CHAPTER X. 



Early History of the Fur Trade — The French Regime in America, 

 1603-1670 — New Netherlands — Formation of the Hudson's Bay 

 Company — Franco-British Struggle, 1670-1760 — Beavers the 

 Medium of Exchange — Beaver Tallies and Beaver Tokens — 

 Anarchic Period, 1760-1784 — Organization of the North-West 

 Company — Anglo-Canadian Rivalry, 1784-1821 — ^ American Fur 

 Trading Companies — The Reign of the Great Monopolists, 1S21- 

 1869 — The Usefulness of the Beaver Completely Supplanted. 



Though primitive man the world over clothed himself in furs, 

 and retained his preference for this covering until he was semi-civil- 

 ized, it was onl}' at a very late date that his admiration of the rich 

 colors and soft textures of furs returned. 



Fur trading as an established industry dates from the fourteenth 

 century, when Italy led the world in her mercantile resources and at 

 that period commanded a boundless traffic. 



Attempts were made to establish a traffic in furs with America in 

 1549, but it was not until 1603, that a regular system of trade under 

 Royal Charter began ; and until 1626, the development of the trade 

 was much retarded by the entire privileges being controlled by an 

 exclusive company, headed by M. de Chanion, whose sole object 

 was personal gain. Northern Asia was at that time the chief supply 

 market of Europe. 



In 1623, the Dutch settlements in America (New Netherlands) 

 had so far appreciated the importance of the traffic, as to adopt the 



