Fur trade

An Alberta fur trader in the 1890s.

Fur trade in Nizhny Novgorod (before 1906)

The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the gain and sale of animal fur.

Before the colonization of the Americas, Russia was a major fur supplier of Western Europe and parts of Asia. The North American fur trade was a central part of the early history of contact in The New World (North America) between European-Americans and Native Americans in the United States and First Nations in Canada.

The North American fur trade flourished for 250 years. This long period of time can be roughly divided into three sections:

• the "French Era" from 1600 to 1760,
• the "British Era" from 1760 to 1816, and
• the "American Era" from 1816 to 1850.

References

• Barbara Huck (2000) Exploring the Fur Trade Routes of North America (2nd Ed: May 2002)

Other websites

• The Canadian Museum of Civilization - Great Fur Trade Canoes
• A Brief History of the Fur Trade
• History of the Fur Trade in Wisconsin
• Museum of the Fur Trade, Chadron, Nebraska USA