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Pierre Dugua de Mons
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Pierre Dugua de Mons

Pierre Dugua de Mons (or Du Gua de Monts), colonizer, explorer, trader (born c. 1558 in Royan, France; died 22 February 1628 near Fléac-sur-Seugne, France). Pierre Dugua de Mons oversaw the founding of Port Royal, in Acadia (present-day Annapolis Royal), and Quebec City, Quebec. These two places were the first successful French settlements in North America. At a time of significant religious tension in France, there were few people involved in that kingdom’s exploration and settlement of North America that better represent the social, political and religious context of the early 17th century. Both Samuel de Champlain and Mathieu Da Costa, who are better known from this period, were de Mons’s employees and acted under his direction. De Mons’s legacy has been overshadowed by Champlain in part because Champlain wrote extensively about his work, whereas de Mons did not. In addition, in some of Champlain’s writings he replaced de Mons with himself.

Black Fur Traders in Canada
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Black Fur Traders in Canada

The role of Black people within the history of the fur trade is rarely considered. Black people were rarely in a position to write their own stories, so often those stories went untold. This owes to a complex set of factors including racism and limited access to literacy. Black people are also not the focus of many historical documents. However, historians have identified several Black fur traders working in different roles, and even an entire family of Black fur traders who left their mark on history.

Joseph Lewis
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Joseph Lewis

Joseph Lewis, alias Levi Johnston, also Lewes and Louis, fur trader (born c. 1772–73 in Manchester, New Hampshire; died 1820 in Saskatchewan District). Joseph Lewis was a Black fur trader, originally from the United States, who participated in the fur industry’s early expansion into the Canadian Northwest in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He is one of very few Black people involved in the fur trade whose name was documented in existing texts. Joseph Lewis is further notable for being the first Black person in present-day Saskatchewan, as well as, in all likelihood, Alberta.

Simon McTavish
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Simon McTavish

Simon McTavish, fur-trade merchant (b in Stratherrick, Scot c 1750; d at Montréal 6 July 1804). He immigrated to North America at age 13, probably as an apprentice to a merchant. After engaging in the fur trade out of

Chloe Cooley
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Chloe Cooley

Chloe Cooley was one of hundreds of Black women enslaved in the French and British colonies that became Canada. Although little is known about Chloe Cooley, who was enslaved in Upper Canada, her struggles against her enslaver, Sergeant Adam Vrooman, precipitated the Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada of 1793. The Act was the first legislation in the British colonies to restrict the slave trade. (See also Black Enslavement in Canada.)

Click here for definitions of key terms used in this article.

Elizabeth Rummel
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Elizabeth Rummel

Baroness Elizabet von Rummel (anglicized as Elizabeth Rummel, also known as “Lizzie”), CM, mountain lodge proprietor, mountaineer (born 19 February 1897 in Munich, Germany; died 10 October 1980 in Canmore, AB.) After a privileged upbringing in Europe, Elizabeth Rummel and her family settled on a ranch in Alberta during the First World War. At age 41, Rummel struck out on her own, working at and managing lodges in the Rocky Mountains. In 1951, she opened her own mountain camp for tourists and climbers on Sunburst Lake, north of Mount Assiniboine. She was a renowned figure in the Rockies, known for sharing her love and knowledge of the area with guests from around the world. Rummel was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada for her work in the mountains.

Sir Gordon Drummond
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Sir Gordon Drummond

Sir Gordon Drummond, army officer, colonial administrator (born 27 September 1772 in Quebec; died 10 Oct 1854 in London). The first Canadian-born officer to command both the military and the civil government, Sir Gordon Drummond is best remembered for his conduct during the War of 1812.

Glenn Gould
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Glenn Gould

Glenn Herbert Gould (born Gold), pianist, broadcaster, writer, composer, conductor, organist (born 25 September 1932 in Toronto, ON; died 4 October 1982 in Toronto, ON).

Mathieu Da Costa
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Mathieu Da Costa

Mathieu Da Costa (depending on the language of the documents that mention his name, also known as “Mateus Da Costa,” “Mathieu de Coste,” “Matheus de Cost” and “een Swart genamd Matheu”), interpreter (dates and places of birth and death unknown). Da Costa is one of the most fascinating and elusive figures in the early history of Canada. Historians consider him the first Black person known to have visited Canada, probably in the company of Pierre Dugua de Mons and Samuel de Champlain). (See also Black Canadians; African Canadians.) But many aspects of his life remain unclear or unknown.

Fur Trade in Canada
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Fur Trade in Canada

The fur trade was a vast commercial enterprise across the wild, forested expanse of what is now Canada. It was at its peak for nearly 250 years, from the early 17th to the mid-19th centuries. It was sustained primarily by the trapping of beavers to satisfy the European demand for felt hats. The intensely competitive trade opened the continent to exploration and settlement. It financed missionary work, established social, economic and colonial relationships between Europeans and Indigenous people, and played a formative role in the creation and development of Canada.