Marriage à la façon du pays
Common law marriages between indigenous women and French fur traders in Canada / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Marriage à la façon du pays ([a la fa.sɔ̃ dy pɛ.i]; "according to the custom of the country") refers to the practice of common-law marriage between European fur traders and aboriginal or Métis women in the North American fur trade.[1]: 4 One historian, Sylvia Van Kirk, suggested these marriages were "the basis for a fur trade society".[2] The practice persisted from the early 17th century until the late 19th century. It has been suggested that it fell out of practice due to increasing pressures of Catholic ideology and a growing population of non-indigenous women including the new generation of "mixed-breed" daughters who eventually replaced their native mothers as fur traders' wives.[3] Rituals surrounding the marriages were based on a mix of European and, predominantly, Indigenous customs.
The presence of women in the factories (i.e. trading posts) of what is now Canada had been banned by the Hudson's Bay Company as early as 1683. Intermarriage was common from the start of the fur trade and by 1739 the company overturned its ban. The practice was both a social and a political institution, securing trade relations between Europeans and aboriginals, just as intermarriage between tribes was a political instrument of the aboriginals themselves.[4]
Women played several important roles in the Canadian fur trade. Indigenous women assisted with the survival and care of the fur traders who overwintered in North America. Europeans were less experienced with the vegetation, wildlife, and seasonal rhythms of North America, so they often relied heavily on the indigenous people for their survival. These marriages often came with the expectation that they would secure trade between the woman's relations and the trader and in times of need, would provide mutual aid. Sometimes, it may also have been the hope of the woman's family that the trader's generosity would increase after the marriage. The marriages between these two groups led to the creation of people referred to as Métis. One writer referred to them the offspring of the fur trade.[5]: 73 For the fur traders, indigenous women provided intimacy and companionship, as well as playing an economic role in the relationship by producing foods, including pemmican, and suitable winter clothing for the trader's survival.