Who were Médard Chouart Des Groselliers and Pierre Esprit Radisson?

• A. They were fur traders who built a trading post on Chequamegon Bay, and later created the Hudson Bay Company
• B. They were explorers who circumnavigated the globe
• C. They were missionaries among First Nations
• D. They were French soldiers in New France

Answer: (A)

The important idea is that these two were central figures in the early North American fur trade who helped set up the Hudson’s Bay Company. They worked as fur traders and established a trading post on Chequamegon Bay, a key site for exchanging beaver pelts with Indigenous communities and European traders. Their firsthand reports and lobbying in London spurred English investors to form a company dedicated to trading in Hudson Bay, which became the Hudson’s Bay Company and a major force in Canadian economic history. This is why the option describing them as fur traders who built a trading post and later helped create the Hudson Bay Company fits best. They were not explorers who circumnavigated the globe, nor missionaries among First Nations, nor French soldiers in New France.