La Prairie Fur Traders: 17th Century Glass Trade Beads

 

Mixed Trade Beads & HBC Beaver effigy pendant

Our La Prairie ancestors, like François Pinsonneau dit Lafleur and Charles Diel dit Le Petit Breton, who ventured into the fur trade (e.g., Outaouais country and Michilimackinac in the 1680s), would have carried and traded a variety of glass trade beads as key items in exchanges with Indigenous peoples (primarily Algonquian groups like the Ottawa/Outaouais, Huron-Wendat allies, and others in the Great Lakes region).

Beads were lightweight, durable, colorful, and highly valued for personal adornment, status symbols, spiritual significance, and even as a form of currency in some contexts. They were often imported from European glassmakers (especially Venice/Italy, but also France and the Netherlands) and shipped to New France via Montreal. French traders like our ancestors borrowed substantial credit (e.g., Charles Diel's 2,616 livres in 1684 merchandise) to stock these goods, which were bartered for furs, provisions, or alliances.

Common Types and Names of Trade Beads (Late 17th–Early 18th Centuries)

From archaeological finds at French sites (e.g., Fort Michilimackinac ~1680s–1760s, Fort St. Louis/Illinois Country, and La Prairie-area contexts), notary inventories, and fur trade records, the most prevalent beads included:

• Seed beads (also called "pound beads" or "small round beads"): Tiny, opaque or translucent glass beads (1–3 mm), often sold by weight in pounds or bunches. These were the most common and versatile—strung into necklaces, sewn onto clothing, or woven into sashes/belts. Colors: blue (especially turquoise or "sky blue," a staple in French trade for its appeal), white, black, red, and green. Blue beads dominated early French exchanges in the Illinois and Great Lakes regions.
• Tubular beads (drawn or cane beads): Longer, cylindrical shapes (3–10 mm or more), often in solid colors like white, blue, black, or red. Used for necklaces or hair adornment.
• White opaque ovals or round beads: Frequently mentioned in inventories; white symbolized peace or was used in wampum-like strands.
• Striped or spiral-striped beads: Multi-colored patterns (e.g., red/white spirals or blue/white), popular for visual appeal and status.
• Gooseberry beads (also "barley corn" or "mulberry/raspberry" beads): Small, faceted or rounded with a bumpy texture resembling fruit seeds; often green, blue, or white.
• Chevron beads (star or "star chevron"): Layered, multicolored with star-like patterns when cut; rarer but prized (more common later, but present in some 17th-century French sites).
• Mock garnets or red beads: Simulated gem-like reds for earrings or pendants.

Other varieties from period inventories (e.g., Hudson's Bay Company parallels, but similar French stocks) included:

• Long black beads
• Small white beads
• Barley corn beads (small, elongated)
• Roman beads (faceted or molded)
• Man in the Moon (decorative face motifs, rarer).

Wampum (shell beads, white/purple from quahog or whelk shells) was also traded or incorporated—Indigenous-made but sometimes exchanged with French goods. Early French traders occasionally dealt in shell beads alongside glass.

Colors and Cultural Notes

• Turquoise-blue and white were especially sought after in the 1670s–1700s French trade (e.g., La Salle's era and Michilimackinac posts), often preferred for spiritual or "spirit colors" associations.
• Beads were not just decorative; they held social value—used in mourning, diplomacy, or as gifts to build alliances.
• While cloth dominated trade volume (~60% in some ledgers), beads were high-value per weight, packing "a punch with color and sparkle" in canoes.

Our ancestors' 1680s–1700s era aligns with peak early French glass bead imports—mostly Venetian-style drawn beads before mass production shifts. Sites like Michilimackinac (key for Outaouais runs) yield thousands of these, confirming their ubiquity. 

The following photos are trade beads and trade silver from the author’s collection:

(above) Lewis & Clark, Millefiori, Padre & White Hearts (below) Padre, Russian Blues & White Hearts

(above) Lewis & Clark, white Dutch donuts & Padre beads (Below) Lewis and Clark, French Ambassador, red and black skunk and blue Padre beads

(above) Red Feather, Blue stripped & Padre Beads (below) Russian Blues. Green stripped, B&W skunk & false garnet beads. 

(above) 1757 Quaker peace medal with blue Padre beads (below)  22" Strand of large Chevron VENETIAN Trade Beads

(above) HBC trade silver beaver pendant (below) Yellow French Cross & white heart beads & replica NWC 1820 Token

(above & below) Red Vaseline and brass trade beads & HBC trade silver cross

(above) King Charles II (1660-1685), silver presentation medal c. 1683, obverse (below) reverse with Royal COA.

Happy trading.