Exchanges and Hybridities: Red Leggings and Rubbaboos in the Fur Trade, 1600s-1800s

In the North American fur trade, food and clothing were among the most frequently exchanged material, serving both as necessities of life and expressions of identity. Not only were materials exchanged but new fashions and tastes developed among fur traders and First Nations across North America from...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Laxer, Daniel R.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Material Culture Review / Revue de la culture matérielle 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/25621
Description
Summary:In the North American fur trade, food and clothing were among the most frequently exchanged material, serving both as necessities of life and expressions of identity. Not only were materials exchanged but new fashions and tastes developed among fur traders and First Nations across North America from the 1600s to the early 1800s. This article examines these two realms of material culture through the link of sensory history, suggesting that they were central to the experiences of the fur trade and indicate patterns of cultural exchange and reciprocity. Dress and diet were key signposts of identity and markers of difference, yet patterns of material exchanges during the expansion of the North American fur trade produced hybrid styles in both clothing and food that were geographically widespread. Examining material culture through a sensory history approach reveals new understandings of the adaptations that shaped the fur trade. À l’époque de la traite des fourrures en Amérique du Nord, les objets matériels les plus fréquemment échangés étaient la nourriture et les vêtements, qui servaient autant aux nécessités de la vie qu’à exprimer une identité. Non seulement ces objets étaient-ils échangés, mais de nouvelles modes et de nouveaux goûts se sont répandus chez les traiteurs de fourrures et les gens des Premières nations à travers l’Amérique du Nord, depuis le XVIIe siècle jusqu’au début du XIXe siècle. Cet article examine ces deux domaines de la culture matérielle au prisme de l’histoire sensorielle, montrant qu’ils étaient essentiels à l’expérience de la traite des fourrures et indiquant des schémas d’échanges culturels et de réciprocité. La coutume vestimentaire et le régime alimentaire étaient des signaux identitaires et des marqueurs de différence, et cependant les schémas d’échanges matériels au cours de l’expansion de la traite des fourrures nord-américaine ont produit des styles hybrides d’habillement et de nourriture qui ont connu une grande extension géographique. Approcher la culture matérielle au moyen ...