Overview

The period prior to the exploration of the Canadian West by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye and his sons was full of turmoil between England and France. Often at war with one another, the competition to settle North America under their own flags became intense. England had many fur trading posts in Canada, and the French were eager for the profits of the fur trade as well. The French resolved to find a route from New France in eastern Canada to the fabled "Western Sea," thought to be an outlet to the Pacific Ocean, and to make their own mark by establishing a string of forts in the western Canadian wilderness. La Vérendrye's expeditions, though never reaching the...