Heartland/Hinterland

1. Heartland/Hinterland And The Staple trade

2. Definitions • Staple- Raw material, such as fish, timber, or wheat, which dominates an economy’s exports • Heartland- a region that is the economic centre of a country or empire • Hinterland- a region that provides the resources needed by the heartland • Staple thesis- an economic theory advanced by Harold Innis that argues that the development of a resource –based economy influenced Canada’s political and social development

3. Mercantilism and Staple Resources • European expansionism was motivated by the desire for the riches that the Spaniards had brought back to Europe in the 15th century • Instead, European explorers found other resources-fish, furs, timber, and wheat • Two-way system: hinterland provided rich natural resources <> heartland manufactured goods from these materials<>Sold back to hinterland

4. Cod fishery • In the late 1400’s Europe needed a new food source • John Cabot introduced English to cod fisheries off the coast of Newfoundland • 2 methods: • Wet (green): fish brought onboard to be cleaned, filleted, heavily salted, then shipped back to Europe • Dry: fish taken to shore, cleaned, split, lightly salted, cleaned a few days later again, then dried This caused seasonal fishing villages to be built along Atlantic coast (eg. Newfoundland)

5. How does the cod fishery illustrate mercantilism at its most basic? • Fish exported solely for the benefit of the mother country • No incentive for local businesses to develop around that industry • No local infrastructure development by mother country in colonies (roads, agricultural settlements)

6. Fur trade • Jacques Cartier explored the interior of the continent via the St. Lawrence River • Through contact with native peoples, discovered the valuable staple commodity- furs • Required assistance of native people to get the furs; French used Hurons to get furs from the Innu (Montagnais) and Abenaki • French lived in fur-trading posts along the St. Lawrence River

7. Hudson’s Bay Company • English wanted to be part of the lucrative fur trade, but had not established settlement in the interior • 1610> Henry Hudson opened up the area around the Hudson Bay • 1670> a Royal charter created the Hudson’s Bay Company, giving it a monopoly over all fur trading in territories drained by rivers flowing into Hudson Bay

9. Map of drainage basin • www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/alphapro/ zmp/Maps/map3basins.gi • The charter gave the Company political and economic control over almost 8 million km² of territory • Much rivalry occurred between the French and English, until 1763

10. www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/ Buffalo/images/pf046995.jp

11. Early Hudson's Bay Company Buildings at Athabasca Landing, Provincial Archives of Alberta, Ernest Brown Collection, A3264.

12. www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/wa/ pierce/postcards/hudbay-s.jpg

13. Impact of the fur trade • Profits centralized in heartland (Europe) • Production of metal and cloth products exchanged for furs also centralized in heartland • Added to knowledge of N. American continent • Traders’ movements established beginnings of business interests and transportation infra structures • Initially beneficial to native peoples, but disease, increased warfare, displacement, loss of sense of identity occurred