Coureurs de bois, << koo RUR duh BWAH, >> were French-Canadian frontiersmen of the late 1600’s and the early 1700’s who made their living by trading for furs with First Nations people. First Nations is a designation used in Canada for Indigenous (native) peoples. This adventurous lifestyle attracted many young men who had become bored with farming. Coureurs de bois means runners of the woods.
By the 1680’s, the government of New France, the French empire in North America, was worried that too many men were trading furs instead of farming. Therefore, the government created a licensing system to control the number of colonists who became traders. But the coureurs de bois ignored this system. These adventurers learned indigenous languages and customs. As a result, the coureurs de bois provided a link between the First Nations and the French that helped cement an economic and political alliance against the English.
See also Fur trade ; New France .
