Jean-Bonaventure Rousseau
Jean-Bonaventure Rousseau was an influential fur trader in New France, and, after its capture by Great Britain, the Province of Canada. His father who also went by the given name Jean, had been a fur trader in the Ohio River valley. His son Jean Baptiste Rousseau started as a fur trader before becoming one of the most important merchants in Upper Canada. In the 1750s, French authorities destroyed some fortifications, including the Magasin Royal, Fort Toronto and Fort Rouillé during the Seven Years' War. Rousseau restored Fort Toronto, near the mouth of the Humber, to serve as a fur trading post, and delegated its operation to his son. After the British conquest of New France, Rousseau swore a loyalty oath and worked for the British as an interpreter, circa 1770. He subsequently received a license to trade fur around the Toronto area ''“and from thence to any markets or parts which he should find advantageous for the sale of his merchandise"''. This included the trade along ...
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Jean Baptiste Rousseau (fur Trader)
Jean Baptiste Rousseau was a fur trader, merchant, government official, and officer in the British Indian Department in Upper Canada. Jean Baptiste Rousseau was born in Montreal, New France. His father, Jean-Bonaventure Rousseau, was a fur trader, operating out of the area around Lake Ontario. Through his own work in the fur trade, Rousseau learned the languages of the local First Nations. In 1770 Rousseau's father was licensed to trade fur at the mouth of what is now known as the Humber River, a stopping place for First Nations people travelling from Lake Ontario to the upper lakes. Rousseau had strong ties with Joseph Brant, the influential Mohawk leader who had fought with the British during the American Revolution. His second wife, Margaret Clyne, was Brant's adopted daughter. Rousseau and his wife named one of their sons Joseph Brant. Rousseau would later purchase 12,000 acres of Mohawk land through Brant. John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper ...
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