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195-768: Chilkat Inlet was frequently visited by maritime fur traders from at least 1800. The Atahualpa visited in 1801 and its log mentions an earlier trading visit by an unidentified ship. These traders spelled Chilkat variously, such as Chilcart and Chilkark. In April 1811 the American maritime fur trader Samuel Hill , captain of Otter , battled the Chilkat Tlingit in Chilkat Inlet. Two of Hill's crew were killed, including his second mate and journal keeper Richard Kemp, and his boatswain . Six more were wounded. According to Captain Hill,

390-474: A series of mission stations along the coast. Spanish exploration voyages to the far north were launched in 1774, 1775, and 1779. In 1784, the center of Russian activity shifted east to Kodiak Island and hunting operations were extended into Cook Inlet . The two empires seemed destined to clash, but before direct Russian-Spanish contact was made new powers appeared on the Northwest Coast—Britain and

585-509: A ceremony was held to thank the bear for "giving" up its life to them. One study of the Ojibwe women who married French fur traders maintained that the majority of the brides were "exceptional" women with "unusual ambitions, influenced by dreams and visions—like the women who become hunters, traders, healers and warriors in Ruth Landes 's account of Ojibwe women". Out of these relationships emerged

780-556: A coasting voyage before departing. The first London ship to do this was the schooner Cadboro , in 1827. However, its voyage did not get beyond the Strait of Georgia and only 2 sea otter and 28 land otter and beaver skins were acquired. In 1828 the HBC decided to deploy three ships for the coast trade, but setbacks caused delays. The William and Ann was lost in 1829, and the Isabella in 1830, both at

975-522: A dispute arose between Colnett and Martínez, leading to the seizure of several British ships and the arrest of their crews. This incident led to the Nootka Crisis, an international crisis between Britain and Spain. War was averted with the first Nootka Convention of 1790. American traders were largely influenced by an unauthorized report published by John Ledyard in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1783. By

1170-881: A few key ports of call and stayed longer. Eventually, acquiring enough furs for the China trade in a single year was no longer possible. Some traders wintered in Hawaii, returning to the coast in the spring, but many wintered on the North West Coast, usually in one of the key trading harbors. These harbors included "Clemencitty" on Tongass Island , today called Port Tongass; the several " Kaigani " harbors on south Dall Island north of Cape Muzon , including American Bay and Datzkoo Harbor (known as Taddiskey or Tattasco); " Nahwitti " or "Newhitty" on northern Vancouver Island ; and "Tongass" in Clarence Strait , today called Tamgas Harbor, which

1365-549: A fierce rivalry grow between France and Great Britain as each European power struggled to expand their fur-trading territories. The two imperial powers and their native allies competed in conflicts that culminated in the French and Indian War , a part of the Seven Years' War in Europe. The 1659–1660 voyage of French traders Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard Chouart des Groseilliers into

1560-471: A gap between demand and supply and to a higher equilibrium in terms of supply. Data from the trading posts show that the supply of beavers from the Aboriginals was price-elastic and therefore traders responded with increased harvests as prices rose. The harvests were further increased due to the fact that no tribe had an absolute monopoly near any trade and most of them were competing against each other to derive

1755-484: A gourmet delicacy in China. American traders began acquiring Fijian bêche-de-mer in 1804 and trepanging boomed there. Bêche-de-mer became Fiji's leading export by 1830. Depletion led to a decline and the end of the trade by 1850. Trepanging was also done from 1812 in Hawaii and from 1814 in the Marquesas. Other side trades included Chilean copper from Valparaíso , scrimshaw (whale teeth), tortoise shells and meat from

1950-530: A growing trade in the French and later British territories in the 17th century. The transition from a seasonal coastal trade into a permanent interior fur trade was formally marked with the foundation of Quebec on the Saint Lawrence River in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain , officially establishing the settlement of New France . This settlement marked the beginning of the westward movement of French traders from

2145-453: A hunt should occur, particularly prohibitions against needless killing of deer. There are specific taboos against taking the skins of unhealthy deer. But the arrival of the lucrative, European deerskin trade prompted some hunters to abandon tradition and act past the point of restraint they had operated under before. The hunting economy collapsed because of the scarcity of deer as they were over-hunted and lost their lands to white settlers. As

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2340-521: A lease of the southeastern sector of what is now the Alaska Panhandle, as far north as 56° 30' north latitude. American traders developed the "Golden Round" trade route around the world. Ships sailed from Boston to the Pacific via Cape Horn , then to the North West Coast, arriving in the spring or early summer. They would spend the summer and early autumn fur trading on the coast, mainly between Sitka and

2535-559: A location in the Haines Borough, Alaska is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Maritime fur trade The maritime fur trade , a ship-based fur trade system, focused largely on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska . Entrepreneurs also exploited fur-bearing skins from the wider Pacific (from, for example,

2730-491: A major challenge even after they became experienced with the coast's geography and indigenous peoples. The American system not only raised the price of furs but also lowered the value of trade goods. Furthermore, the indigenous people knew that increased competition served their interests and gave them bargaining power. They had no desire to see the Americans abandon the coast trade. Therefore, the HBC had to not just match but exceed

2925-554: A permanent fur-trading post at Nootka Sound. However, Spain had also decided to permanently occupy Nootka Sound and assert sovereignty on the North West Coast. The decision was mostly due to Russian activity in Alaska and Russia's threat to occupy Nootka Sound themselves. Spanish naval officer Esteban José Martínez arrived at Nootka in May 1789 and built Fort San Miguel . When the Argonaut arrived,

3120-705: A profitable beaver fur trade with China. Due to the East India Company's (EIC) control over British trading in Canton the NWC turned to American shipping companies. Starting in 1792 the NWC had beaver furs shipped to China by American firms. After the acquisition of Fort George (Astoria) in 1815 the NWC began to supply the Columbia District by sea through the Boston-based firm of Perkins and Company. After arriving at Fort George

3315-502: A series of small fortifications, beginning with Fort Frontenac on Lake Ontario in 1673. Together with the construction of Le Griffon in 1679, the first full-sized sailing ship on the Great Lakes, the forts opened the upper Great Lakes to French navigation. More native groups learned about European wares and became trading middlemen, most notably the Ottawa . The competitive impact of

3510-663: A significant effect on the social behavior of Native Americans. Under the influence of rum, the younger generation did not obey the elders of the tribe and became involved with more skirmishes with other tribes and white settlers. Rum also disrupted the amount of time the younger generation of males spent on labor. Alcohol was one of the goods provided on credit, and led to a debt trap for many Native Americans. Native Americans did not know how to distill alcohol and thus were driven to trade for it. Native Americans had become dependent on manufactured goods such as guns and domesticated animals, and lost much of their traditional practices. With

3705-528: A time when their pelts became fashionable in Imperial Chinese high society. Fashionable popularity fed the market demand for sea-otter pelts in China, Europe and America, and played a role in entrepreneurs hunting the species to the point of disappearance. A " COSEWIC reassessment in May 2022 resulted in a conservation status of Special Concern" for sea otters in Canada. Sea otter distribution extends from

3900-619: A very high profit." He concluded that the American traders made more money from selling slaves, rum, and gunpowder than they did from fur trading. The Chinese sought this mammal's fur due to its great commercial value and its 'prime coat' all year long. The pelt was used by the wealthy Chinese as clothing decoration (robe trimming) and the Russians used it as an ornamental piece. The other furs that were sent to Europe and America were changed to 'coat collars or hats'. Due to this great demand and worth of

4095-401: A very slow return. The first revenues from fur sales in Europe did not arrive until four or more years after the initial investment. These economic factors concentrated the fur trade in the hands of a few large Montreal merchants who had available capital. This trend expanded in the 18th century and reached its zenith with the great fur-trading companies of the 19th century. Competition between

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4290-661: A woman from one of these kinship networks would make a fur trader into a member of these networks, thereby ensuring that Indians belonging to whatever clan the trader had married into were more likely to deal only with him. Furthermore, the fur traders discovered that the Indians were more likely to share food, especially during the hard months of winter, to those fur traders who were regarded as part of their communities. One fur trader who married an 18-year old Ojibwe girl describes in his diary his "secret satisfaction at being compelled to marry for my safety". The converse of such marriages

4485-498: Is a lack of critical discussion on other factors such as beaver population dynamics, the number of animals harvested, nature of property rights, prices, role of the English and the French in the matter. The primary effect of increased French competition was that the English raised the prices they paid to the Aboriginals to harvest fur. The result of this was greater incentive for Aboriginals to increase harvests. Increased price will lead to

4680-417: Is likely that the women were in fact acting with the approval of their menfolk. Henry claims that he had left at once out of the fear of violence from jealous Ojibwe men, but it seemed more likely that he was afraid that his French-Canadian voyageurs might enjoy themselves too much with the Ojibwe women at this one village and would not want to travel further west. American historian Bruce White describes

4875-552: Is no doubt, however, that Meares had the sloop North West America built in Nootka Sound, the first nonindigenous vessel built in the Pacific Northwest. Meares and others organized another expedition the following year. A number of vessels sailed to Nootka Sound, including Argonaut under James Colnett , Princess Royal , under Thomas Hudson, and Iphigenia Nubiana and North West America . Colnett intended to establish

5070-580: Is now southern Ontario being bordered on three sides by Lake Ontario , Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay , and it was through Wendake that the Ojibwe and Cree who lived further north traded with the French. In 1649, the Iroquois made a series of raids into Wendake that were intended to destroy the Wendat as a people with thousands of Wendat taken to be adopted by Iroquois families with the rest being killed. The war against

5265-491: Is very complex — a "labyrinth of waters", according to George Simpson — with thousands of islands, numerous straits and fjords , and a mountainous, rocky, and often very steep shoreline. Navigational hazards included persistent rain, high winds, thick fogs , strong currents , and tides , and hidden rocks. Wind patterns were often contrary, variable, and baffling, especially within the coastal straits and archipelagoes , which makes sailing dangerous. Early explorations before

5460-554: The Métis people whose culture was a fusion of French and Indian elements. Indian men were the trappers who killed the animals for their furs, but normally it was the women who were in charge of the furs that their menfolk had collected, making women into important players in the fur trade. Indian women normally harvested the rice and made the maple sugar that were such important parts of the traders' diets, for which they were usually paid with alcohol. Henry mentions how at one Ojibwe village,

5655-557: The 51st parallel , the Russian colonies in America were forced to ignore the ban and engage in smuggling. On the Northwest Coast itself the fur trade was supplemented with slave trading . The pre-existing indigenous slave trade was enlarged and expanded upon by fur traders, especially the American traders. While working the coast for furs, traders would purchase slaves around the mouth of

5850-484: The Aleutian chain . By the 1760s, they were regularly sailing to Kodiak Island. Notable Russian traders in the early years of the trade include Nikifor Trapeznikov (who financed and participated in 10 voyages between 1743 and 1768), Maksimovich Solov'ev, Stepan Glotov, and Grigory Shelikhov . As traders sailed farther east, the voyages became longer and more expensive. Smaller enterprises were merged into larger ones. During

6045-588: The Central Plains . While some historians dispute the claims that the competition was predominantly responsible for over-exploitation of stocks, others have used empirical analysis to emphasize the changing economic incentives for Indigenous hunters and role of the Europeans in the matter. Calvin Martin holds that there was a breakdown of the relationship between man and animal among some Indigenous hunters who, adapting to

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6240-566: The Columbia Bar . The HBC's shipping was inadequate for the coast trade until the middle 1830s. In 1835 two ships were added to the HBC's coast fleet. One of them, the Beaver , was a steamship , and it proved extremely useful in the variable winds, strong currents, and long narrow inlets. To strengthen its coast trade the Hudson's Bay Company built a series of fortified trading posts, the first of which

6435-772: The Columbia District . Starting in 1811 the American Pacific Fur Company (PFC) challenged the NWC in the Pacific Northwest, but during the War of 1812 the PFC, at risk of being captured by the British Navy, sold its entire operation to the NWC. The PFC had built Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River. Under the NWC it was renamed Fort George, and became the Columbia District's Pacific seaport. The NWC sought to establish

6630-550: The Columbia River and in the Strait of Juan de Fuca , then sell or trade them on the northern coast. Few traders admitted to slaving, although some wrote about it in detail. Further information comes from sources such as reports by HBC officers. Aemelius Simpson of the Hudson's Bay Company wrote in 1828 that American traders on coast trafficked in slaves, "purchasing them at a cheap rate from one tribe and disposing of them to others at

6825-487: The Columbia River by Robert Gray . George Dixon explored the Dixon Entrance and was the first to realize that Haida Gwaii was not part of the mainland. Russian maritime fur trading in the northern Pacific began after the exploration voyages of Vitus Bering and Aleksei Chirikov in 1741 and 1742. Their voyages demonstrated that Asia and North America were not connected but that sea voyages were feasible, and that

7020-697: The Compagnie des Cent-Associés went bankrupt, New France was taken over by the French Crown. King Louis XIV wanted his new Crown colony to turn a profit and dispatched the Carignan-Salières Regiment to defend it. In 1666, the Carignan-Salières Regiment made a devastating raid upon Kanienkeh, which led the Five Nations to sue for peace in 1667. The era from roughly 1660 through 1763 saw

7215-475: The Company of Habitants in the 1640s and 1650s, permitting a small group of investors within Canada an initial hold on the monopoly but then quickly pulling back and limiting trading and investment within the colony. While the monopolies dominated the trade, their charters also required payment of annual returns to the national government, military expenditures, and expectations that they would encourage settlement for

7410-462: The Dakota , who were the enemies of the Ojibwe at the time. Likewise, the fur trader Alexander Henry in visiting an Ojibwe village in what is now Manitoba in 1775 described the "facility with which the women abandoned themselves to my Canadiens " to such an extent that he believed it would cause violence as the Ojibwe men would become jealous, causing him to order his party to leave at once, though it

7605-638: The French Revolutionary Wars diminished Britain's available manpower and investment capital. The country also concentrated its foreign trade activities in India. British maritime fur traders were hindered by the East India Company (EIC) and South Sea Company (SSC). Although the SSC was moribund by the late 18th century, it had been granted the exclusive right to British trade on the entire western coast of

7800-589: The Galápagos Islands , sugar from Manila , and, from Java , areca nuts (so-called betel nuts) and coffee beans . Sealing boomed in the Juan Fernández Islands and the Juan Fernández fur seal was rapidly exploited to near-extinction. The northern fur seal rookeries were controlled by Russia, so Americans acquired northern fur seal skins through trade rather than sealing. Another side trade

7995-708: The Grand Banks of the North Atlantic in the 16th century. The new preservation technique of drying fish allowed the mainly Basque fishermen to fish near the Newfoundland coast and transport fish back to Europe for sale. The fishermen sought suitable harbors with ample lumber to dry large quantities of cod. This generated their earliest contact with local Indigenous peoples, with whom the fisherman began simple trading. The fishermen traded metal items for beaver robes made of sewn-together, native-tanned beaver pelts. They used

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8190-686: The Juan Fernández fur seal ) and from the Southern Ocean . The trade mostly serviced the market in Qing China , which imported furs and exported tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese goods, which were then sold in Europe and in the United States. The maritime fur trade was pioneered by the Russians, veterans of the Eurasian fur trade . Against the background of the Siberian fur trade , Russians reached

8385-504: The Panic of 1825 . Tea prices plummeted and the China trade's volume collapsed by about a third. By this time, the old maritime fur trade on the Northwest Coast and the Old China Trade itself were dying. The final blow came with the depression of 1841–43, following the Panic of 1837 . Over time, the maritime fur traders concentrated on different parts of the North West Coast. In the 1790s,

8580-463: The Russo-American Treaty of 1824 , resulted in the HBC's decision to enter the coast maritime fur trade and drive out the Americans. By the early 1820s American traders were taking 3,000 to 5,000 beaver skins, mostly from New Caledonia, to Canton every year. By the early 1830s the number had reached 10,000 annually, which was as many as the HBC itself was acquiring from New Caledonia and half of

8775-491: The Ukase of 1821 which announced Russian hegemony over the Northwest Coast from 45°50′ north latitude onwards in a northern direction. The only Russian attempt to enforce the ukase of 1821 was the seizure of the US brig Pearl by the Russian sloop Apollon , in 1822. The Pearl , a maritime fur trading vessel, was sailing from Boston to Sitka. On a protest from the US government, the vessel

8970-462: The War of 1812 , but after 1815, Americans were able to resume and expand the maritime fur trade, and continued to dominate. The Russian entry to the Northwest Coast, beyond Prince William Sound, was slow because of a shortage of ships and sailors. Yakutat Bay was reached in 1794 and the settlement of Slavorossiya , originally intended to be the colonial capital, was built there in 1795. Reconnaissance of

9165-576: The Western world following James Cook's visit in 1778 ), Britain, and the United States (especially New England ). The trade had a major effect on the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest coast, especially the Aleut , Sugpiaq , Tlingit , Haida , Nuu-chah-nulth , and Chinook peoples . A rapid increase of wealth occurred among the Northwest Coast natives, along with increased warfare, potlatching , slaving , and depopulation due to epidemic disease. However,

9360-554: The indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast were not overwhelmed by rapid change, and some cultural practices flourished. For instance, the importance of totems and traditional nobility crests increased, and the Chinook Jargon ( Chinook jargon : Chinuk wawa ), a pidgin trade-language which remains a distinctive aspect of Pacific Northwest culture, was developed by speakers of indigenous, Russian, French and English languages during this era. Native Hawaiian society

9555-427: The pays d'en haut . Champlain supported the northern groups in their preexisting military struggle with the Iroquois Confederacy to the south. He secured the Ottawa River route to Georgian Bay , greatly expanding the trade. Champlain also sent young French men to live and work among the natives, most notably Étienne Brûlé , to learn the land, language, and customs, as well as to promote trade. Champlain reformed

9750-430: The "golden round": The Americans had a perfect golden round of profits: first, the profit on the original cargo of trading goods when exchanged for furs; second, the profit when the furs were transmuted into Chinese goods; and, third, the profit on those goods when they reached America. In the later years of the North West Trade the pattern became more complex as additional markets and side voyages were incorporated. As

9945-433: The "nations of the north" which was attended by Ojibwe, Dakota, and Assiniboine leaders, where it was agreed that the daughters and sons of the various chiefs would marry each other to promote peace and ensure the flow of French goods into the region. The French fur trader Claude-Charles Le Roy writes that the Dakota had decided to make peace with their traditional enemies, the Ojibwe, in order to obtain French goods that

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10140-427: The 1620s, the Iroquois had become dependent upon iron implements, which they obtained by trading fur with the Dutch at Fort Nassau (modern Albany, New York ). Between 1624 and 1628, the Iroquois drove out their neighbors, the Mahican, to allow themselves to be the one people in the Hudson river valley able to trade with the Dutch. By 1640, the Five Nations had exhausted the supply of beavers in Kanienkeh ("the land of

10335-399: The 1780s, Grigory Shelikhov began to stand out as one of the most important traders through the Shelikhov-Golikov Company . In 1784, Shelikhov founded the first permanent Russian settlement in North America, at Three Saints Bay on Kodiak Island. Shelikhov envisioned a continual extension of the Russian maritime fur trade, with trading posts being set up farther and farther along the coast all

10530-438: The 1789 fur trading season was over, Gray sailed the Columbia to China via Hawaii, then to Boston via the Cape of Good Hope . The arrival of the Columbia at Boston was celebrated for being the first American circumnavigation of the world. However, the venture was not a commercial success. The ship's owners financed a second attempt and Gray sailed the Columbia from Boston only six weeks after arriving. Gray's second voyage

10725-451: The 1790s, American traders were outcompeting the British and soon came to dominate the maritime fur trade south of Russian America. The opening of the trade came at a good time for New England's merchants. It provided a way to escape the depression that had followed the American Revolutionary War . It presented new trading opportunities that more than made up for the closure of British home and colonial ports to US imports. First Nations along

10920-399: The 1830s, however, the missions of Alta California had been secularized by Mexican authorities and deserted by Indian labourers. The trade slid into unprofitability. The decline of the American trade with Alta California left just one significant alternative to the ever-dwindling sea otter trade—the provisioning of the settlements of Russian America, which lasted until the Americans abandoned

11115-413: The 1880s onwards to distinguish the coastal ship-based fur trade from the continental land-based fur trade of, for example, the North West Company (1779–1821) of Montreal and the American Fur Company (1808–1847). Historically, the maritime fur trade was not known by that name and was rather usually called the "North West Coast trade" or the "North West Trade". The term "North West" was rarely spelled as

11310-427: The 19th century, by which time the entire operation was fueled by seasoned trails, the knowledge and experiences of numerous frontiersmen and the system of elaborate trade networks. The trade soon became one of the main economic drivers in North America, attracting competition amongst European nations, whom maintained trade interests in the Americas. The United States sought to remove the substantial British control over

11505-438: The Aleut people became "the main purveyor of prime otter skins to Russian traders and American adventurers". Retrospective estimates of worldwide sea-otter numbers before the bulk exploitation of these mammals range from 150,000 to 300,000. Sea otters are "slow breeders, only one sometimes two pups being born at a time" each year, which makes the population vulnerable in conditions of intensive hunting. While Russians developed

11700-411: The American ship took a cargo of NWC beaver furs to Canton, exchanged them for China goods and conveyed them to Boston for sale. Even though Perkins and Company took 25% of the proceeds the arrangement was still about 50% more profitable than using British ships and selling furs in Canton through the EIC for bills payable on London and returning from China with no cargo. In 1821, after tensions between

11895-410: The Americas from Cape Horn to Bering Strait and for 300 leagues (around 900 mi (1,400 km)) out into the Pacific Ocean. This, coupled with the EIC monopoly on British trade in China, meant sea otter skins were procurable only in the preserve of one monopoly and disposable only in that of the other. To operate legally, British maritime fur traders had to obtain licenses from both companies, which

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12090-471: The Barkleys hired a native Hawaiian named Wynee as a maidservant. Wynee was the first native Hawaiian to visit the Pacific Northwest—the first of many Kanakas . Barkley explored the coast south of Nootka Sound, discovering the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the process. He was the first trader to visit Neah Bay , a Makah settlement that later became an important port of call for maritime fur traders. John Meares , who had also served under Cook, sailed to

12285-478: The British and American system, where the natives hunted sea otters and prepared the furs on their own, and were essentially independent agents of the fur trade. The Russians did not trade freely with the native Alaskans; rather, they imposed a fur tribute known as yasak . The yasak system, which was widely used in Siberia, essentially enslaved the natives. In 1788, it was banned in Russian America, only to be replaced by compulsory labor . The British entry into

12480-476: The Chinese port of Guangzhou (Canton), where they worked within the established Canton system . Furs from Russian America were mostly sold to China via the Mongolian trading town of Kyakhta , which had been opened to Russian trade by the 1727 Treaty of Kyakhta . Large-scale economic issues played a role in the decline of the maritime fur trade and the China trade in general. Before the 19th century, Chinese demand for Western raw materials or manufactured goods

12675-467: The Columbia River. In late autumn they sailed to the Hawaiian Islands, where they typically spent the winter, then from Hawaii to Macau on the Pearl River Delta , arriving in autumn. Trading in Canton did not begin until November, when tea shipments were ready. The Americans had to hire pilots to take their ships up the Pearl River to Canton's "out port" of Whampoa . Foreign ships were not allowed in Canton itself. Trading took weeks or months, after which

12870-445: The EIC and HBC. It was also hoped that the company would be able to conduct maritime trade with China and Japan, although this goal was not realized. In 1818 the Russian government took control of the RAC from the merchants who held the charter. The explorer and naval officer Ferdinand Petrovich von Wrangel was the first president of the company during the government period. In 1867, the Alaska Purchase transferred control of Alaska to

13065-443: The EIC, instead trying to conceal the illegal activity by using the flag of Portugal. They arrived at Nootka Sound in May 1788. Meares later claimed that Chief Maquinna sold him some land and on it Meares had a building erected. These claims later became a point of dispute during the Nootka Crisis . Spain, which sought control of Nootka Sound, rejected both claims; the true facts of the matter have never been fully established. There

13260-414: The EIC. In 1824 and 1825 the HBC sold 20,000 beaver and 7,000 land-otter skins in China through the EIC, but the arrangement did not prove advantageous for either firm. In the wake of the NWC's forced merger into the HBC, George Simpson reorganized operations in New Caledonia and the Columbia Department . His efforts and keen fiscal sense, combined with a resurgence of American traders on the coast after

13455-403: The English and the French was disastrous on the beaver population. The status of beavers changed dramatically as it went from being a source of food and clothing for Indigenous peoples to a vital good for exchange with the Europeans. The French were constantly in search of cheaper fur and trying to cut off Indigenous middleman which led them to explore the interior all the way to Lake Winnipeg and

13650-412: The First Nations in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and along the Saint Lawrence River . He concentrated on trading for furs used as trimming and adornment. He overlooked the fur that would become the driving force of the fur trade in the north, the beaver pelt, which would become fashionable in Europe. The earliest European trading for beaver pelts dated to the growing cod fishing industry that spread to

13845-424: The Five Nations once and for all, and to teach them to respect the "grandeur" of France. The repeated French raids took their toll with the Mohawk who could field about 300 warriors in the 1670s to able to field only 170 warriors in the summer of 1691. The Iroquois struck back by making raids into New France with the most successful being a raid on Lachine in 1689 that killed 24 Frenchmen while taking 80 captives, but

14040-434: The French took an ambivalent attitude towards the Iroquois push west. On one hand, having the Five Nations at war with other nations prevented those nations from trading with the English at Albany, while on the other hand, the French did not want the Iroquois to become the only middlemen in the fur trade. But as the Iroquois continued to win against the other nations, they prevented French and Algonquin fur traders from entering

14235-413: The HBC to gain this level of experience, but the Americans still had several advantages. For a number of reasons they were willing and able to pay high prices for furs—much higher than the HBC could match without taking large financial losses. The American ventures were global in scope. They tapped multiple markets of which the North West Coast was but one. By the 1820s American ships routinely spent years in

14430-515: The Hudson Bay. Their success led to England's chartering of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670, a major player in the fur trade for the next two centuries. French exploration and expansion westward continued with men such as La Salle and Jacques Marquette exploring and claiming the Great Lakes as well as the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. To bolster these territorial claims, the French constructed

14625-572: The Hudson's Bay Company competition. At the same time, the English presence in New England grew stronger, while the French were occupied with trying to combat the coureurs de bois and allied Indians from smuggling furs to the English for often higher prices and higher quality goods than they could offer. In 1675, the Iroquois made peace with the Machian while finally defeating the Susquenhannock . In

14820-475: The Hudson's Bay Company show this trend. The English and French had very different trading hierarchical structures. The Hudson's Bay Company had a technical monopoly of the beaver trade within the drainage basin of Hudson Bay while the Compagnie d'Occident was given a monopoly of the beaver trade farther south. The English organized their trade on strictly hierarchical lines while the French used licenses to lease

15015-447: The Iroquois finally made peace with the French in 1667, one of the terms was the French had to hand over all of the Wendat who had fled to New France. The Iroquois had already clashed with the French in 1609, 1610 and 1615, but the "beaver wars" caused a lengthy struggle with the French who had no intention of allowing the Five Nations to set themselves up as the only middlemen in the fur trade. The French did not fare well at first, with

15210-456: The Iroquois inflicting more casualties then they suffered, French settlements frequently cut off, canoes bringing fur to Montreal intercepted, and sometimes the Iroquois blockaded the Saint Lawrence. New France was a proprietary colony run by the Compagnie des Cent-Associés who went bankrupt in 1663 because of the Iroquois attacks which made the fur trade unprofitable for the French. After

15405-495: The Iroquois, who had a predatory attitude towards their neighbors even at the best of times, constantly raiding neighboring peoples in "mourning wars" in search of captives who would become Iroquois, were determined to be the only middlemen between the Europeans and the other Indians who lived in the West, and quite consciously set about eliminating any rivals as such as the Huron (Wendat). By

15600-522: The Mississippi River valley, and the Ottawa showed signs of finally making an alliance with the Five Nations, in 1684, the French declared war on the Iroquois. Otreouti in an appeal for help correctly noted: "The French will have all the beavers and are angry with us for bringing you any". Starting in 1684, the French repeatedly raided Kanienkeh, burning crops and villages as Louis gave orders to "humble"

15795-561: The NWC and HBC had erupted into violence the NWC was forced to merge into the HBC. As a result, the HBC acquired the Columbia District and its trade with China. At first the system of shipping furs via the American Perkins and Company was continued, but in 1822 the United States Customs Service imposed a heavy ad valorem duty on the proceeds. The HBC stopped using American middlemen and instead tried selling furs through

15990-490: The Native Americans in debt. Traders would rig the weighing system that determined the value of the deerskins in their favor, cut measurement tools to devalue the deerskin, and would tamper with the manufactured goods to decrease their worth, such as watering down the alcohol they traded. To satisfy the need for deerskins, many males of the tribes abandoned their traditional seasonal roles and became full-time traders. When

16185-568: The North American beaver population. The natural ecosystems that came to rely on the beavers for dams , water and other vital needs were also devastated leading to ecological destruction , environmental change, and drought in certain areas. Following this beaver populations in North America would take centuries to recover in some areas, while others would never recover. The killing of beavers had catastrophic effects for many species living in

16380-413: The North American fur trade during the first decades of its existence . Many Indigenous peoples would soon come to depend on the fur trade as their primary source of income and method of obtaining European-manufactured goods (such as weaponry, housewares, kitchenwares, and other useful products). However, by the mid-19th century, changing fashions in Europe brought about a collapse in fur prices and led to

16575-418: The North West Coast altogether in the early 1840s. From the first decade of the 19th century until 1841 American ships visited Sitka regularly, trading provisions, textiles, and liquor for fur seal skins, timber, and fish. This trade was usually highly profitable for the Americans and the Russian settlements depended on it. Thus when Tsar Nicholas I issued the ukase of 1821, banning foreign trade north of

16770-648: The North West Coast in 1786. He spent the winter in Prince William Sound , his ship trapped by ice and his men dying of scurvy . He was rescued by the timely arrival of Dixon and Portlock. Meares organized a second expedition of two ships, the Felice Adventurero and Iphigenia Nubiana . Meares was captain of the Felice and William Douglas was captain of the Iphigenia . Meares decided not to license his ships with

16965-463: The North West trade developed it became riskier to depend solely upon acquiring sea otter furs through trade with the indigenous people of the coast. Diversification began in the first decade of the 19th century if not earlier, and increased over time. Maritime fur trading voyages were no longer solely about taking sea otter furs from the North West Coast to Canton. Other commodities and markets throughout

17160-506: The North West with Montreal . The old system of native middlemen and coureurs de bois traveling to trade fairs in Montreal or illegally to English markets was replaced by an increasingly complex and labor-intensive trade network. Licensed voyageurs , allied with Montreal merchants, used water routes to reach the far-flung corners of the North West with canoe loads of trade goods. These risky ventures required large initial investments and had

17355-512: The Northwest Coast in 1785, at which time it was mostly unexplored. Although noncommercial exploration voyages continued, especially by the Spanish Navy, the maritime fur traders made a number of significant discoveries. Notable examples include the Strait of Juan de Fuca , Clayoquot Sound , and Barkley Sound , all found by Charles William Barkley , Queen Charlotte Strait by James Strange , Fitz Hugh Sound by James Hanna , Grays Harbor and

17550-460: The Northwest Coast of North America and on markets in China. It lasted until the middle- to late-19th century. Russians controlled most of the coast of present-day Alaska during the entire maritime fur trade era. The North American coast further south saw fierce competition between, and among, trading vessels from Great Britain and from the United States . The British were the first to operate in

17745-681: The Ojibwe were blocking them from receiving. Le Roy writes the Dakota "could obtain French merchandise only through the agency of the Sauteurs [Ojibwe]" so they made "a treaty of peace by which they were mutually bound to give their daughters in marriage on both sides". Indian marriages usually involved a simple ceremony involving the exchange of valuable gifts from the parents of the bride and groom and, unlike European marriages, could be dissolved at any time by one partner choosing to walk out. The Indians were organized into kinship and clan networks, and marrying

17940-608: The Pacific coast of Asia, and first encountered the valuable sea-otter resources of the northern Pacific Ocean in the 17th century. The promyshlenniki then worked their way eastwards from Kamchatka along the Commander and the Aleutian (1740s onwards following the Bering expedition of 1741) island chains, reaching the Alaska Peninsula by the 1760s. In 1774, the Spanish followed

18135-430: The Pacific coastal regions of northern North America - including otters , fish , and bears - the water, soil, ecosystems and resources were devastated by the maritime fur trade. The Pacific Northwest was one of the last significant nonpolar regions in the world to be explored by Europeans. Centuries of reconnaissance and conquest had brought the rest of North America within the claims of imperial powers. During

18330-471: The Pacific were added to the system. Sandalwood , mainly from Hawaii, became an important item of the China trade. Just as the sea otter trade was waning the sandalwood trade boomed, peaking in 1821, then declined. Hawaiian sandalwood was depleted by 1830. Fiji and the Marquesas Islands were the other principal sources of sandalwood. Most had been cut by 1820. Fiji was also a source of bêche-de-mer ,

18525-506: The Pacific, making several voyages between various places such as California, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Canton. American ships were usually stocked with a surplus of trade goods intended for trade on the North West Coast. It was always best to get rid of any extra trade goods on the North West Coast, "dumping" them at any price, before leaving. They would use up stowage space that could be used more profitably elsewhere. The HBC therefore faced

18720-484: The Russian fur traders. British crews started trading in the furs of the north-eastern Pacific in 1778, and American traders arrived in the area in 1788, focusing on the coast of present-day British Columbia . The trade boomed around the beginning of the 19th century. A long period of decline began in the 1810s. As the sea-otter population became depleted over time, the maritime fur trade diversified and transformed, tapping new commodities, while continuing to focus on

18915-570: The Russians, the population of Russian America peaked at 10,313 in 1838. An additional 12,500 people were known local residents not included in the colonial register. An estimated 17,000 more local residents were present but unknown to the Russians. Thus, the total population of the Russian–occupied parts of Russian America was approximately 40,000. Colony Ross, known as Fort Ross today, was built in California just north of San Francisco Bay . It

19110-596: The Saint Lawrence heightened the fierce competition between the Iroquois and Huron for access to the rich fur-bearing lands of the Canadian Shield . The competition for hunting is believed to have contributed to the earlier destruction of the Saint Lawrence Iroquoians in the valley by 1600, likely by the Iroquois Mohawk tribe, who were located closest to them, were more powerful than the Huron, and had

19305-517: The South Pacific resulted during the course of the 19th century in genocides (in fur-sources like Tasmania and the Chatham Islands ) and in cultural disruption and temporary numerical decline for the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand. The trade's effect on China and on Europe was minimal, but for New England, the maritime fur trade and the significant profits that it made helped revitalize

19500-555: The Tlingit abandoned their fort and left the area. Tlingit accounts of the battle refuse to admit defeat or give the Russians credit for taking the Tlingit fort. The Russians destroyed the abandoned Tlingit fort and named the new Russian fort Novo-Arkhangelsk (New Archangel), also known as Fort Archangel Michael and Fort Saint Michael. The confrontations at Sitka in 1802 and 1804 played a significant role in subsequent Tlingit-Russian relations for generations. Novo-Arkhangelsk soon became

19695-539: The Tlingit suffered 40 killed, including 13 chiefs. Hill blamed both his first mate and the Tlingit, but he was notoriously violent and frequently attacked indigenous people unprovoked. For several years after the 1811 battle fewer trade ships visited. By 1821 it was again a regular trading site, with visits by ships such as the Mentor in 1821. 59°09′27″N 135°25′41″W  /  59.15750°N 135.42806°W  / 59.15750; -135.42806 This article about

19890-585: The United States and the commercial interests of the Russian American Company were sold to Hutchinson, Kohl & Company of San Francisco , who then merged with several other groups to form the Alaska Commercial Company . The Russian population in America never surpassed 1,000—the peak was 823 in 1839. However, the RAC employed and fed thousands of natives. According to official census counts by

20085-654: The United States. When the clash came, at Nootka Sound in 1789, it was not between Spain and Russia but between Spain and Britain. The British first reached the region by sea in 1778, during James Cook 's third voyage, and by land in 1793, when Alexander Mackenzie's transcontinental explorations reached the Pacific. The first British maritime fur trader, James Hanna , arrived on the Northwest Coast in 1785. The first American traders, John Kendrick and Robert Gray , arrived by sea in 1788. The Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived overland in 1805. The early maritime fur traders were explorers, as well as traders. The Northwest Coast

20280-404: The Wendat was at least just as much a "mourning war" as a "beaver war" as the Iroquois obsessively raided Wendake for ten years after their great raids of 1649 to take single Wendat back to Kanienkeh, even though they did not possess much in the way of beaver pelts. The Iroquois's population had been devastated by losses because of European diseases like smallpox for they had no immunity, and when

20475-414: The beaver returns from each trading post, biological evidence on beaver population dynamics and contemporary estimates of beaver population densities. While the view that increased competition between the English and the French led to over-exploitation of beaver stocks by the Aboriginals does not receive uncritical support, most believe that Aboriginals were the primary actors in depleting animal stocks. There

20670-480: The business of the trade, creating the first informal trust in 1613 in response to increasing losses because of competition. The trust was later formalized with a royal charter, leading to a series of trade monopolies during the term of New France. The most notable monopoly was the Company of One Hundred Associates based back in France, with a period of attempted transition towards other share trading companies, such as

20865-592: The coast as far as Haida Gwaii was carried out by James Shields, a British employee of the Golikov-Shelikhov Company. In 1795, Alexandr Baranov sailed into Sitka Sound , claiming it for Russia. Hunting parties arrived in the following years. By 1800, three-quarters of the Russian-American Company's sea otter skins came from the Sitka Sound area, amounting to several thousand per year. Sitka Sound

21060-476: The coast referred to American traders in the Chinook jargon as Boston or Boston-men – after their main port in New England. One of the first and most notable American maritime fur traders was Robert Gray . Gray made two trading voyages, the first from 1787 to 1790 and the second from 1790 to 1793. The first voyage was conducted with John Kendrick and the vessels Columbia Rediviva and Lady Washington . After

21255-497: The coast trade to drive away the American traders. This goal was achieved during the 1830s. By 1841, the American traders had abandoned the North West Coast. For a time, the North West Coast trade was controlled by the HBC and the RAC. Following the 1846 resolution of the Oregon Territory controversy between the United States and England, and the American purchase of Alaska in 1867, American hunters returned to hunting sea otters in

21450-595: The company for the maritime fur trade. The EIC usually allowed British vessels to import furs into Canton, but required the furs to be sold via EIC agents, and the company took a percentage of the returns. Worse, the EIC did not allow the British fur traders to export Chinese goods to Great Britain. Thus, the last and most profitable leg of the maritime fur trade system—carrying Chinese goods to Europe and America—was denied to British traders. The first trading vessel dispatched solely for

21645-509: The company monopolistic control over trade in the Aleutian Islands and the North America mainland, south to 55° north latitude (approximating the present border on coast between British Columbia and Alaska). The RAC was modeled on Britain's East India Company (EIC) and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Russian officials intended the company to operate both as a business enterprise and a state organization for extending imperial influence, similar to

21840-643: The continental United States and Alaska . Europeans began their participation in the North American fur trade from the initial period of their colonization of the Americas onward, bringing the financial and material gains of the trade to Europe. European merchants from France , England and the Dutch Republic established trading posts and forts in various regions of eastern North America, primarily to conduct trade transactions with First Nations and local communities. The trade reached its peak of economic prominence in

22035-426: The continual supply of European goods to their communities and discourage fur traders from dealing with other Indian tribes. The fur trade did not involve barter in the way that most people presuppose but was a credit/debit relationship when a fur trader would arrive in a community in the summer or fall, hand out goods to the Indians who would pay him back in the spring with the furs from the animals they had killed over

22230-465: The country north and west of Lake Superior symbolically opened this new era of expansion. Their trading voyage proved extremely lucrative in furs. More importantly, they learned of a frozen sea to the north that provided easy access to the fur-bearing interior. Upon their return, French officials confiscated the furs of these unlicensed coureurs des bois . Radisson and Groseilliers went to Boston and then to London to secure funding and two ships to explore

22425-628: The crashing of several fur companies. Many Indigenous (and European) communities that relied on the fur trade were suddenly plunged into poverty and, consequently, lost much of the political influence they once held. The number of beavers and river otters killed during the fur trade was devastating for the animals' North American populations. The natural ecosystems that came to rely on the beavers for dams , river and water management and other vital needs were also ravaged, leading to ecological destruction , significant environmental change, and even drought in certain areas. Following this degradation, both

22620-529: The dead Iroquois; thus a cycle of violence and warfare escalated. More significantly, new infectious diseases brought by the French decimated Native communities . Combined with warfare, disease led to the near destruction of the Huron by 1650. During the 1640s and 1650s, the Beaver Wars initiated by the Iroquois forced a massive demographic shift as their western neighbors fled the violence. They sought refuge west and north of Lake Michigan . The Five Nations of

22815-524: The deer populations declined and the government pressured tribes to switch to the European settler's way of life, animal husbandry replaced deer hunting both as an income and in the diet. Rum was first introduced in the early 16th century as a trading item and quickly became an inelastic good . While Native Americans for the most part acted conservatively in trading deals, they consumed a surplus of alcohol. Traders used rum to help form partnerships. Rum had

23010-454: The deerskin trade collapsed, Native Americans found themselves dependent on manufactured goods, and could not return to the old ways because of lost knowledge. It was a common practice on the part of the Indian women to offer marriage and sometimes just sex in exchange for fur traders not trading with their rivals. Radisson describes visiting one Ojibwe village in the spring of 1660 where during

23205-766: The early 1760s. Stepan Glotov encountered Kodiak Island in 1763. In 1768, an expedition was carried out by the Russian Navy, under Pyotr Krenitsyn and Mikhail Levashev . Two ships sailed from Kamchatka to the Alaska Peninsula for the purpose of assessing the existing Russian activity and the possibilities of future development. Reports about the voyage, meant to be kept secret, spread through Europe and caused alarm in Spain. The Spanish government, already concerned about Russian activity in Alaska, decided to colonize Alta California and sent exploratory voyages to Alaska to assess

23400-527: The early part of this era, the ships would typically stop at the Commander Islands to slaughter and preserve the meat of Steller's sea cows , a defenseless sea mammal whose range was limited to those islands. They were hunted not only for food, but also for their skins, used to make boats, and their subcutaneous fat, used for oil lamps . By 1768, Steller's sea cow was extinct. As furs were depleted on nearby islands, Russian traders sailed farther east along

23595-560: The eastern provinces of Canada and the northeastern American colonies (soon-to-be northeastern United States ). The trade was initiated mainly through French, Dutch and English settlers and explorers in collaboration with various First Nations tribes of the region, such as the Wyandot-Huron and the Iroquois ; ultimately, the fur trade's financial and cultural benefits would see the operation quickly expanding coast-to-coast and into more of

23790-512: The expansion while centralizing the French efforts. As native peoples had the primary role of suppliers in the fur trade, Champlain quickly created alliances with the Algonquin , Montagnais (who were located in the territory around Tadoussac), and most importantly, the Huron to the west. The latter, an Iroquoian -speaking people, served as middlemen between the French on the Saint Lawrence and nations in

23985-456: The expedition visited Canton and were surprised by how much money the Chinese were willing to pay for the furs. A profit of 1,800% was made. James King , one of the commanders after Cook's death, wrote, "the advantages that might be derived from a voyage to that part of the American coast, undertaken with commercial views, appear to me of a degree of importance sufficient to call for the attention of

24180-422: The first decade of the 19th century. Returns of 2,200% or higher were common, although when taking into account the cost of buying and outfitting vessels, the 2,200% return would be closer to 525%. The trade's boom years ended around 1810, after which a long decline was marked by increasing economic diversification. By 1810, the supply of sea otter pelts had fallen due to overhunting. American trade declined during

24375-619: The first permanent settlement of Tadoussac at the mouth of the Saguenay River on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, up the Saint Lawrence River and into the pays d'en haut (or "upper country") around the Great Lakes . What followed in the first half of the 17th century were strategic moves by both the French and the Indigenous groups to further their own economic and geopolitical ambitions. Champlain led

24570-457: The flint," the Iroquois name for their homeland in what is now upstate New York ), and moreover Kanienkeh lacked the beavers with the thick pelts that the Europeans favored and would pay the best price for, which were to be found further north in what is now northern Canada. The Five Nations launched the "Beaver Wars" to take control of the fur trade from other middlemen who would deal with the Europeans. The Wendat homeland, Wendake, lies in what

24765-406: The fur trade also brought profound changes to the Indigenous communities living along the Saint Lawrence. European wares, such as iron axe heads, brass kettles, cloth, and firearms were bought with beaver pelts and other furs. The widespread practice of trading furs for rum and whiskey led to problems associated with inebriation and alcohol abuse. The subsequent destruction of beaver populations along

24960-409: The importance of personal contacts and experience in the fur trade, gave an edge to independent traders over the more bureaucratic monopolies. The newly established English colonies to the south quickly joined the lucrative trade, raiding the Saint Lawrence River valley and capturing and controlling Quebec from 1629 to 1632. While bringing wealth to a few select French traders and the French regime,

25155-578: The interior to the coast via indigenous trade networks from New Caledonia—today the Omineca and Nechako districts of the Central Interior of British Columbia . During the 1820s, the British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), which considered the interior fur trade to be its domain, began to experience significant losses as a result of this diversion of furs to the coast. To protect its interests, the HBC entered

25350-669: The late 1670s and early 1680s, the Five Nations started to raid what is now the Midwest , battling the Miami and the Illinois while alternatively fighting against and attempting to make an alliance with the Ottawa. One Onondaga chief, Otreouti, whom the French called La Grande Gueule ("the big mouth"), announced in a speech in 1684 that the wars against the Illinois and Miami were justified because "They came to hunt beavers on our lands ...". Initially,

25545-459: The late 18th and early 19th centuries, a number of empires and commercial systems converged upon the Northwest Coast, by sea as well as by land across the continent. The Russian and Spanish empires were extended into the region simultaneously, from opposite directions. Russian fur companies expanded into North America along the Aleutian Islands, reaching the Fox Islands and the Alaska Peninsula in

25740-692: The maritime fur trade dates to 1778 and the third voyage of Captain James Cook. While sailing north to search for the fabled Northwest Passage , Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands . On the Northwest Coast, he spent a month in Nootka Sound , during which he and his crew traded with the Nuu-chah-nulth from the village of Yuquot . They ended up with over 300 furs, mostly sea otter, but thought them of no great value. Later, after Cook had been killed in Hawaii,

25935-505: The maritime fur trade era—by Juan Pérez , Bruno de Heceta , Bogeda y Quadra , and James Cook —produced only rough surveys of the coast's general features. Detailed surveys were undertaken in only a few relatively small areas, such as Nootka Sound , Bucareli Bay , and Cook Inlet . Russian exploration before 1785 had produced mainly rough surveys, largely restricted to the Aleutian Islands and mainland Alaska west of Cape Saint Elias . British and American maritime fur traders began visiting

26130-536: The maritime fur trade in the northern Pacific was largely conducted by the British Hudson's Bay Company and by the Russian-American Company (the RAC, which operated from 1799 to 1867). The trade in fur-seal skins from the Southern Ocean peaked in the 1810s and had become unprofitable due to over-exploitation of the source resources by 1863. The term "maritime fur trade" has been used by historians from

26325-412: The maritime fur trade, the Russians had spent over 40 years establishing and expanding their maritime operations in North America. A number of colonies were being established over a large region stretching from the Aleutian Islands to Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound . Many ships sailed from Kamchatka to Alaska each year. The Russians not only had an early start, but they also controlled the habitats of

26520-514: The maritime fur trade. They sailed from England on the King George and Queen Charlotte and spent 1786 and 1787 exploring and trading on the North West Coast. They spent the winters in Hawaii, where they were among the first visitors after Cook. Charles William Barkley , another early British trader, sailed the Imperial Eagle from England to the North West Coast via Hawaii, 1786–1788. He

26715-419: The maritime fur-trade based on sea-otter pelts, societies from eastern North America gradually moved their largely beaver -based fur-harvesting enterprises further and further westward. Eventually, rather than sending all their furs to Atlantic markets, the continental fur-industry began to tap into the trans-Pacific market in China from 1792 onwards. The fur trade's killing of beavers proved devastating for

26910-474: The maximum benefit from the presence of the English and the French. Additionally, the problem of the commons is also glaringly visible in this matter. Open access to resources leads to no incentive to conserve stocks, and actors which try to conserve lose out compared to the others when it comes to maximizing economic output. Therefore, there appeared to be a lack of concern by tribes of the First Nations about

27105-515: The most profitable furs came from the pelts of the sea otter ( Enhydra lutris ), especially from those of the northern sea otter ( Enhydra lutris kenyoni ), which inhabited the Pacific coastal waters of North America between the Columbia River in the south and the Aleutian Islands in the north and west. Sea otters possess a thicker fur than any other mammal, and the sea otter's habit of coat-grooming prevents molting. The "dark [thick] and silver tipped fur" accounts for sea otters' exploitation during

27300-518: The most successful American firms involved in the Northwest Trade was Perkins and Company . The maritime fur trade was dominated by American traders from the 1790s to the 1820s. Between 1788 and 1826, American merchant ships made at least 127 voyages between the United States and China, via the Northwest Coast. The returns were lucrative. During the late 1810s, the return on investment ranged from about 300% to 500%. Even higher profits were common in

27495-532: The most to gain by controlling this part of the valley. Iroquois access to firearms through Dutch and later English traders along the Hudson River increased the casualties in the warfare. This greater bloodshed, previously unseen in Iroquoian warfare, increased the practice of " Mourning Wars ". The Iroquois raided neighboring groups to take captives, who were ceremonially adopted as new family members to replace

27690-401: The most valuable sea otters. The Kurilian, Kamchatkan, and Aleutian sea otters' fur was thicker, glossier, and blacker than those on the Northwest Coast and California. The four grades of fur were based on colour, texture, and thickness. The most prized furs were those of Kurilian and Kamchatkan sea otters, Aleutian furs were second-grade, those of the Northwest Coast third, and the poorest grade

27885-631: The mountains near the coast until it reached 141° west longitude , after which the boundary ran north along that line of longitude to the Arctic Ocean. Aside from boundary adjustments to the Alaska Panhandle , stemming from the Alaska boundary dispute of the late 19th century, this is the current boundary of the state of Alaska. In 1839 the RAC-HBC Agreement was signed, giving the Hudson's Bay Company

28080-460: The new English Hudson's Bay Company trade was felt as early as 1671, with diminished returns for the French and the role of the native middlemen. This new competition directly stimulated French expansion into the North West to win back native customers. What followed was a continual expansion north and west of Lake Superior. The French used diplomatic negotiations with natives to win back trade and an aggressive military policy to temporarily eliminate

28275-403: The new cattle herds roaming the hunting lands, and a greater emphasis on farming due to the invention of the cotton gin , Native Americans struggled to maintain their place in the economy. An inequality gap had appeared in the tribes, as some hunters were more successful than others. Still, the creditors treated an individual's debt as debt of the whole tribe and used several strategies to keep

28470-466: The north of Japan all the way to the vicinity of Cedros Island, Mexico. The species stayed approximately within the arc of the Northern Pacific until pressure from the maritime fur-trade forced it to move north. The start of the decline in sea-otter numbers began with the first Russian expeditions in this region. Aleut hunters supplied sea-otter skins as tribute or as ransom to the Russians, and

28665-440: The northern coast could unload furs and take on trade goods without having to navigate the Columbia River and its hazardous bar. Later coastal posts included Fort Stikine (1840), Fort Durham (1840), and Fort Victoria (1843). It was not easy for the HBC to drive the Americans away from the North West Coast. The Americans had decades of experience and knew the coast's complex physical and human geography. It took until 1835 for

28860-626: The point of armed battles such as the 1816 Battle of Seven Oaks , was mostly over control of Rupert's Land, east of the Continental Divide. Around the turn of the 19th century the NWC expanded its operations westward, across the Rocky Mountains into the mostly unexplored Pacific Northwest. By the 1810s the NWC had established new fur trading operations west of the Rockies, in New Caledonia and

29055-467: The prices paid by Americans if they hoped to drive the Americans away. Beaver fur prices on the coast could be many times what the HBC was paying in the interior. There was no hope of making a profit. In order to compete on the coast the HBC had to take large, long-term financial losses. North American fur trade The North American fur trade is the (typically) historical commercial trade of furs and other goods in North America , predominantly in

29250-408: The primary settlement and colonial capital of Russian America. After the Alaska Purchase , it was renamed Sitka, and became the first capital of Alaska Territory . The Russian-American Company (RAC) was incorporated in 1799, putting an end to the promyshlenniki period and beginning an era of centralized monopoly. Its charter was laid out in a 1799 ukase by the new Tsar Paul , which granted

29445-525: The principal investors. An early trader, Emilian Basov, traded at Bering Island in 1743, collecting a large number of sea otter, fur seal , and blue Arctic fox furs. Basov made four trips to Bering Island and nearby Medny Island and made a fortune, inspiring many other traders. From 1743 to the founding of the Russian-American Company in 1799, over 100 private fur-trading and hunting voyages sailed from Kamchatka to North America. In total, these voyages garnered over eight million silver rubles . During

29640-453: The public." The crews of the two ships were so eager to return to Nootka Sound and acquire more furs, they were "not far short of mutiny". Nevertheless, they sailed for England, arriving there in October 1780. Accounts of Cook's voyage and the sea otter trade were published in the 1780s, triggering a rush of entrepreneurial voyages to the Northwest Coast. British interest in the maritime fur trade peaked between 1785 and 1794, then declined as

29835-420: The purpose of the fur trade was the British Sea Otter commanded by James Hanna in 1785. In his brief visit to the coast, he obtained 560 pelts, which fetched a profit of $ 20,000 in Canton. The promise of such profits encouraged other traders. George Dixon and Nathaniel Portlock , former members of Cook's crew, became partners in the King George's Sound Company , formed in 1785 for the purpose of developing

30030-427: The region by contributing to its transformation from an agrarian to an industrial society. The wealth generated by the maritime fur trade was invested in industrial development, especially textile manufacturing . In Britain's Australian colonies, furs became the earliest international export items and fuelled the first in a series of economic booms and busts, while boosting convict capitalism. In economic terms,

30225-420: The region was rich in furs. Private fur traders, mostly promyshlenniki , launched fur trading expeditions from Kamchatka , at first focusing on nearby islands such as the Commander Islands . Unlike fur trading ventures in Siberia, these maritime expeditions required more capital than most promyshlenniki could obtain. Merchants from cities such as Irkutsk , Tobolsk , and others in European Russia , became

30420-447: The region, both from land and sea. Hunting throughout the Aleutian and Kuril Islands by American commercial outfits also contributed to the near-extinction of the species by the late 1800s. From 1779 to 1821 two British fur trading companies, the Montreal-based North West Company (NWC) and the London-based Hudson's Bay Company, competed for control of the fur trade of what later became Western Canada. The struggle, which eventually reached

30615-479: The river otter and beaver populations in North America would continue to decline, without much noticeable improvement until around the mid-twentieth century. French explorer Jacques Cartier in his three voyages into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in the 1530s and 1540s conducted some of the earliest fur trading between European and First Nations peoples associated with 16th century and later explorations in North America. Cartier attempted limited fur trading with

30810-422: The robes to keep warm on the long, cold return voyages across the Atlantic. These castor gras (in French) became prized by European hat makers in the second half of the 16th century, as they converted the pelts to felt . The discovery of the superior felting qualities of beaver fur, along with the rapidly increasing popularity of beaver felt hats in fashion, transformed the incidental trading of fishermen into

31005-493: The sea otters pelt, the Russian-America Company (RAC) annual expenses was around 1000,000 rubles each year and profited over 500,000 rubles per year. The fur of the Californian southern sea otter, E. l. nereis , was less highly prized and thus less profitable. After the northern sea otter was hunted to local extinction , maritime fur traders shifted to California until the southern sea otter was likewise nearly extinct. The British and American maritime fur traders took their furs to

31200-409: The settling to a lower level of stable population, further declines were caused by over-harvesting in two of the three English trading posts (Albany and York). The data from the third trading post are also very interesting in that the post did not come under French pressure and was therefore shielded from the kind of over-exploitation of stocks which resulted at the other trading posts. At Fort Churchill,

31395-461: The ships were loaded with Chinese goods such as teas, silks, porcelains, sugar, cassia , and curios . They left in the winter and used the northeasterly monsoon winds of the South China Sea to reach the Sunda Strait and then used the southeasterly trade winds to cross the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope. From there the ships sailed to Boston, where they traditionally docked at the India Wharf . Frederic William Howay described that as

31590-427: The single word "Northwest", as is common today. The maritime fur trade brought the Pacific Northwest coast into a vast, new network of international trade , centered on the north Pacific Ocean, global in scope, and based on capitalism but not (for the most part) on colonialism . A sort of triangular trade network emerged linking the Pacific Northwest coast, China, the Hawaiian Islands (first generally known to

31785-659: The southern part of the North West Coast, including the Columbia River . Although the mouth of the river had been spotted by the Spanish explorer Bruno de Heceta in 1775, no other explorer or fur trader had been able to find it and enter the river. Gray was the first to do so. He named the river after his ship. The event was later used by the United States in support of their claims to the Pacific Northwest. Other notable American maritime fur traders include William F. Sturgis , Joseph Ingraham , Simon Metcalfe and his son Thomas Humphrey Metcalfe , Daniel Cross, John Boit , James Magee , and John DeWolf , among many others. One of

31980-422: The southern sector, but were unable to compete against the Americans, who dominated from the 1790s to the 1830s. The British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), which had had experience in the North American continental fur trade since the 17th century, entered the Pacific coast trade in the 1820s with the intention of outcompeting the Americans - a goal accomplished by about 1840. In its late period, after about 1840,

32175-440: The sparsely populated New France. The vast wealth in the fur trade created enforcement problems for the monopoly. Unlicensed independent traders, known as coureurs des bois (or "runners of the woods"), began to do business in the late 17th and early 18th century. Over time, many Métis were drawn to the independent trade; they were the descendants of French trappers and native women. The increasing use of currency , as well as

32370-512: The stocks of beaver adjusted to the maximum sustained yield level. The data from Churchill further reinforce the case of over-exploitation of stocks caused by the French-English competition. Indigenous North American beliefs in the affected region incorporate respect for the environment. Traditionally, many tribes in the region believe in a spiritual relationship between the people and the animals they rely on for food, clothing, and medicines, and many tribes have traditional protocols surrounding how

32565-504: The superior resources of the French state proceeded to grind them down until they finally made peace in 1701 . The settlement of native refugees from the Beaver Wars in the western and northern Great Lakes combined with the decline of the Ottawa middlemen to create vast new markets for French traders. Resurgent Iroquoian warfare in the 1680s also stimulated the fur trade as native French allies bought weapons. The new more distant markets and fierce English competition stifled direct trade from

32760-455: The sustainability of the fur trade. The problem of over-exploitation is not helped by the fact that the efforts by the French to remove the middlemen such as the Huron who increasingly resented their influence meant that stocks were put under more pressure. All these factors contributed to an unsustainable trade pattern in furs which depleted beaver stocks very fast. An empirical study done by Ann M. Carlos and Frank D. Lewis shows that apart from

32955-407: The threat and strengthen Spanish claims of sovereignty on coast north of Mexico. The province of Alta California was established by José de Gálvez in 1769, just as the Krenitsyn-Levashev expedition was concluding. Five separate expeditions were dispatched to Alta California in 1769. By 1782, presidios had been established at San Diego , Monterey , San Francisco and Santa Barbara , linked by

33150-519: The total output of the entire Columbia Department. In addition, the Americans were paying higher prices for the furs, which forced the HBC to do the same. The HBC effort to gain control of the coastal fur trade began in the late 1820s. It took some time for the HBC to acquire the necessary ships, skilled seamen, trade goods, and intelligence about the coast trade. Simpson decided that the "London ships", which brought goods to Fort Vancouver and returned to England with furs, should arrive early enough to make

33345-531: The use of their posts. This meant that the French incentivized the extension of trade, and French traders did indeed infiltrate much of the Great Lakes region. The French established posts on Lake Winnipeg, Lac des Praires and Lake Nipigon which represented a serious threat to flow of furs to the York Factory . The increasing penetration near English ports meant that the Native Americans had more than one place to sell their goods. The simulation of beaver populations around trading posts are done by taking into account

33540-546: The way in which the Ojibwe and the other Indian peoples sought to "use sexual relations as a means of establishing long-term relationships between themselves and people from another society was a rational strategy, one that has been described in many parts of the world". One fur trader who married an Ojibwe woman describes how the Ojibwe would initially shun a fur trader until they could give gauge his honesty and provided he proved himself an honest man, "the chiefs would take together their marriageable girls to his trading house and he

33735-408: The way to California. He sought exclusive control of the trade, and in 1788 Empress Catherine II decided to grant his company a monopoly only over the area it already occupied. Other traders were free to compete elsewhere. Catherine's decision was issued as the imperial ukase (proclamation) of 28 September 1788. By the time of Catherine's ukase of 1788, just as other nations were entering

33930-403: The ways of the colonists, hunted to feed global fur markets with little consideration of the possibility of extinction. As competition increased between the English and French in the 16th century, fur also continued to be harvested by Aboriginal tribes, both for their own use and as middleman. All of this combined to cause a severe over-harvesting of beavers. Data from three of the trading posts of

34125-439: The welcoming ceremony: "The women throw themselves backwards on the ground, thinking to give us tokens of friendship and wellcome [welcome]". Radisson was initially confused by this gesture, but as the women started to engage in more overtly sexual behavior, he realized what was being offered. Radisson was informed by the village elders that he could have sex with any unmarried women in the village provided that he did not trade with

34320-583: The west coast of Vancouver Island, especially Nootka Sound, was frequently visited. By the 1810s, the locus had shifted to the Queen Charlotte Islands and Alexander Archipelago , and in the 1820s, farther north to areas near Sitka Sound . After about 1830, it shifted south to the area from Dixon Entrance to Queen Charlotte Sound . During the early years, ships tended to cruise the coast, seeking trading opportunities whenever they arose. Later, ships spent more time in specific harbors. As fur resources dwindled and prices rose, ship captains increasingly concentrated on

34515-421: The winter; in the interim, further exchanges often involved both Indian men and women. Fur traders found that marrying the daughters of chiefs would ensure the co-operation of an entire community. Marriage alliances were also made between Indian tribes. In September 1679, the French diplomat and soldier Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut , called a peace conference at Fond du Lac (modern Duluth, Minnesota ) of all

34710-492: Was Fort Langley , established in 1827 on the Fraser River about 50 km (31 mi) from the river's mouth. The next was Fort Simpson , founded in 1831 at the mouth of the Nass River , and moved in 1834 several miles to the present Port Simpson . In 1833 Fort McLoughlin was established on an island in Milbanke Sound and Fort Nisqually was built at the southern end of Puget Sound . An overland trail linked Fort Nisqually and Fort Vancouver, so HBC vessels trading along

34905-474: Was accompanied by his wife, Frances Barkley , who became the first European woman to visit the Hawaiian Islands and the first woman to sail around the world without deception. Only two women are known to have sailed around the world before Frances: Jeanne Baré , disguised as a man, and Rose de Freycinet, wife of Louis de Freycinet , as a stowaway. Barkley chose to sail under the flag of Austria to evade paying for EIC and SSC licences. During their stop in Hawaii,

35100-521: Was also where serious competition between the Russians, British, and Americans first arose. In July 1799, Baranov returned to Sitka Sound on the brig Oryol and established the settlement of Arkhangelsk, also known as Fort Archangel Gabriel. In June 1802, Tlingit warriors attacked the settlement and killed or captured most of the 150 Russians and Aleuts living there. Baranov led an armed expedition to retake Sitka by force in June 1804. The Russian warship Neva joined Baranov at Sitka. A new Russian fort

35295-412: Was difficult and expensive. Some traders obtained a license from the EIC only, figuring the SSC was unable to enforce its monopoly. Others obtained only the SSC license and took their furs to England, where they were trans-shipped to China. Some traders tried to evade the licenses by sailing their ships under foreign flags. The EIC's primary focus in China was the tea trade, with never much interest within

35490-404: Was established while the Tlingit prepared to defend themselves with a well-armed fort of their own. Tension rapidly escalated into skirmishes and negotiations broke down. In early October, the Russians attacked the Tlingit fort with cannon from the Neva and from a land party. The Tlingit responded with powerful gun and cannon fire of their own. The Battle of Sitka continued for several days until

35685-418: Was given the choice of the lot". If the fur trader married, the Ojibwe would trade with him as he became part of the community, and if he refused to marry, then the Ojibwe would not trade with him as Ojibwe only traded with a man who "took one of their women for his wife". Virtually all Indian communities encouraged fur traders to take an Indian wife in order to build a long-term relationship that would ensure

35880-524: Was located on the Farallon Islands . Three ranches were established: the Kostromitinov Ranch on the Russian River near the mouth of Willow Creek, the Khlebnikov Ranch in the Salmon Creek valley about a mile (1.6 km) north of the present day Bodega , and the Chernykh Ranch near present-day Graton . Fort Ross employed native Alaskans to hunt seals and sea otters on the California coast. By 1840, California's sea otter population had been severely depleted. The Russian Emperor Alexander I issued

36075-404: Was notable in several ways. After spending the summer trading on the Northwest Coast, Gray wintered on the coast. In Clayoquot Sound , Gray's crew built a house, dubbed Fort Defiance , and had the sloop Adventure built, the first American vessel built on the Northwest Coast. It was launched in March 1792 under the command of Robert Haswell . During the 1792 trading season, Gray concentrated on

36270-431: Was outlawed but smuggled into China on a large and increasing scale. Before long, China was being drained of specie and saturated with Western goods. At the same time, intense speculation in the China trade by American and British merchant companies began. By the 1820s, too many firms were competing for an overstocked market, resulting in bankruptcies and consolidation. The inevitable commercial crisis struck in 1826–27, after

36465-412: Was perennially short of foods supplies. After Mexico gained independence in 1821 the American trade with Alta California continued in a slightly modified form. American traders brought mostly clothing, cottons, silks, lace, cutlery, alcohol, and sugar, which were traded for hides and tallow at a profit generally between 200% and 300%. The California Hide Trade became a major industry in its own right. By

36660-440: Was released and compensation paid. Britain and the United States protested the ukase and negotiations ultimately resulted in the Russo-American Treaty of 1824 and the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1825 . These treaties established 54°40′ as the southern boundary of exclusively Russian territory. The Anglo-Russian treaty delineated the boundary of Russian America fully. The border began on the coast at 54°40′, then ran north along

36855-473: Was said to be the most popular wintering place for American ships in the 1830s. Many significant trading sites were on the Queen Charlotte Islands, including Cloak Bay , Masset , Skidegate, Cumshewa , Skedans , and Houston Stewart Channel , known as "Coyah's Harbor", after Chief Koyah . As marine furs became depleted in the early 19th century, American ship captains began to accept increasing numbers of land furs such as beaver , which were brought from

37050-433: Was similarly affected by the sudden influx of Western wealth and technology, as well as by epidemic diseases. In the Southern Hemisphere, the maritime fur trade era proved brief but intense. Expeditions of sealers (and then of whalers ) led to the first European settlements in Tasmania ( Van Diemen's Land ) and New Zealand - lands which Europeans had known but largely ignored since the 17th century. Settler colonialism in

37245-485: Was small, but bullion (also known as specie) was accepted, resulting in a general drain of precious metals from the West to China. The situation reversed in the early 19th century for a variety of reasons. Western demand for Chinese goods declined relative to new options (for example, coffee from the West Indies began to replace tea in the United States), while Chinese demand for Western items increased, such as for English manufactures, American cotton goods, and opium which

37440-519: Was smuggling along the Pacific coast of the Spanish Empire , where foreign trade was prohibited by Spanish law. This trade peaked in the 1810s, then faded in the 1820s. Traders concentrated on Alta California , which produced a surplus of grain, beef, tallow , and hides , but was chronically short of manufactured goods. American ships brought goods to the missions of Alta California in exchange for grain, beef, and Californian sea otter skins. The grain, beef, and other provisions were taken to Sitka, which

37635-407: Was that a fur trader was expected to favor whatever clan/kinship network that he had married into with European goods, and a fur trader who did not would ruin his reputation. The Ojibwe, like other tribes, saw all life in this world being based upon reciprocal relationships, with "gifts" of tobacco left behind when harvesting plants to thank nature for providing the plants, while when a bear was killed,

37830-448: Was the RAC's southernmost outpost and operated from 1812 to 1841, and was established as an agricultural base for supplying the northern settlements with food as well as for conducting trade with Alta California . The Ross Colony included a number of settlements spread out over an area stretching from Point Arena to Tomales Bay . The administrative center was Port Rumianstev at Bodega Harbor , off Bodega Bay . An artel hunting camp

38025-631: Was those of Californian sea otters. Russia also controlled the sources of sable furs, the most valuable fur-bearing land mammal. The Russian system differed from the British and American systems in its relationship with indigenous peoples. Using the same method they had used in Siberia, the Russians employed or enserfed Aleut and Alutiiq people, the latter being a subgroup of the Yupik Eskimo people. The Aleut and Alutiiq people were expert sea otter hunters, noted for their use of kayaks and baidarkas . Russian ships were mainly used for transporting and assisting native hunting parties. This differed from

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