A historical study of Fort Chipewyan—Alberta’s earliest European settlement and, after Fort William on Lake Superior, one of the pivotal centres of the North American fur trade. Known as the “Emporium of the North,” the fort also served as a key staging point for expeditions into the continent’s interior, hosting figures such as Alexander Mackenzie, John Franklin, George Back, and John Richardson during their travels. Drawing on a broad range of primary and secondary materials, Parker follows the evolution of the Fort Chipewyan trade from Peter Pond’s arrival in 1778 to 1835, when competition between the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company had ended and commercial control was consolidated. The work offers a detailed depiction of daily existence in a remote trading post during a formative era in Canadian history.
Notes adapted from publisher’s information on the rear cover.
