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The two journals—“From York Factory to Buckingham House” and “From Buckingham House to the Rocky Mountains”—detail Fidler’s travels over a period of nine months. They include remarks on fur trade history, organization of the inland brigade, three distinct geographical regions, and the daily life of a Plains nation. Belyea’s introduction and ample notes provide insight into the way geographic, specifically cartographic, information was noted in the journals, with additional information on industry trading techniques, traders’ economic decisions, broad changes in regional social and economic conditions, and interactions with indigenous peoples.
Fidler’s journals are an exceptional record of the fur trade’s western expansion and the daily life of a Plains nation at the height of its power and prosperity. With its rich analysis of primary source documents and painstaking reproduction of historical trade routes, Peter Fidler: From York Factory to the Rocky Mountains will be of great value to students and scholars in the fields of fur trade studies, cartography, travel literature, and Canadian history, as well as general readers interested in westward expansion, exploration, commerce, and indigenous-colonial relations.
—William Lang, Portland State University
“Canadian history is essential to understanding transnational North American/Atlantic World phenomena like exploration, commerce, and Native-Euro/American relations. In the case of the fur trade, Canadian history is often better documented than the US-American experience, so historians of both nations can learn much from primary sources like Fidler’s. Kudos to Belyea for making this rich source accessible and intelligible.”
—Jared Orsi, Colorado State University
"An admirable addition to any North American historical geographer’s bookshelf. . . . Belyea serves as an exemplary guide to the unfamiliar world of an eighteenth- century surveyor navigating vast tracts of the Canadian interior."
—Historical Geography
"A valuable addition to the libraries of fur-trade scholars and aficionados."
—Roundup Magazine
“Peter Fidler’s journals are made accessible by Barbara Belyea’s painstaking work in assembling them into an edited collection. Belyea also provides an extensive introduction, contextualizing Fidler’s work in a world of advancing scientific knowledge, corporate and imperial rivalry, and the changing dynamics of Indigenous–newcomer relations in Rupert’s Land.”
—Imago Mundi
"Making primary documentation accessible is a difficult skill of which Belyea shows complete mastery. The depth of information makes this a compelling read for first-time readers of fur trade documents or seasoned researchers of HBC endeavours."
—British Journal of Canadian Studies