Título: North American fur trade
Seção: Effect of the deerskin trade on Native Americans
Background: The North American fur trade was the industry and activities related to the acquisition, trade, exchange, and sale of animal furs in North America. Aboriginal peoples in Canada and Native Americans in the United States of different regions traded among themselves in the Pre-Columbian Era, but Europeans participated in the trade beginning from the time of their arrival in the New World and extended its reach to Europe. The French started trading in the 16th century, the English established trading posts on Hudson Bay in present-day Canada in the 17th century, and the Dutch had trade by the same time in New Netherland. The 19th-century North American fur trade, when the industry was at its peak of economic importance, involved the development of elaborate trade networks.

Conteúdo: Native American--specifically the Creek's--beliefs revolved around respecting the environment. The Creek believed they had a unique relationship with the animals they hunted. The Creek had several rules surround how a hunt could occur, particularly prohibiting needless killing of deer. There were specific taboos against taking the skins of unhealthy deer. However, the lucrative deerskin trade prompted hunters to act past the point of restraint they had operated under before. The hunting economy collapsed due to the scarcity of deer as they were over-hunted and lost their lands to white settlers. Due to the decline of deer populations, and the governmental pressure to switch to the colonists' way of life, animal husbandry replaced deer hunting both as an income and in the diet.  Rum was first introduced in the early 1700s as a trading item, and quickly became an inelastic good. While Native Americans were for the most part acted conservatively in trading deals, they consumed a surplus of alcohol. Traders used rum to help form partnerships. Rum had a significant effect on the social behavior of Native Americans. Under the influence of rum, the younger generation did not obey the elders of the tribe, and became involved with more skirmishes with other tribes and white settlers. Rum also disrupted the amount of time the younger generation of males spent on labor. Alcohol was one of the goods provided on credit, and led to a debt trap for many Native Americans. Native Americans di

user: What was the effect of the deerskin trade on Native Americans?

assistant: Native American--specifically the Creek's--beliefs revolved around respecting the environment.

user: Why was the Creek really affected by the deerskin trade?

assistant: The Creek believed they had a unique relationship with the animals they hunted.

user: What were some of these belief they held with the animals?

assistant: The Creek had several rules surround how a hunt could occur, particularly prohibiting needless killing of deer.

user: Was there anything else they believed was unique about how they treated animals?

assistant: There were specific taboos against taking the skins of unhealthy deer.

user: Did anything happen to the Creek because of the deerskin trade?

assistant: The hunting economy collapsed due to the scarcity of deer as they were over-hunted and lost their lands to white settlers.

user: What did the Creek do to adjust to the collapse of the hunting economy?

assistant: animal husbandry replaced deer hunting both as an income and in the diet.