Compare the Effects of the Fur Trade on Native Societies in North America, with the Effects of the Slave Trade on Native Societies in Africa

Between the years 1881 and 1914, African territory was being invaded by Europeans during the New Imperialism period. Before Europe’s invasion, Africa consisted of various tribes and had no central government due to this during the mid nineteenth century. Europe attempted to colonize Africa using harsh military force and resulted in the European Scramble for Africa. The European Scramble for Africa caused African leaders to have different reactions such as some wanting to have no conflicts, but peace, surrendering to the Europeans due to fear, and also attempting to fight back against the Europeans.

The fur trade became one of the main economic projects in North America attracting competition among the French, British, Spanish, and Russian settlers. Many Native American societies across the continent came to depend on the fur trade as their primary source of income and needed it to pay the insanely high taxes being set on them by settlers in their own community. There was a lot of competition

Throughout history, a common theme that can be seen is the stronger, acquisitive society preying on the weaker society for their own gain of land, people, materials, and more. The Atlantic Slave Trade had a profound effect on the way states were constructed and transformed in West Africa. Some societies became very powerful, militarized centralized societies, like Dahomey and Kongo, and others were decentralized societies, like Balanta and Igbo. Many scholars argue that the centralized societies targeted these decentralized societies and kidnapped people for the slave trade or for their own lineages, but this issue of strong and controlled preying on weak and dispersed is not as “black or white” as it may seem.

The Atlantic Slave Trade was a part of African history that had made one of it's biggest impact on Africa's relation with the world and more importantly on the inner workings of the country itself due to its large-scale involvement of many of the people in the continent. Although the slave trade was so long ago the impact can still be seen in Africa's social workings within the people, its economy in the local and global market, and within the political landscape of the countries.

With the introduction of new resources found desirable in the new environment by the colonists and new products imported from Europe, Native Americans were launched into a brand new world of commerce to keep up with the quick pace of the developments. The Europeans valued the fur of buffaloes while Native Americans soon “became dependent on the manufactured goods the fur trade brought them, and hunted to the meet the demands...rather than the needs of their families” (Page 15). Moreover, Native Americans previously used animals in religious rituals, but after European contact, animals became “regarded as a form of property” and “crucial components of Navajo and Pueblo economy” (Page 13). Accordingly, Native Americans engaged in trade with Europeans way more than they had with each other before the arrival, boosting the rate of economic activity in the New World. Adding on, many colonists emigrated to America in order to gain economic freedom which came with owning property. However, “Indian peoples generally regarded land as something to be shared and utilized...They soon learned that

From the 17th century until the 19th century, almost twelve million Africans were brought to the New World against their will to perform back-breaking labour under terrible conditions. The rationalizations and defences given for slavery and the slave trade were absurd and self-serving. Slavery was a truly barbaric, and those who think that they can control what another group of people eat, where they sleep, whether they are to live or die, or even whether they are to be bought or sold, are acting on a totally inhumane level.

Throughout time every society has had to address enduring themes with different results. One of these enduring themes is cultural diffusion and trade. This is particularly apparent during the 1500s When Europeans arrived in the new world. It is also apparent when slaves were brought to the New World during the Atlantic Slave Trade. Although cultural diffusion was negative in that it caused the death of many Native Americans overall cultural diffusion was positive in that it increased communication between the New World and the Old World and it brought new crops and raw materials to the Old World.

Long before European fur traders established their commerce on the North American continent, the fur trade had a long lucrative history that impacted native Americans and their modes of life. As a desirable and profitable good, fur was sought to “be the most valuable single item of trade.” Soon, a competitive market trade ground for fur emerged and the fur trade changed how Indian tribes adapted from their previous habitats: they were the primary manufacturers. Eric Wolf then discusses the consequences of the fur trade for different groups of Native American tribes both on the concepts of dependency and on the levels of how social economic relationships are changed. To support his claims, I will compare and contrast the experiences of the Abenaki

When the Europeans came to North America, they were not expecting anyone to have already inhabited there. When they first ran into the Native Americans some of them saw them as hostile savages while others used their knowledge of the land to their advantage. Those pioneers, traders, and other explorers learned how to navigate through the land and use their resources that the land provides in order to survive from the Native Americans. Other Europeans just say the Indians has taking up much valuable land. With the Europeans came the Columbia Exchange. This was the exchange of ideas, goods, diseases, food, and culture. With the exchange of goods, Indians were able to introduce the importance of fur skins and where seen as very valuable to the Europeans. Another important thing that trade brought was clothes because it was easier to sew than animal hide. The Indians would also trade goods for iron pots that lasted longer and farming tools that made it easier to grow

During the time the Spanish built a military post at St. Augustine while also wiping the French interlopers, there were fishing fleet activity involving the English and French, in Cape Cod. There, were also local Native Americans who decided to trade with the English and French, fur, in return for manufactured goods such as guns, cloth, and metal utensils. With this, trading became more well-known and accessible to the other English and French, thus becoming a daily activity for the Europeans and the Native Americans. However, as time passed, more animals with fur began to diminish, thus enacting the competition of fur against the English and French. Unlike the French who took up many of Canada’s land (home of many fur-bearing animals) and traded with the Natives there, the English trading took place in Newfoundland and on the Atlantic coast south of the French settlements. However, with the diminishing of fur-bearing animals, the French began to move further west in search of it. This then gave the French an advantage of exploring more of Canada and North America, while also building relationships with more Native

In addition to losing material such as ammunition and firearms that would have simplified their hunting and fishing methods, the Europeans imposed their beliefs and ways of life onto the natives. They imposed their religious beliefs on the Cree, gradually converting them to Christianity (Vance). Also, because of alcoholism and diseases unknown to the Cree, the people were left with no remedies to the illnesses, devastating the people in different ways. In addition to all that was brought from the Europeans through the fur trade, the introduction to different farming and hunting manners led them to alter their own way of life (Vance). The connection that was established between the Cree and the Europeans impacted where the Cree decided to live and even “how they exploited the resources on which the trade and their survival was founded” (Carlos, Lewis). This is important because it demonstrates how the fur trade altered the Cree’s lifestyle. This led to the Cree’s slowly forgetting how to hunt for their own food in their own ways. It becomes clear from the above, that the Cree culture and their traditional lifestyle started to slowly fade away and tat the European way of living introduce during the fur trade became more

The book is a rich description of the 17th and 18th century specifically focusing on the fur trade and the effects that it had upon both the indigenous populations and the colonizers

The fur trade began, as early 17th to 19th centuries; it was an important part of the political and economic development of North America. It offered a source of income and motivated searching of the continent that was significant to many early colonial industries. There were five countries involved in the Fur Trade in North America. These were England, Portugal, Holland, Spain and France. But by the late 17th century there were only France and England. As the market of beaver pelts in Europe grew, the fur trade became a more profitable trade than fishing and farming. The native peoples became involved in a global market because of the fur trade; they were the key to the development and continuation of the North America. According to R. M Maclver, the fur trade was a primary industry whose growth was a vital factor in the expansion of Canada. In 1578, when Europeans began navigating to Canada to explore and to fish, they found out that North American was a land that is rich in fur-bearing animals. North American became known of a new source of wealth because of the quality and quantity of beaver and other furs. This research paper studies the nature of the fur trade, the initiation of a cooperation between the English and French to the Aboriginal people, and the role of women in fur trade; the ecological ethnics, and how the fur trade affects and change the Native way of life. The ecological impact of the fur trade on the Aboriginal of North America demonstrates that the

The fur trade strengthen the relationship between Europeans and indigenous groups. Both groups learned to live with each and get along because the materials that were being traded were essentials to each group. Trade became important for native peoples because they were receiving better benefit from the materials that were being traded. They were trading their materials to get advance and modern materials that helped them a lot. Some positive aspects of trading were forming alliances, more food productivity, and advance technology. Some negative aspects were diseases and settlers taking over.

American Fur Company and the Fur trade itself is a sort of positive legacy with all its faults and shortcomings. It was in fact the main actor in the global industry with enormous geopolitical power. It marked the trails that were followed by the settlers. It is very true to say that American Fur Company and the Fur trades were the pathfinder of the civilization. “Civilization which was slowly mastering the opposition of nature and barbarism” the trading posts build by them were later appeared thriving towns and cities. They were the pioneers of many business models like capitalism applied in this modern world globally. The Fur business expanded because of the innovative and critical thinking of its owner. Even with all such advantages and