The North West Company and the Development of Canada
The North West Company played a major role in Canada's development as a nation decades before Confederation.
In their quest for fur during the latter 1700s and early 1800s, the NWC explored a huge portion of the North American continent, linking the St. Lawrence to the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Today, many lakes and rivers in the north-west bear the names of Mackenzie, Pond, Fraser, Thompson, among others, clearly illustrating the ambition, energy and drive of the Nor'Westers.
The Rendezvous reflected the interdependent relationships of the various peoples involved in the fur trade, including the Scots, French Canadians and the aboriginals predominating. These groups paralleled the basic social divisions in the business: the merchant-traders, voyageur-labourers and the hunter-trappers.
