Navigating through time
New "Fur Trade" web site launched at McGill
Travelling back in time to the days of Canada聮s fur trade is now a simple matter, thanks to a newly launched at 香蕉视频.
The unusual web site -- dubbed "In Pursuit of Adventure: The Fur Trade in Canada and the North West Company" -- was created with the support of public and private sources to document the exploits of Canada聮s fur traders. Illustrated with maps and images, the site examines the impacts the fur trade had on the economic, geographic and political history of Canada and Quebec of the 18th and 19th centuries. It聮s designed to appeal to students, public and researchers.
One of the highlights included on the McGill site are thirty-eight manuscripts of patrimonial importance, known as the Masson Papers, written by partners of the North West Company between 1790 and 1820. The inclusion of the transcripts as an on-line resource marks the first time the Masson Papers are available through a full-text database. What聮s more, the transcription team has painstakingly produced a critical new edition of the Masson Papers that should be of particular significance to researchers. The site also features a history of the North West Company and its eventual assimilation by the Hudson聮s Bay Company in 1821, as well as online tools including: a chronology, a glossary, a selected bibliography and a list of related web sites.
The site聮s launch was made possible through the intellectual partnership of the McCord Museum of Canadian History and the David Stewart Museum; the technical collaboration of IroSoft; and the financial support of the CMPP, or Canadian Millennium Partnership Program ($62,501), Fonds de l聮autoroute de l聮information du Conseil du Tr茅sor ($85,000) and the Hudson聮s Bay History Foundation ($10,000).
Journalists are welcome to attend the web site聮s official launch, and to meet its creators, on January 26, 11:30 am, at the fourth-floor Nobbs Room of the Redpath Library (3459 McTavish St.). Please note the Honourable Herb Gray, Canada聮s Deputy Prime Minister, and Mr David Cliche, Quebec minister for the Information Highway and Government Services, will be present at the event.
"This new web site will be a valuable resource for those wishing to learn about the fur trade in Canada and the role it played on the development of our country," says the Honourable Herb Gray, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister responsible for the Government of Canada聮s millennium initiative. "The Government of Canada is proud to support Fur Trade in Canada web site with a partial financial contribution of up to a maximum of $62,501 through the Canada Millennium Partnership Program."
For his part, the Quebec Minister for the Information Highway and Government Services, David Cliche, says McGill聮s new web site, "is a good example of the numerous on-line projects funded by the Quebec government聮s Fonds de l聮autoroute de l聮information; a ministry created to support and promote the province聮s heritage, history and culture."
"At the cusp of the third millennium," says Frances Groen, director of McGill Libraries, "we believe this new web site and digital initiative are a great way to celebrate the heroic achievements of those who, through the fur trade, helped build our country."
