The History of Fur Traders and Fur Dealers
When the North American fur trade began, Europeans were impressed by their
quality of furs, and fur dealers wanted to market them in Europe. Native
people worked as fur traders exchanging furs for goods like metal.
A rivalry began between the fur traders based on St. Lawrence and the fur
traders based on the port of New York, or the Hudson Bay Company. The French
supported the fur dealers in St. Lawrence, but in the 17th century, they
had to deal with the competition of British fur traders.
Eventually moving toward the Great Lakes region during the 17th century,
fur traders in Britain and fur traders in France began experiencing conflict
with each other. Fur dealers in Montreal were also expanding into the continent
and forming bigger developments. Montreal fur traders continued to expand,
supported by American and English people.
Finally, when the Hudson Bay Company was sold to a group of investors and
most of their territory was given up, the fur trade came to an end.
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