voyageursとは 意味・読み方・使い方

The Voyageurs were the persons who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word which literally translates to "traveler". This article covers the emblematic meaning of the term which applies to places (Canada and the upper Midwest of the US) and times (zenith in the 18th and early 19th centuries) where transportation was for longer distances, and this major and challenging task of the fur trading business was done by canoe and largely by French Canadians. The term in its fur trade context applied to a lesser extent to other fur trade activities (such as trading and soldiering), those in the fur trade industry that traveled by dog sled, practice in other areas (such as in other parts of the US) and to the individuals who practiced it even when they were not doing so, and even to individuals engaged in wilderness exploration whose involvement in fur trade was secondary to that. The emblematic meaning at the time also included being a part of a licensed, organized effort, a distinction that sets them apart from the Coureur des bois engaged in the fur trade at that time.