Contact with Europeans
Since the business of fur trading was very profitable, there were many explorers that traded with the Cree.The English explorer Henry Hudson explored the Hudson Bay and James Bay regions in the early seventeenth century. In 1611, a lone Cree man approached Hudson and his crew and upon receiving gifts of friendship he returned with furs for trade. The Cree man did not favour the bargain and eventually took his goods and left. Cree oral tradition narrates this encounter. According to the Cree, Hudson and his crew offered European clothing in exchange for the furs the Cree was wearing.
Pierre Esprit Radisson and Médard Chouart des Groseilliers were French explorers who sailed under both the French and English flags. They mapped regions of the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi Valley for the French. Radisson and Grossilliers learned from the Cree that the territory between Lake Superior and the Hudson Bay was rich in furs. Since the French government would not give them their support, Radisson and Groseilliers solicited the English crown for backing to explore this territory. The Nonsuch and the Eaglet sailed from London on June 3, 1668. A storm forced the damaged Eaglet to return to England, but the Nonsuch continued its voyage to James Bay, arriving there on September 29, 1668. They crew stayed there throughout the winter. Spring trade between the Cree and English crew was very profitable. When the Nonsuch returned to England the court of Charles II recognised the potential of Radisson and Grossilliers' proposal to trade in the Hudson Bay region. Charles II established a Royal Charter that claimed the territories and trading rights of the Hudson Bay region. English traders broke into established trade routes and alliances, and the fur trade became very profitable for England.
Pierre Esprit Radisson and Médard Chouart des Groseilliers were French explorers who sailed under both the French and English flags. They mapped regions of the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi Valley for the French. Radisson and Grossilliers learned from the Cree that the territory between Lake Superior and the Hudson Bay was rich in furs. Since the French government would not give them their support, Radisson and Groseilliers solicited the English crown for backing to explore this territory. The Nonsuch and the Eaglet sailed from London on June 3, 1668. A storm forced the damaged Eaglet to return to England, but the Nonsuch continued its voyage to James Bay, arriving there on September 29, 1668. They crew stayed there throughout the winter. Spring trade between the Cree and English crew was very profitable. When the Nonsuch returned to England the court of Charles II recognised the potential of Radisson and Grossilliers' proposal to trade in the Hudson Bay region. Charles II established a Royal Charter that claimed the territories and trading rights of the Hudson Bay region. English traders broke into established trade routes and alliances, and the fur trade became very profitable for England.