Working the Waters

Kayla Rakes   

Response Paper

Harmon

            The Hudson Bay Company came to the Pacific Northwest to trade furs and conquer the land and the people. Yet without the Indian population these King George’s Men and Bostons would have found themselves helpless. But it is the Indians view of life that really helped the fur traders survive, without the idea that trade was not purely economical but is also social the Hudson Bay Company men would have had to find someplace else to settle.

            Indians expected to be treated certain ways that they were used to when trading with other tribes, without these gestures Indians were less likely to trade. As Harmon explains Indians did not work under a capitalist system but instead they viewed trading as a social significance. He states, “Acquiring precious items was desirable primarily because the items represented desirable personal relationships and afforded the means to establish more such relationships.” (pg. 27).  Relationships were more important to Indians than material items because through relationships Indians could come in contact with others spirits and use that spirit to his advantage. Indians believed, “every one of a man’s characteristics, his appearance, his skills, his abilities, was dependent upon the nature of the supernatural he had obtained.” (pg. 33).

            Because of these differences in views of life that the Indians held from the King George’s Men and the Bostons, they were willing to trade not only pelts but services because they thought the it was a open opportunity to gain a higher social status within their community ultimately leading to their personal success and the success of the Hudson Bay Company.