NATS 1840 Lecture 6 – A Nation Formed on Winter Hats – Global Economy and The
Commodification of Nature
Animals as Natural Resources
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Use of animals for food, skin, bones, fur, organs, etc. used for clothing, medicinal
purposes, as tools, for religious purposes, etc.
Harvesting animals motivation for exploration, conquest and trade
Beaver pelts: expeditions to Canada, expansion of territory within Canada, conflict and
competition, trading relationships with local indigenous populations
Extraction of resources (wood, silver, beaver) instead of settlement
Beavers used in winter hats, luxury items and trade, large populations
Luxury items, conflict and oppression (sugar and the slave trade)
Population growth, demands on the environment, needs and wants
Natural resources, plants and minerals, animals as well
Claims of exclusive use, over-hunting
The Beaver
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Beavers, long and short fur, winter hats
Beaver meat is edible but it has never been a major target for hunters
Average weight 55 pounds, full beaver pelt 1 to 1-3/4 pounds, transportation on foot, in
canoe or on horseback
Estimated 10-50 beavers per square mile and 10 million total beavers in Canada before
European conquest and settlement, beaver populations grow at 20% per year, migrate
slowly and travel infrequently
Beavers build lodges out of sticks, mud and branches to dam up water bodies
Beavers eat wood, when forested areas are cleared for agriculture beaver populations
have to relocate
Europeans iron weapons and guns used by natives, impact on beaver population
“The problem of the fur trade became one of organizing the transport of supplies and furs
over increasingly greater distances.”
The Fur Trade
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Fur trade came after fish and timber extraction by Europeans
Few initial permanent towns or cities built on coast or interior, temporary seasonal
settlements to dry fish or process timber
Trade as early as 1534, brandy, tobacco, bread, fabrics and metal
Different varieties of native community, e.g Huron-Iroquois agricultural society, corn,
squash and beans, more permanent settlements, more elaborate government
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Limited native hunting of beaver, specialized knowledge; fur trade supplemental to
existing trade in beginning
Increasing European demand led to increased native hunting
Beavers hunted for meat and fur by indigenous populations before European arrival
Motion of winter beaver pelt robes against the body for 15 to 18 months, “… loosened
the deep roots of the long guard hair, and with wearing, this hair dropped out leaving the
fur”, fur ideal for hat making
Existing trade relations between indigenous tribes, chain of trade in different items
(copper, fish, fur)
Tribes who had the most fur obtained the most European technologies, advantages in
conflict (e.g. iron and steel weapons, guns)
Agricultural tribes lost intertribal conflicts
Here Innis considers an argument that sounds a lot like Diamond’s,
o “The complex European culture had reached a stage industrially in which
technological equipment essential to specialized production had been
accumulated. Ships capable of undertaking long ocean voyages, a manufacturing
system which demanded large quantities of raw material, and a distributing
organization which absorbed the finished product without difficulty…” (Innis, 16)
“Heavy overhead cost of long voyages” limited trade to commodities like beaver pelts
which were:
o Highly valuable
o Used in more advanced manufacturing processes
o Available on a large scale
European traders, knowledge of native habits and language, conducting trade,
encouraging alliances and conflicts
Early trade monopolies, improved marketing and manufacturing processes, large profits
Demand of native populations for European goods high, need for replacement, distance
of transportation
This introduction of more complex iron tools to native communities had a number of
impacts:
o Native tools were abandoned and the methods used to make them forgotten
o Guns displaced bows and arrows
o Guns required regular maintenance and ammunition was in constant demand
o Iron kettles, utensils and basic tools such as hatchets and knives were extremely
desirable
o Skills and knowledge related to beaver hunting became highly valued
o Native populations became extremely dependent on European iron technologies
Trade networks extended, hunting continued into summer
Absence of hunters from tribe for more of year led to more hostile incursions, reductions
in beaver populations led to conflict
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o “Wars between tribes, which with bows and arrows had not been strenuous,
conducted with guns were disastrous” (Innis, 20)
Competition for European trade and conflict, middlemen tribes, European weapons,
monopolies
European supply of guns to interior tribes, leading to a cycle of, “… continuous and
destructive warfare” (Innis 21)
So here we have an example of trade for a natural resource (in this case beaver pelts)
leading to a number of changes:
o Traditional hunting methods (limited impact) exchanged for newer methods
(much stronger impact)
o Demand for product leading to further penetration into the interior
o Warfare
o A decrease in agriculture and an increase in hunting
o Dependence of native populations on more advanced technologies and a loss of
traditional knowledge and technologies
o Significant decreases in animal populations