SOC244H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Coureur Des Bois, Upper Class, Social Stratification
Document Summary
Before the european arrival, the first nations were political, social and cultural entities built around kinship. Patrilineal: they recognized descent and inheritance through the father"s line. Matrilineal: whereby descent and inheritance flowed through the mother"s line. Fur traders (coureurs de bois), constructed a frontier society while confronting many difficulties: extreme weather, conflict with the iroquois, and later on intermittent warfare against the english colonies for the control of the fur trade. Under the british, these colonies experienced a relatively faster urbanization, a more developed capitalist system and a more rapid industrialization than in quebec. Major towns emerged: halifax, york (toronto), kingston and fredericton. Social stratification: solidified along classes of merchants, professionals, artisans, farmers and labourers. The household was the centre around which resources, labour and consumption were balanced. British families in upper canada and the maritimes were nuclear ones built around english.
