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(More customer reviews)So frequently, those who study history think they will not enjoy learning about western Canada's fur trade. Even amongst the folks who specialize in the subfields of the prairies, British North America or indigenous peoples, there often lies an assumption that whatever happened at posts, on the river highways, or in the bush, it will not be particularly compelling.
If any book will change skeptics' beliefs about the relevance of Aboriginal-newcomer relations, economic history or the North West, it is Professor Carolyn Podruchny's effort. When read, it will come as no surprise that _Making the Voyageur World_, Podruchny's very first book, was a finalist for "Best Book in Canadian History" (2007) as awarded by the Canadian Historical Association. For those of us interested in the subfields this work touches on, it contributes to history and historiography immensely.But -as important - Podruchny demonstrates she can preach to those considered very unconvertible. She will reach already-made history buffs and (well-formed) history-haters alike. A scholar could not hope for more.
Podruchny takes the reader on a historical trip to explore how the normative nature of 'voyage' should have a broad definition. Men who decided to be an explorer/trader/New France-representative traveled the land and rivers, but they also entered various circles which introduced different cultures, climates and concepts. Many of their own values were influenced by trade. Yet appreciating Canada's eighteenth and nineteenth centuries using monetary terms alone would be historically incomplete. To illustrate this view, Podruchny explains why someone would become a voyageur in the first place, what cosmologies voyageurs had, how their world-views evolved, how they socialized, how they made money and how they took care of other basic human functions. The roles of sexuality and entertainment in voyageurs' lives, for example, are two subjects Podruchny uses to reveal how journeys are not only measured by the number of miles traveled.
Today, many of those who write about indigenous peoples still underrate or completely ignore events in indigenous cultures' pasts which show the complicated nature of pre-contact trade, personal relationships, and politics. Podruchny confidently assumes that Aboriginals were active agents, and she provides examples all the time about why the rest of us should believe her. By also regularly interweaving remarks about other scholars into the main narrative, Podruchny easily discusses the "history of 'history'" without being boring or sentimental.
Podruchny's writing is punchy, and even funny at times. When she is metaphorical, she is never unbelievable. Like Carlo Ginzburg, she shows how we can notice some moments in the past and then use this information to deduce conclusions about other events previously considered inexplicable. Like the canoes she details in _Making the Voyageur World_, Podruchny takes her reader on a (historical) voyage which is (scholastically) water-tight, full of valuable material and just the right length. And like the voyageurs do, Podruchny entertains, adapts well to (research) conditions in order to achieve her purpose, and leaves us wanting to know more about Canada's pre-confederation times. Her voyageurs make it in the historic world. Podruchny makes it -and splendidly so- in our historical one.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Making the Voyageur World: Travelers and Traders in the North American Fur Trade (France Overseas: Studies in Empire and D)
French Canadian workers who paddled canoes, transported goods, and staffed the interior posts of the northern North American fur trade became popularly known as voyageurs. Scholars and public historians alike have cast them in the romantic role of rugged and merry heroes who paved the way for European civilization in the wild Northwest. Carolyn Podruchny looks beyond the stereotypes and reveals the contours of voyageurs' lives, world views, and values.
Making the Voyageur World shows that the voyageurs created distinct identities shaped by their French-Canadian peasant roots, the Aboriginal peoples they met in the Northwest, and the nature of their employment as indentured servants in diverse environments. Voyageurs' identities were also shaped by their constant travels and by their own masculine ideals that emphasized strength, endurance, and daring. Although voyageurs left few conventional traces of their own voices in the documentary record, an astonishing amount of information can be found in descriptions of them by their masters, explorers, and other travelers. By examining their lives in conjunction with the metaphor of the voyage, Podruchny not only reveals the everyday lives of her subjects—what they ate, their cosmology and rituals of celebration, their families, and, above all, their work—but also underscores their impact on the social and cultural landscape of North America.
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