Saguenay River: Rumours of More
Fur traders hear tales of distant wealth
Europeans came to North America in search of gold and a direct route to the
wealth of China. It was for fish and fur that they stayed.
Fur was an important item of clothing in the late 1500s. It was warm, it durable, and it
was beautiful. Only the rich could afford the luxury of fur, but their demand was insatiable
— especially for beaver.
The beaver had become extinct in Europe, so when the presence of plentiful beaver in North
America became known, fur traders soon followed.
Tadoussac was a traditional meeting ground for the Algonquian and Iroquoian First Nations.
It naturally became the centre of the early French fur trade in North America.
By the end of the 16th century, hundreds of fur traders sailed there every summer to bargain
with the First Nations for furs. The First Nations in return, were eager to acquire European
goods, particularly products made of metal.
It was here that Jacques Cartier visited in 1535 and first heard from First Nations traders
tales of a rich “Kingdom of the Saguenay.”
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