The Changing Forest Frontier

This flow follows the movement of the logging frontier from New France through the continent and into overseas forests.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

New France’s Forest

New France’s Forest The First Axes René Sel arrives among enormous forests and begins cutting for a French seigneur. Settlement Expands Clearings, gardens, roads, and farms push the forest away from Wobik.

Maine’s Mast Pines

Maine’s Mast Pines A Colonial Commodity Charles Duquet sees white pine as a resource for ships and a route to durable wealth. Competition Follows Timber claims attract loggers, merchants, Crown officials, and settlers, turning remote forests into contested property.

The Great Lakes Forests

The Great Lakes Forests A New Frontier Duke & Sons finds immense white pine in Michigan and rapidly purchases land for mills and lumber transport. A Repeatable Pattern The company treats the new forest as a replacement for eastern stands already cut down.

New Zealand’s Kauri

New Zealand’s Kauri Overseas Expansion The company’s interests reach New Zealand, where kauri offers valuable timber for construction and export. Ancient Trees Cut Lavinia’s decision to harvest the remaining stand extends the frontier across oceans.

The Tropical Frontier

The Tropical Frontier Global Extraction Breitsprecher-Duke joins international businesses seeking tropical hardwoods and raw materials. Charley’s Knowledge Reused His ecological notebooks become tools for the same plundering he had come to condemn.

1693, during the first clearing

Early eighteenth century

Mid-nineteenth century, after the Michigan reconnaissance

Late nineteenth century, after the company moves overseas

Twentieth century, during expansion into Brazil