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Post by bushfire on Oct 9, 2022 19:31:03 GMT -7
G'day all,
I just finished reading Fanny Kelly's book Narrative of my captivity among the Sioux Indians.
In it I belive she makes a reference to french traders at some point. Her captivity was during the Civil War.
It for me begs the question, how long were French speaking people common throughout the frontier? It stands to reason that some stayed beyond the F&I war. But I would have thought their language and to some extent culture would have assimilated into the more dominant english/American culture outside of areas in the heart of former New France.
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ewoaf
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Post by ewoaf on Oct 10, 2022 8:01:48 GMT -7
You do know that people still speak French in Quebec and Louisiana right?
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Post by paranger on Oct 10, 2022 8:28:13 GMT -7
As you suggest, many French traders stayed on after the fall of New France in 1760, later assimilating into the HBC and other fur trade companies well into the 19th c.
The trade was pretty well played out by the mid to late 1830s, as beaver became increasingly scarce, requiring traders to push into the Rockies and beyond, populated by an increasingly hostile native population. The market also dried up in Europe as fashions changed. Where did they go after that? I suspect there are many answers.
As Ewoaf suggests, there are still French cultural enclaves alive and well in North America. I have even heard it suggested that the Quebecois are linguistically more "French" than the French at this point.
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Post by bushfire on Oct 10, 2022 12:34:46 GMT -7
You do know that people still speak French in Quebec and Louisiana right? I do, that's what I meant by outside the heart of former New France. Although I deliberately ignored the Acadian/Cajuns being much further south. I probably didn't articulate myself very well though. I meant specifically through the west and into the Rockies. In those areas today we don't see too much french culture as far as I'm aware so I was just curious how long it hung on in parts of the USA out west. |
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Post by bushfire on Oct 10, 2022 12:36:57 GMT -7
As you suggest, many French traders stayed on after the fall of New France in 1760, later assimilating into the HBC and other fur trade companies well into the 19th c. The trade was pretty well played out by the mid to late 1830s, as beaver became increasingly scarce, requiring traders to push into the Rockies and beyond, populated by an increasingly hostile native population. The market also dried up in Europe as fashions changed. Where did they go after that? I suspect there are many answers. As Ewoaf suggests, there are still French cultural enclaves alive and well in North America. I have even heard it suggested that the Quebecois are linguistically more "French" than the French at this point. Thank you, I find the linguistic part of that Particularly fascinating. I did not know that. |
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ewoaf
City-dweller
Posts: 203
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Post by ewoaf on Oct 10, 2022 13:40:59 GMT -7
More like being assimilated into the Native cultures. Just off the top of my head I can think of common Lakota surnames... Primeaux, Peltier, Pourier... Charette from Little Shell and Crow, Morsette from Rocky Boy, Lebeau and Charboneaux from Ft Washakie, and up towards Browning the Bissonettes. I'm sure there are too many to list but these come to mind from personal aquaintances.
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Joe
City-dweller
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Post by Joe on Oct 10, 2022 19:59:13 GMT -7
Many Native American tribes spoke French. The French were long time fur trading partners and war allies. From Delaware to the upper Rockies.
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