Kashechewan

Near the mouth of the Albany River, Kashechewan lies in the low country of western James Bay. Its name preserves a Cree word for the strong current of the river, known to the Mushkegowuk before it acquired its English name. The river brought people and furs from inland hunting grounds to the coast, where the Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Albany in the late seventeenth century.

The fort became a prize in the rivalry between French and English traders. An expedition from Québec captured it in 1686, and the English recovered it in 1693. The Mushkegowuk continued to trade with the small numbers of company men at the posts along the bay, drawing on relationships and routes that long predated their arrival.