17th Century | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century
Fur trading was very important to New England settlers. In order to travel to America, many settlers were in debt as English merchants had financed their voyage and supplying furs to England helped pay that debt. In the 1600s, the primary animal fur traded in Maine was beaver pelts. Other furs also traded included muskrat, fox, marten, mink, and otter. The fur trade significantly impacted early colonial economies and the lives of both Europeans and Native Americans in the region.
Beaver furs became an extremely valuable item in England. Native Americans hunted beavers for food and the pelts to make clothing and robes. Settlers traded for the furs with grain, metal goods and woven clothing and blankets. When the furs arrived in London, pelts were sold at auction.
The driving force behind the beaver fur trade was the fashion of hats. High crowned hats were the fashion of the wealthy. The beaver pelts created a beautiful surface, held their shape very well, excellent at surviving rough use and repeated wettings. The demand for beaver pelts and lucrative trade for the settlers pushed settlers farther inland to search for beavers and encroach on Wabanaki territory and other Native American territories. The beaver trade created conflicts between the English and the Native Americans as well as the French. There were even “Beaver Wars” between the Iroquois and the French as a result of the lucrative trade.
By the 1690’s, it is estimated that 145,000 pelts were shipped from New France (Canada). The beaver population was decimated as trade continued through the 1700’s. The remaining beaver population was eventually spared from extinction by a change in fashion. By the 1830’s, a new type of top hat was being made from silk. It was cheaper to produce, lighter and polished to a higher sheen than beaver felt. The price of beaver fur plummeted and trapping of beaver became unprofitable.