furtrade

Fur trade refers to the historical exchange of animal furs, especially beaver pelts, for European goods in the early modern period. Beginning in the 16th century, durable beaver hats in Europe created a demand that spurred extensive trade networks across North America, Russia’s Arctic coast, and other regions. In North America, Indigenous peoples trapped beavers and other fur-bearing animals and supplied traders at fortified posts and inland routes via canoe and later steamship networks. European merchants and companies supplied goods—metal tools, firearms, textiles, and glass beads—in return for pelts.

Key centers included Rupert’s Land, the Hudson Bay drainage, and the Pacific Northwest. The Hudson’s Bay Company (established 1670) and the North West Company (founded 1779) dominated the North American fur trade for centuries, relying on networks of voyageurs and Indigenous and Métis middlemen. Forts and trading posts served as hubs for exchange and diplomacy, shaping alliances and territorial claims.

European demand, combined with fashion changes and overtrapping, led to declines in beaver populations in many areas, contributing to the decline of the trade by the late 19th century. The fur trade had lasting effects on Indigenous communities, economies, and landscapes, influencing settlement patterns, interethnic relations, and cultural exchange, while contributing to colonial expansion and, in some contexts, dispossession and ecological change.