Chapter 8Heartland, Hinterland and the Staples Trade

Chapter 8 (p. 98 – 107)

Heartland, Hinterland and the Staple TradeWhat is a “staple”?A product that dominates an economy’s

exportsExamples in Canada

Fish (especially cod) Timber Trade Fur Trade (especially beaver) Natural gas and petroleum (today)

Staple Thesis (Dr. Harold Innis)

Page 99Harold Innis says that European

countries imported staples to enrich their homelands

The hinterland is affected by this tradeThere are three ways for staple-based

economies to develop

The Staples Thesis (3 ways to grow)

An economy is most successful when it expands into manufacturing and eventually manufacturing becomes more important (no longer a staple economy)

An economy is moderately successful when it is flexible and can shift from producing one staple to another based on market demands

An economy is unsuccessful when it relies on a staple and is unable to provide income (the staples trap)

Mercantilism and Staple Resources

MercantilismEconomic system when the nations of

Europe create colonies (hinterland) that will export staples and then buy manufactured goods from the mother country (homeland)

The strength of a colony’s ecomomy depends on the value of the staple in the mother country

Feeding Europe: the cod fishery

In the 1400’s food is scarce in EuropeCatholics are not supposed to eat meat

on Fridays and holy days, so fish is a good alternative

John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) discovers the Grand Banks in 1497

Soon, England, France, Portugal, Spain and Holland are fishing on the Banks

How to preserve fish

Wet method “wet” fishing or “green” fishing Fish is filleted, gutted, salted and stored in the

bowels of the fishing ship Dry method

The English lacked a ready supply of salt so they improvised

Fish taken ashore, filleted, gutted, cleaned, lightly salted and laid out on racks to dry in the sun

This method required workers and semi-permanent settlements (fishing stations)

Impact of the Cod Fishery

Northern cod fishery was the epitome of the staple trade in the mercantile system

Contributed very little to the early development of English or French colonies in North America

All profits were taken back to EuropeSea routes meant little need for roadsNo agricultural sector, food from Europe

Fur Trade: Fashion from the Hinterland

English focused on the cod fishery off Nova Scotia and Newfoundland

French focused on the fur trade, furs traded by First Nations along the St. Lawrence River

Fur is very, very, very profitableUnlike fishing, Europeans are forced to

rely on First Nations for their product

Beaver

Beaver is the most valuable Its inner fur is excellent for moulding and

styling fur hats (very fashionable) Europeans meet the demand First Nations realize the economic opportunity

of European demand Huron quickly position themselves as “middle-

men”, trading with other First Nations Fur trade creates conflict and chaos between

the French and Huron and other Aboriginals

The Hudson Bay Company, 1670

The English want their share of the fur trade, but the French control the St. Lawrence River Valley

The English claim the land where rivers drain into Hudson Bay

Royal Charter creates the HBC in 1670 English move into new lands in northern North

America, direct competition to French After fall of New France in 1763, the HBC controls the

entire fur trade In 1789 a new fur trading company (XYZ) forms in

Montreal, but after decades of fighting, they merge in 1821

Chapter 8 – What I need to know

What is an economic staple? Raw materials (natural product) such as fish, timber, wheat, fur or petroleum

What is a tariff? Taxes placed on imported goods

What is protectionism? The policy of taxing imported goods in order to encourage people to buy from within

their own country (because of increased price) What is reciprocity?

Free trade! No tariffs! The opposite of protectionism!

Canada’s Four Staple Economies The Cod Fishery (1497 until 1992) – because settlement is on the coast, Aboriginals

have little contact with Europeans (except the Beothuk) The Fur Trade (1534 until mid-1800s) -- because Europeans rarely hunt for furs

themselves, Aboriginals are greatly affected (changed lifestyle, coming to European towns, diseases, alcohol, religion, inter-tribal warfare, marginalization)

The Timber Trade (War of 1812 until present) – Britain had no tariffs on goods from her British North American colonies – Aboriginals were forced off their traditional lands, trees chopped down, turned into British warships and transport ships

The Wheat Trade (National Policy of 1878 until present) - for Aboriginals on the Prairies, their traditional hunting lands (buffalo) were fenced in, lost their way of life

Chapter 8 Assessment (20 pts)

1. What is a staple product? (2 pts)2. What is a tariff? (2 pts)3. What is reciprocity (reciprocal trade)? (2 pts)4. What is protectionism? (2 pts)5. What staples trade began in 1497 and ended in 1992? (2 pts)6. What staples industry attracted French and eventually English

investment in North American colonies? (2 pts)7. What staples trade was profitable during the War of 1812? (2 pts)8. What staples trade caused the “opening of the Prairies”? (2 pts)9. What was the impact of the following on Aboriginal Peoples during the

(4 pts): The cod fishery? The fur trade? The timber trade? The wheat trade?