Coureur des bois

A coureur des bois (French pronunciation: ​[kuʁœʁ de bwa]) or coureur de bois (French pronunciation: ​[kuʁœʁ də bwa], runner of the woods; plural: coureurs de bois) was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France and the interior of North America. They ventured into the woods usually to trade various European items for furs, and along the way they learned the trades and practices of the Native people. These expeditions were fuelled by the beginning of the fur trade in the North American interior. Trade began with coat beaver, but as the market grew coureurs de bois were trapping and trading prime beavers to be felted in Europe.

While Frenchmen had been trading and living among the natives since the earliest days of the colony, coureurs des bois reached their apex during the second half of the 17th century. After 1681, the independent coureur was gradually replaced by the state-sponsored voyageurs, who were the canoe travel workers of licensed fur traders. Coureurs des bois had therefore lost their importance within the fur trade by the early 18th century. However, even while their numbers were dwindling, the coureur des bois developed as a symbol of 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. He therefore decided to send young French boys to live among them to serve as interpreters, in the hope of persuading the natives to trade with the French rather than with the Dutch.

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