trade in France. The fur trade changed how First Nations
hunted. Communities often received guns in trade for fur.
Hunters could kill many more beavers with guns than with
bows and arrows. More beaver fur brought more goods
to the community. Soon, beavers and other mammals
became scarce.
The booming fur trade required New French colonists
to maintain good trade relationships with their aboriginal
neighbours. But the trade also created struggles for the
French and First Nations alike. By 1650 there were only 700
colonists in New France. Millions of aboriginal people had
lost their lives to European diseases.
In exchange for furs, French traders offered First Nations
communities European goods.
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