A look at the imperial nature of the early English fur trade in North America.
This paper is a summary of the early European impact on the fur trade and the imperial nature of the conquest in North America. This paper looks at routes that were taken and methods that were used to communicate and trade with the native peoples.
“The English fur trade in North America expanded greatly in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It was actually a huge mistake on the part of the rival French that allowed the English to establish a successful foothold in the fur trade. In 1668, after rejection from their own government, two French-Canadian fur traders sought the support of the English, insisting that the best quality fur territory was that north of Hudson Bay. The Hudson Bay Company was established as an English trading post in 16703 and it became the first major English economic institution in the new world. Under the authority of Charles II, the Hudson Bay Company was granted titles to all of the lands encompassing the waterways flowing into Hudson Bay. In the ensuing years the Hudson Bay Company expanded to place posts at the mouths of all the major waterways flowing into Hudson Bay4, creating stiff competition with the French for trade with the Natives.”