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6. Economic Transformations

Fur in global commerce

furs joined silver, textiles, spices as major items of global commerce

important environmental impact

serious implications for the human societies that generated and consumed them

furs had long provided warmth and conveyed status in colder regions

integration of North America and northern Asia (Siberia) into larger world economy vastly increased their significance in global trade

Origins

by 1500, European population growth and agricultural expansion sharply diminished the supply of fur-bearing animals

beaver

rabbits

sable

marten

deer

much of early modern era witnessed Little Ice Age

period of cooling temperatures and harsh winters

may have increased demand for furs

pushed prices higher

strong economic incentives for European traders to tap the immense wealth fo fur-bearing animals in North America

Fur trade

highly competitive

French: St. Lawrence Valley, around Great Lakes, later along Mississippi River

British: Hudson Bay region

Dutch: Hudson River in New York

rivals for North American furs

southern British colonies: deerskins found market in England’s leather industry

only a few Europeans directly engaged in commercial hunting or trapping

usually waited for Native Americans to bring the furs or skins initially to their coastal settlements and later to their fortified trading posts in interior North America

Europeans paid for the furs with a variety of trade goods, with lots of ceremony, haggling, and ritualized gift-giving

guns

blankets

metal tools

rum

brandy

Native Americans were a cheap labor force but not directly coerced

enormous quantities of furs and deerskins found their way to Europe

considerably enhanced standard of living in cold climates

Environmental impact

consistent demand for beaver hats led to beavers’ near extinction in early 19th

degradation or loss of many wetland habitats

by 1760s: hunters in southeastern British colonies seriously diminished deer populations

Native Americans

not so much fur trade itself that decimated Native American societies

all that accompanied it

disease

dependence

guns

alchohol

growing encroachment of European colonial empires

Benefits

various benefits for those who hunted, trapped, processed, transported furs

Hurons (northern shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario in early 17th): annually exchanged some 20,000-30,000 pelts (mostly beaver) which strengthened their relationships with neighbors

enhanced authority of Huron chiefs by being gifts for followers

competition among Europeans ensured that Native American leaders could negotiate reasonable prices

important role in fur trade protected them for a time from extermination, enslavement, displacement like in Portuguese Brazil

some took advantage of new commercial economy

Iroquois

sold new products like ginseng root (medicine in China)

rented land to Europeans

worked for wages in various European enterprises

started to use currency when barter was ineffective

Drawbacks

not protected against diseases carried by Europeans

1630s and 1640s: about half of Hurons perished from influenza, smallpox, etc.

generated warfare

competition among Native American societies intensified

catastrophic population declines due to disease stimulated “mourning wars”

capture people who could be assimilated into much-diminished societies

French-British rivalry for North America (1664-1763) forced Native Americans to take sides, fight, die in European imperial conflicts

firearms made warfare more deadly than before

grew dependent on European trade goods

Algonquians

iron tools and cooking pots replaced stone, wood, bone

gunpowder weapons replaced bows

European textiles proved more attractive than traditional beaver/deerskin clothing

flint and steel was more effective than wooden drills

wide range of traditional crafts were lost

native peoples did not gain a corresponding ability to manufacture the new items

frequent loss of the customary restraint characterizing traditional hunting practices

due to enthusiasm for imported goods and continued European demands for furs and skins

depletion of many species

alchohol

especially rum and brandy, also whiskey (locally-produced grain-based alcohol)

no prior experience of alcohol, little time to adjust to its easy availability

followed with:

binge drinking

violence among young men

promiscuity

addiction

Gender

substantial number of native women married European traders

according to “custom of the country”: no sanction from civil or church authorities

eased difficulties of cross-cultural exchange

provided traders with guides, interpreters, negotiators

women sometimes left abandoned when husbands returned to Europe

fur trade enhanced position of men

hunting and trapping normally male occupation

women traditionally had economic power by creating stuff

food

clothing

utensils

decorations from hides and flesh

with fur trade, women spent more time processing furs for sale than making household items

household items could also be purchased from Europeans

women lost authority and prestige

women generated and controlled trade in wild rice and maple syrup

essential to livelihood of European traders

Russian Empire

became major source of furs for Western Europe, China, Ottoman Empire

profitability of furs was chief incentive for Russia’s expansion in 16th and 17th across Siberia

“soft gold” of fur-bearing animals was abundant

greatly enriched Russian state as well as private merchants, trappers, hunters

silver trade and fur trade intersected

Europeans paid for Russian furs largely with American gold and silver

consequences for native Siberians

similar to those in North America

disease

indigenous people became dependent on Russian goods

settler frontier encroached on native lands

species of fur-bearing mammals seriously depleted

also unique

no competition of nations

Russian authorities had tax or tribute

payable in furs

every able-bodied Siberian male between 18 and 50

took hostages from Siberian societies

death was an outcome if required furs did not come

large-scale presence of private Russian hunters and trappers

competed directly with Siberians

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