<P> A coureur des bois (French pronunciation: ​ (kuʁœʁ de bwa)) or coureur de bois (French pronunciation: ​ (kuʁœʁ də bwa), runner of the woods; plural: coureurs de bois) was an independent entrepreneurial French - Canadian trader who traveled in New France and the interior of North America . They ventured into unsettled areas (the woods) usually to trade with First Nations peoples: exchanging various European items for furs . Along the way they learned the trades and practices of the Native people . These expeditions were part of the beginning of the fur trade in the North American interior . Initially they traded for coat beaver but, as the market grew, coureurs de bois were trapping and trading prime beavers whose skins were to be felted in Europe . </P> <P> While the French had been trading and living among the natives since the earliest days of New France, coureurs des bois reached their apex during the second half of the 17th century . After 1681, the independent coureur des bois was gradually replaced by state - sponsored voyageurs, who were workers associated with licensed fur traders . They traveled extensively by canoe . Coureurs des bois lost their importance in the fur trade by the early 18th century . However, even while their numbers were dwindling, the coureur des bois developed as a symbol of the colony, creating a lasting myth that would continue to define New France for centuries . </P>

Who were the coureurs de bois and how did they contribute to the economic success of new france
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