Fur Trade History

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

Over time, the power that Native women held with in their tribe has unfortunately digressed. During the age of exploration Native women have played key roles in the western fur trade. Native women assisted the fur traders by being liaison between the Europeans and Natives. This role was fundamental in strengthening trade increasing the economic stability of the post. They acted as guides for the European traders who often found themselves in dangerous and unfamiliar territory. Finally, they provided an intimate relationship for the European traders, and played a pragmatic role as a domesticated wife. However in order to fully understand the magnitude of the

Aboriginal women had occupied an essential position in the fur trade of the North American region from its birth during the 17th and 18th centuries. Even though this is true, the role of women, especially those of the Native American society, has been ignored a great deal in the entire history of fur trade. Contrary to the belief that the whole fur trade activity was only male-dominated, it very much depended upon Native women and their participation and labor in order to ensure survival as well as economic success. This paper will attempt to illuminate how Native women played the role as important producers when it comes to fur trade of the American Plains and, of course, the Canadian region. This paper will also deal with the two

Fur trade between the French and Indians began with the exchange of small items the Indians didn’t have, though it became an important trade source for all of Europe, especially by Samuel de Champlain

Throughout the course of history there have been numerous accounts regarding Native American and European interaction. From first contact to Indian removal, the interaction was somewhat of a roller coaster ride, leading from times of peace to mini wars and rebellions staged by the Native American tribes. The first part of this essay will briefly discuss the pre-Columbian Indian civilizations in North America and provide simple awareness of their cultures, while the second part of this essay will explore all major Native American contact leading up to, and through, the American Revolution while emphasizing the impact of Spanish, French, and English explorers and colonies on Native American culture and vice versa. The third, and final, part of this essay will explore Native American interaction after the American Revolution with emphasis on westward expansion and the Jacksonian Era leading into Indian removal. Furthermore, this essay will attempt to provide insight into aspects of Native American/European interaction that are often ignored such as: gender relations between European men and Native American women, slavery and captivity of native peoples, trade between Native Americans and European colonists, and the effects of religion on Native American tribes.

When the first colonists landed in the territories of the new world, they encountered a people and a culture that no European before them had ever seen. As the first of the settlers attempted to survive in a truly foreign part of the world, their written accounts would soon become popular with those curious of this “new” world, and those who already lived and survived in this seemingly inhospitable environment, Native American Indian. Through these personal accounts, the Native Indian soon became cemented in the American narrative, playing an important role in much of the literature of the era. As one would expect though, the representation of the Native Americans and their relationship with European Americans varies in the written works of the people of the time, with the defining difference in these works being the motives behind the writing. These differences and similarities can be seen in two similar works from two rather different authors, John Smith, and Mary Rowlandson.

Michael L. Tate’s book Indians and Emigrants looks to the years on the Overland Trails from 1840-1870 and makes a seemingly bold statement. He refutes the old ideal of Indian and White relations and provides a persuasive scholarly work explaining that more often than not whites and Indians interacted peacefully and for each other’s benefit. The thirty years of widespread cooperation can be condensed into three practical realities of emigrant’s time on the Overland Trails. To start, the emigrant’s main goal was to make

To better understand the conflict between the Europeans and the Native Americans, one must closely examine the state of Europe’s economy at the time. Europe struggled with difficult conditions. This included poverty, violence and diseases like typhus, smallpox, influenza and measles. There were widespread famines which caused the prices of products to vary and made life very difficult in Europe. Street crimes and violence were prevalent in cities: “Other eruption of bizarre torture, murder, and ritual cannibalism were not uncommon”.2 Europeans

The stories regarding the Native Americans and European settlers all commence somewhat similar: the Natives welcome and help sustain the Europeans in the start. They become an instrumental piece to the European survival in the Americas. The relationship starts to change, however, as settlers grow independent. In some instances, when there is only personal gain to be acquired, the relationship becomes a simple trade relationship. In other instances, relationships between the Native Americans and Europeans evolve into a drastic feud driven by European imperialistic ideas to impose political, religious and cultural law on the Natives.

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

Often overlooked in Canadian history, for their role in the fur trade, are the First Nation women, who were key contributors to the expansion and success of fur trading. Many of the European fur traders upon arriving on Canadian soil ended up having sexual relationships with First Nation women; often leading to marriage. While such marriages were to be expected in remote locations there were additional incentives for the men since the marriage to First Nation women brought many other benefits to the fur traders: for example, women possessed a skill set and knowledge of the land which was unknown to the traders; the woman could act as a mediator and translator between the fur traders and the First Nations tribes; and in many cases the marriages enabled the expansion of their trading territories through new First Nations partners.

William Benemann, Men in Eden: William Drummond Steward and same-sex desire in the Rocky Mountain fur trade, Lincoln NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2012. pp.vii-343.

The new government wanted to keep peace with the Indians and used trade as its device. It was hoped that the interaction between the white settlers and Indians would create a dependence of the Indian for white goods and soothe the tensions of the white settlers through familiarity via social interaction. President George Washington proposed government regulated and operated trading houses. The Government Trading Act of April 18, 1796 was established for “carrying on a liberal trade with the

As stated by lambert and Clark “Fur trappers and companies worked within a region only so long as supplies remained abundant. Once the animals were depleted, the trappers and traders left,” (Lambert and Clark, 208). This quote showed that fur trappers would almost kill all fur bearing animals in an area and then leave to go do it again in another area. This left the Native Americans less fur bearing animals. This left the Indians less pelts to trade.

Cruella De Vil isn’t the only person who wears fur. The killing of animals for their fur is a common day thing, and is not only a disgusting act, but also unnecessary and people who purchase it is rightfully represented by a villain in Disney’s “101 Dalmations.” Cruella De Vil isn’t the only villain in the world who is violently killing animals in order to make supposedly luscious full length fur coats. However, she did have enough puppies to make a full length coat. Typically it takes around 100 animals to make said item. To keep up with the demand for fur coats, around 2 million cats, along with hundreds of thousands of dogs are killed in China. The animals contained on fur farms live in monstrous conditions, all leading up to