Birchbark BrigadeAges: 9 and up Grades: 4–6 Pages: 136 List Price: 18.95 Cover: Hardcover Published: 10/1/2009 ISBN: 1-59078-426-X ISBN-13: 978-1-59078-426-6 |
A history of the North American fur trade, based on primary sources. The North American fur trade, set in motion by the discovery of the New World in the fifteenth century, was this continent’s biggest business for over three hundred years. Furs harvested by Ojibwa natives in the north woods ended up on the sleeves and hems of French princesses and Chinese emperors. Felt hats on the heads of every European businessman began as beaver pelts carried in birchbark canoes to trading posts dotting the wilderness. Iron tools, woolen blankets, and calico cloth manufactured in England found their way to wigwams along the remote rivers of North America. The fur trade influenced every aspect of life—from how Europeans related to the Indians, how and where settlements were built, to how our nation formed. Drawing on primary sources, including the diaries of Ojibwa, American, and French traders of the period, Birchbark Brigade gives readers a glimpse of a little-known story from our past. Reviews"The history of colonial-era North America is usually presented to children in terms of settlement-think Jamestown and Plymouth-but this treatment too often ignores the fascinating development and expansion of the fur trade that drove much of the European interest in the continent… Peterson first provides a history of the military, political and economic development of the trade and then gives readers a snapshot of the lives of the Indians and voyagers who did the actual work. She relies on a wealth of primary-source material, from archival illustrations to quotes from players both large and small. ...The author's enthusiasm for her subject will communicate itself to readers, even those who never dreamed they'd be interested, making this the best kind of discovery." "… well-researched account tightly packs a great deal of exploration …This will fill a gap in many history collections." |
