BARTERING
(exchanging goods and services without using money)

Most of the settlers in a pioneer community used the barter system instead of money. A family would barter with the storekeeper when they did not have money to buy the things they needed. They traded some of the crops they grew or something they made, or they did odd jobs for things they needed.

The storekeeper wrote down what people bought and sold in a book. He would add up what people brought in and what was taken from his store. This is how he kept a record of what people owed or how much credit they had.

The local products that the people brought were exchanged for things they needed. Then the storekeeper sold these products to others or shipped the products for sale in larger centres.

The First Nations people also bartered furs, fish, meat, baskets and moccasins for goods they needed from the general store.

examples of a barter, debit and credit


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