hudson's Bay Company showed any interest in moving inland and making good its claims to control Rupert's Land. Both Radisson and Groseilliers operated within the HBC with the support of Prince Rupert and the company's director Sir John Robinson . Radisson and Groseilliers were successful in having the HBC receive much capital from

10580-405: The second half of the 17th century. After 1681, the independent coureur des bois was gradually replaced by state-sponsored voyageurs , who were workers associated with licensed fur traders. They travelled extensively by canoe. Coureurs des bois lost their importance in the fur trade by the early 18th century. Yet, even while their numbers were dwindling, the coureur des bois developed as a symbol of

10695-509: The service of France, leaving his wife behind in England. After leaving Britain, Radisson was unpopular in the royal court. In 1677 he decided to join the navy and to fund Marshal of France , Jean II d'Estrées 's expedition in the Franco-Dutch War to conquer the island of Tobago , winning the man's favor. Following his involvement in the war, he borrowed 100 Louis d'or from the Marshal in

10810-444: The status of the fort and the rights of settlers around it. Stuyvesant at first ordered all buildings within cannon shot of the fort to be destroyed, then lowered that circumference to that of musket shot. In response, the patroon's agent, Commander van Schlechtenhorst, decided to expand settlement to "within pistol shot of Fort Orange". After the yearly freshets had damaged much of the fort, the West India Company decided to reconstruct

10925-495: The town, but were captured by patrolling Mohawk. The Mohawk killed the Algonquin and subjected Radisson, along with some 20 prisoners, to ritual torture. His adoptive, Mohawk family advocated for him and materially compensated the bereaved families to spare him execution and temper his torture. As the Iroquois despised cowardice and punished it with death, Radisson's adoptive parents advised him to be brave and yet not too brave, since

11040-478: The troops and settlers to resist English rule. On September 10, Governor Nicholls sent troops to demand the peaceful surrender of the "Fort Aurania", aurania being the Latin name for "orange" that the English used when referring to Fort Orange. It was not until September 24, 1664, that vice-director of New Netherland Johannes de Montagne surrendered the fort to the English, and Colonel George Cartwright took command. On

11155-446: The two explorers went to France in an attempt to rectify their legal situation. When this attempt failed, the pair turned to the English. Through this liaison with the English and thanks to their considerable knowledge and experience in the area, the pair are credited with the establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company . Pierre-Esprit Radisson (1636–1710) was a French Canadian fur trader and explorer. His life as explorer and trader

11270-531: The upper St. Lawrence River and the lakes, passing by Detroit on the way to Michilimackinac or Green Bay . This route had fewer portages, but in times of war, it was more exposed to Iroquois attacks. The powerful Five Nations of the Confederacy had territory along the Great Lakes and sought to control their hunting grounds. Such trading journeys often lasted for months and covered thousands of kilometers, with

11385-509: The will of the missionaries made them an enemy. This resulted in the coureur des bois being labeled as unruly and a threat to colonial survival. The coureurs des bois were renowned for their ability to trap animals for the fur trade but their overall reputation was negative for French Canadians. The coureurs des bois are often confused with voyagers however the two groups had very different reputations. The coureurs des bois were considered outlaws because of their lack of licenses to participate in

11500-425: The woods" ' ) or coureur de bois ( French: [kuʁœʁ də bwɑ] ; plural: coureurs de(s) bois ) were independent entrepreneurial French Canadian traders who travelled in New France and the interior of North America , usually to trade with First Nations peoples by exchanging various European items for furs. Some learned the trades and practices of the indigenous peoples. These expeditions were part of

11615-469: Was physically arduous and succeeding as a coureur was extremely difficult. But the hope of making a profit motivated many, while the promise of adventure and freedom was enough to convince others to become coureurs. Because of the lack of roads and the necessity to transport heavy goods and furs, fur trade in the interior of the continent depended on men conducting long-distance transportation by canoe of fur trade goods, and returning with pelts. Early travel

11730-409: Was confused at first by what the action meant, but as the women started to engage in more overtly sexual behavior, he quickly realized what they were offering. Several tribal elders informed Radisson that they did not want him trading with their enemies, the Dakota [Sioux], and that he and Des Groseilliers were free to sleep with the unmarried women of the village on condition that they did not trade with

11845-488: Was contrary to these trappers, who embraced the culture and way of life of Native Americans. Fort Orange (New Netherland) In 1624, a ship with 30 Protestant Walloons (people from what is today southern Belgium ) landed in New Netherland ; 18 of the men were sent to the location near present-day Albany. Under direction of the Dutch, they built Fort Orange roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Fort Nassau , which

11960-510: Was dangerous and the coureurs des bois , who traded in uncharted territory, had a high mortality rate. Typically, they left Montreal in the spring, as soon as the rivers and lakes were clear of ice (usually May), their canoes loaded with supplies and goods for trading. The course west to the richest beaver lands usually went by way of the Ottawa and Mattawa rivers; it required numerous overland portages. Alternatively, some canoes proceeded by way of

12075-1079: Was denied by the French court. Du Lhut's exploration and trapping history could have been as successful as his rival René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle if he had been given permission to continue. Jacques La Ramee (1784–1821) Pierre de La Vérendrye (1685–1749) Louis-Joseph de La Vérendrye and his three brothers, the sons of the Vérendrye mentioned above (1717–1761) François Baby (1733–1820) Jacques Baby (1731–1789) Horace Bélanger (1836–1892) Jean-Marie Ducharme (1723–1807) Dominique Ducharme (1765–1853) Luc de la Corne (1711–1784) Jacques de Noyon (1668–1745) Martin Chartier (1655–1718) accompanied Joliet and LaSalle, became an outlaw, and eventually traded for furs in Tennessee, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Peter Bisaillon (1662–1742) Jacques Le Tort (1651–1702) James Le Tort (1675-1742) The 1910 Victor Herbert operetta Naughty Marietta featured

12190-463: Was destroyed in a storm. The two men were invited to England to meet King Charles II in 1665. There they passed the winter. In the spring, they left for the New World with ship's crew that the king had promised them. The vessel Eaglet , which was carrying Radisson to Hudson's Bay, nearly sank in an Atlantic storm and was forced to turn back to Plymouth , England. In September 1668, Nonsuch landed in

12305-426: Was introduced as an early frontier mountain man and trapper, in 1795 Colorado , Spanish Upper Louisiana Territory of Mexico , now the present-day state of Colorado. Pasquinel was portrayed in the miniseries by American TV actor Robert Conrad . The fictional character of Pasquinel was loosely based on the lives of French-speaking fur traders Jacques La Ramee and Ceran St. Vrain . In a 1990 skit called "Trappers",

12420-701: Was irregularly paid. He died in 1710. In 1729 the company voted to pay ten pounds to his third wife, "she being ill and in great want." On October 3 1989, the Canadian Armed Forces named HMCS  Radisson after him. The towns of Radisson, Quebec ; Radisson, Saskatchewan and Radisson, Wisconsin ; a street and Metro station in Montreal; and the Radisson provincial electoral district in Manitoba, are all named after him. The Radisson Hotels group, starting with

12535-450: Was made much easier by the two groups maintaining friendly relations. Trade was often accompanied by reciprocal gift-giving; among the Algonquin and others, exchanging gifts was customary practice to maintain alliances. Pierre-Esprit Radisson and his companions, for instance, "struck agreeable relations with Natives inland by giving European goods as gifts". Furthermore, relations between

12650-587: Was much less restrictive of internal trade, allowing independent merchants to become more numerous. Finally, a sudden fall in the price of beaver on the European markets in 1664 caused more traders to travel to the "pays d'en haut" , or upper country (the area around the Great Lakes), in search of cheaper pelts. During the mid-1660s, therefore, becoming a coureur des bois became both more feasible and profitable. This sudden growth alarmed many colonial officials. In 1680,

12765-588: Was particularly influential in his writings, because he was a trusted source of information, as he was a Jesuit priest who had journeyed in Canada. But his "historical" work has been criticized by historians for being too "light" and for relying too heavily on other authors' material (i.e. plagiarizing), rather than his own first-hand account. Critics of Charlevoix have also noted that in his account, he confuses different periods of time, and therefore does not differentiate between voyageurs and coureurs des bois, misrepresenting

12880-603: Was portrayed by Paul Muni in the 1941 film Hudson's Bay . The CBC Television series Radisson (1957–1958) was based on the explorer's life. Jacques Godin played the character of Radisson. Historian Martin Fournier has written both an academic biography of Radisson, Pierre-Esprit Radisson 1636-1710. Aventurier et commerçant (2001), and a series of historical young adult novels, The Adventures of Radisson . Coureur des bois A coureur des bois ( French: [kuʁœʁ de bwɑ] ; lit.   ' "runner of

12995-516: Was prone to flooding, and about five miles south of the confluence of the Mohawk River and the North River . The Walloons were later recalled south to settle New Amsterdam . A 1628 publication on the population of New Netherland stated that "there are no families at Fort Orange ... they keep five or six and twenty (25 or 26) persons, traders, there".  In 1626, the commander of Fort Orange and

13110-463: Was rebuilt in a second structure under the same name. In 1886, as part of the bicentennial of Albany's incorporating document, the Dongan Charter , the city erected a bronze metal engraved tablet at the site of the northeastern bastion of Fort Orange . In the 1930s the tablet was moved during construction of the first of two Dunn Memorial Bridges (named for Private Parker F. Dunn (1890-1918,

13225-571: Was the first European to see the Great Lakes . He traveled to New France with Samuel de Champlain. Jean Nicolet (Nicollet) de Belleborne (Ca. 1598 – 1 November 1642) was a French coureur des bois noted for exploring Green Bay in what is now the U.S. state of Wisconsin . Nicolet was born in Normandy , France in the late 1590s and moved to New France in 1618. In that same year, he was recruited by Samuel de Champlain , who arranged for him to live with

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