fur

Fur huh? Who knew? Well it actually makes a lot of sense.  Fur served as many things but more importantly fur served as a form of trade.  Fur was actually a very important and highly demanded thing.  People needed fur for warmth and used as status.  Fur came from a number of different animals such as beavers, rabbits, sable, marten and deer.  As the weather became colder the demand went up.  As the ice age began fur was at an all time high in value.  The more fur that was used meant that the resources were lowering.  Some animals were nearly hunted to extinction because of it.  The bad conditions pushed the price of fur up, but for France the price quadrupled.  That actually served as strong economic incentive for Europeans to use up the wealth of fur and continue to get more of it from North America.

It was said that only a few Europeans actually trapped and hunted.  They waited for the Indians to bring the furs and skins to the settlements.  Later they set up trading posts that allowed for easier trade.  Europeans paid for furs with goods like guns, metal tools, rum and blankets.  It’s kind of sad but the Europeans used the Indians as a cheap labor force and were able to exploit them.

Many of the items the Europeans sold to the native Indians were of high value to the Indians, the chiefs used them as a status symbol and were able to form trades amongst themselves.  They built relationships with the Europeans that kept them from being enslaved and exterminated.  They used what they had, but although they had gifts and things of value disease still wiped them out.