Routes and Dates of Penetration of the Fur Trade to 1787.
The fur trade by 1787 was primarily responsible for outlining many of the major geographic features in the Great Lakes region, in the Hudson Bay area and in the Northwest, or pays d'en haut. The major river systems east of the Rocky Mountains were known, although little was known of the region north of Lake Athabasca. The Rocky Mountains had yet to be crossed by traders. The general outline of the Pacific coast was known but none of the major rivers in British Columbia were yet on maps. The fur trade consisted of an expanding trade based on two trading systems, the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes system established by the Canadiens and continued by the Nor'westers, and the Hudson Bay system based on coastal trading factories and recently expanded to include the first inland posts. On the Pacific coast Russian traders ringed the Gulf of Alaska and a maritime trade, emphasizing the sea otter, was emerging in the region of Vancouver Island. The map indicates the routes of penetration and the dates permanent posts were established in the different regions before 1787.
