A Brief History Of The Fur Trade Part 2

 The 17th Century and The Opening of the North American Fur Trade

The Fur Trade in North America:   Fortunately, although perhaps not for the  American beaver, the depletion of European  beaver  populations coincided with the  establishment of European colonies in North  America.  England,  France, and the Netherlands  had all established  North American colonies by  the early-to-mid 17^th  century.  Although beaver populations could be found all  over North America,  beaver in the northern parts of  the continent contained the fuller coats that were more desirable in the fur trade.  As a result, French Canada, British holdings in the Hudson Bay, and the Dutch New Netherlands (later, the English colony of New York) played key roles in establishing the North American fur trade. Because there were no physical differences between the north American beaver (Castor canadensis) and the European beaver (Castor fiber), the American beaver was an easy substitute for the near-extinct European beaver. 

In North America, French, Dutch, and English, all found ways of working with Native Americans to expand their access to beaver sources.  Both the superior ecological familiarity, and well-developed hunting and trapping skill sets of native hunters were essential to providing a steady supply of beaver from North America. Within the colony itself, trade functioned as both an economic exchange and a means of establishing alliances between Europeans and their Native American neighbors.

The exchange of goods inhabited a realm that tied two cultures together economically, symbolically and politically.  An open market for European goods in the colonies, and the supply of raw material from the colonies to Europe, helped drive the colonial economy.  The introduction of steel tools and gun powder weaponry transformed indigenous American society.  The Europeans, on the other hand, heavily relied upon their Native American neighbors for access to American resources, such as the beaver.  


Along with textiles, cooking pots, and guns, the European item that proved to be most influential on indigenous populations was the spread of their diseases.  Bacterial isolation from the Eurasian continent rendered Native Americans' immune systems defenseless to common Europeans diseases such as small pox and chicken pox, the bubonic plague, influenza, malaria, diphtheria, as well as venereal diseases. The spread of disease precipitated the Great Dying and decimated indigenous populations across North and South America.

The political alliances and economic forces that resulted from this trade proved to have lasting environmental and social impacts on the land and peoples of North America.  Competition for access to beaver lead to warfare between nations, such as in the case of the Iroquois defeat of the Huron in 1649.  Similarly, indigenous-European alliances entangled native American populations in a number European affairs and conflicts, including Leisler's Rebellion, the Seven Years War (French and Indian War), and the American Revolution.

To be continued...

Feinstein, Kelly. Fashionable Felted Fur: The Beaver Hat in 17th Century English Society.