THE TIMBER TRADE IN THE

1800S

Timber• After 1812, England wanted more

timber from Canada.• Timber = wood / trees• Even after the war of 1812 England

continued to order timber from Canada • This made the timber trade /

industry grow within Canada

Timber• The timber trade had lots of effects on Canada• Timber became the most exported natural

resource less and less attention was given to the fur trade

• People invested ($$$) lots of money in the timber trade new companies, banks, etc.

• New places to work and new jobs!• Sawmills, lumber yards, etc.• Lumberjacks, raftsmen, etc.• More jobs more people moved to Canada to

work

Exported wood from the port of Quebec City to England

Logging• Logging means cutting

down trees and moving the trees

• Most of the time, logging happened in the winter

• It was easier to cut trees down when the sap was not moving in the trees

• Snow on the ground made it easy to drag the tress

Logging• In the late fall or early

winter, men would set up a camp in an area where there were enough trees to cut

• They would clear pathways to move the cut trees

• They would make sure supplies could be delivered as well

• The men spent several months in the camps

Logging

• Lots of men who were in good shape were needed for logging

• The men used timber axes to cut the trees down and the shape the trees into squares

• The men also used cross-cut saws to cut trees down

Logging• Usually, the cut tress

were ‘squared’• This means turning the

round tree into a square shape

• Oxen, horses and eventually trains were used to move the cut trees

Logging• Trees were put into a

river or stream to be moved from the logging camp to other places

• Trees were put into the water in spring

• The water was free from ice

• The men used the river to move the trees.

Logging• Most of the time the

tress were tied together• This was called a ‘raft’• Mean would stay on the

raft until it got to its destination

• Usually, the cut trees were put onto boats and sent to England

The Timber Trade 2 • The timber trade used technology in different ways• Sawmills, canals and railways were the most important• Sawmills cut the large logs quicker that cutting them by

hand• Canals are man made ‘rivers’ to help move the logs

quicker• Railways could move timber and other goods quicker

than water and could connect cities• Banks were also important they helped pay for

sawmills, canals and railways

Sawmills• Sawmills were built next to water

way with fast currents• They used the current to move a

blade that would cut the logs into squares or into boards.

• There were very small sawmills that would cut logs for towns close by

• There were also large sawmills that would cut lots of logs to ship elsewhere

• Men would place logs in a harness and the waterpower would move the blade to cut the logs

Canals• Canals are man made rivers• They are used for the timber trade

and for boats to travel into the continent

• Canals connect to natural rivers and lakes

• Canals were needed to make shipping faster

• This made the economy stronger• The first canals were close to Ottawa• The Rideau Canal is still in Ottawa

today.• It is used mainly for recreational

(fun) purposes.

Banks• Some of the first

‘established’ banks in Canada were started in Montreal

• The Bank of Montreal started in 1817

• Banks were ways for people to borrow money to start sawmills or build railways

CANAUX ET BANQUESCONCLUSION • 1791 – 1840 au Bas-Canada:• Importance: fourrure bois.• Stagnation ( ) agricole• Développement des transports

(canaux) et des banques.