Ecological implications of the 18th and 19th century fur trade: a study of five HBC post's accounts

Abstract

This research critically addresses the ecological implications of the 18th and 19th Century fur trade and whether primary source material written and maintained by European fur traders can measure resource procurement changes through a diverse geographic area over a 62 year period. The study utilizes Hudson Bay Company post journals from five posts selected from three different ecological zones situated along a primary transportation route in north-central Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The study was divided into four periods reflecting different intensity levels regarding resource use. The research challenges the previously held assumptions that over harvest resulted in resource collapse and resulting hardships.