Thesis
Trapped in the fur trade: debt bondage in the Rocky Mountains 1822-1827
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2013
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/102251
Abstract
The Canadian fur trade began in earnest in 1824 with Alexander Ross of Hudson's Bay Company leading an expedition to the Snake River Country. At the same time in nearly the same place, employees of St. Louis's Ashley & Henry Company began trapping in the Green River Valley. Employees of both companies entered the field expecting to earn wages that competed with other industries. However, the reality for the vast majority of trappers was a life of deprivation, hardship and debt. This thesis relies on primary source material to examine the employment conditions of these men in this place and time. Why they chose fur trapping as a career, and the culture of the Hudson's Bay Company and Ashley & Henry Company are the subjects of the first chapter. Chapter Two considers the methods through which employees became indebted. This thesis concludes with an investigation of the methods employees used to deal with their debts, particularly negotiation, desertion, and acceptance of a life in debt.
Metrics
6 File views/ downloads
24 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Trapped in the fur trade
- Creators
- Kristopher M. Skelton
- Contributors
- Robert R. McCoy (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- History, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900525134101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis