Episode 021: Eugene Tesdahl, Smuggling in Colonial America & Living History

by Liz CovartMarch 17, 2015

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Did you know that John Hancock was a smuggler?

Smuggling presented a large problem for the imperial governments of Great Britain and France during the colonial period.

Dr. Eugene Tesdahl, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, joins us to discuss the business of smuggling in colonial North America and his involvement with living history as a French and Indian War-era re-enactor.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Each episode features a conversation with an historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.

Episode Summary

In today’s episode, Dr. Eugene Tesdahl, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, joins us to discuss smuggling in colonial North America.

Gene uses the example of the infamous Albany-Montréal fur trade to reveal how Great Britain and France defined smuggling and why some colonists opted to conduct illegal trade; what types of goods the British colonists in Albany exchanged with the French colonists in Montréal; and the surprising role that Native and Euro-American women played in the illicit Albany-Montréal trade.

Additionally, Gene helps us explore the everyday lives of the colonists who lived in New France by taking us into the world of living history where Gene adopts the role of a French fur trader, or coureur de bois, Henri François Letannier.

What You’ll Discover

Information about Gene and how he found his passion for early American history
How Gene came to study the Albany-Montréal fur trade, 1700-1754
Why the fur traders of Albany looked to New France for furs
What smuggling is and how imperial governments defined the trade
How the British Navigation Acts facilitated and hindered the colonists’ ability to send raw materials back to their mother or father countries
What goods the Albany traders exchanged with the French fur traders for peltry
The role of women in the Albany-Montréal fur trade
The role Native American men and women played in the Albany-Montréal fur trade
How Gene tracked down the activities of early American smugglers in historical records
How long the Albany-Montréal trade operated and when it reached its height
The actions Great Britain and France took to stop the illegal trade
How Gene became interested in living history and how he found his historic character Henri François Letannier
How first-person historical interpretation fits in with the study of history
How Gene uses first-person historical interpretation in his classroom
Information about the role religion played in the lives of early American French fur traders
How early American French fur traders lived and what they ate
Information about the life expectancy for early American French fur traders
The types of work early American French fur traders engaged in
How Gene’s experiences with re-enactment/living history have helped him better understand the historical period he studies
How you can get involved in living history or historical re-enactment