What was the fur trade?

Trappers in boat

In the 1600s and 1700s, fur hats were popular in Europe. North America became the source of beaver, muskrat, deer, and raccoon pelts for the hat industry in Europe. These animals were trapped and hunted by Native Americans in return for trade goods and by French voyageursSound* in return for money and goods. The pelts were sorted, graded, and bought by merchants who shipped them to Europe. Pelts of beaver and raccoon provided the raw material out of which men's top hats were made. When the silk top hat was created by Italian hatmakers in the late 1700s, the fur trade greatly declined.

*VoyageursSound were woodsmen, boatmen, or guides employed in the fur trade. Most were fluent in several Indian dialects.

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© Illinois State Museum 31-Dec-96