Deerskin trade

The deerskin trade between Colonial America

Colonial America

The term colonial history of the United States refers to the history of the land that would become the United States from the start of European settlement to the time of independence from Europe, and especially to the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain which declared themselves independent...

 and the Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...

s was one of the most important trading relationships between Europeans and Native Americans, especially in the southeast. It was a form of the fur trade

Fur trade

The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur.-Russian fur trade:Before the colonization of the Americas, Russia was a major supplier of fur-pelts to Western Europe and parts of Asia. Fur was a major Russian export as trade developed in the early Middle...

, but less famous since deerskins were not as valuable as furs from the north, like beaver

Beaver

The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, Castor canadensis and Castor fiber . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...

. But the deerskin export was an important source of raw material for the Europe their deerskins to the French and Spanish, and the Shawnee

Shawnee

The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are a people native to North America. They originally inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...

 traded deerskins with colonies to the north.

So large was the scale that in time deer became nearly extirpated

Extinction

In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or group of taxa. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species...

 in the southeast.

The deerskin trade between Colonial America

Colonial America

The term colonial history of the United States refers to the history of the land that would become the United States from the start of European settlement to the time of independence from Europe, and especially to the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain which declared themselves independent...

 and the Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...

s was one of the most important trading relationships between Europeans and Native Americans, especially in the southeast. It was a form of the fur trade

Fur trade

The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur.-Russian fur trade:Before the colonization of the Americas, Russia was a major supplier of fur-pelts to Western Europe and parts of Asia. Fur was a major Russian export as trade developed in the early Middle...

, but less famous since deerskins were not as valuable as furs from the north, like beaver

Beaver

The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, Castor canadensis and Castor fiber . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...

. But the deerskin export was an important source of raw material for the Europe their deerskins to the French and Spanish, and the Shawnee

Shawnee

The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are a people native to North America. They originally inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...

 traded deerskins with colonies to the north.

So large was the scale that in time deer became nearly extirpated

Extinction

In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or group of taxa. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species...

 in the southeast. It also radically altered the society of the Cherokee, with men increasingly absent from towns for long periods to hunt deer, and a growing Cherokee dependence on European trade goods (Davis, 2000). By 1750, deer were becoming harder to find in Cherokee territory, while the tribe was simultaneously becoming entirely dependent on European trade goods, which contributed to growing tensions and conflict between the Indians of the southeast and the Europeans (as well as conflict between tribes).

Deerskins were used to produce buckskin

Buckskin

Buckskin may refer to:*Buckskin , leather made of buck hide*Buckskins, an outfit of buckskin leather*Buckskin , a color of horses similar to buckskin leather...

as well as a chamoislike leather that was used for gloves, bookbinding, and many other things. the Cherokee lived near rivers and streams

External links

• English Trade in Deerskins and Indian Slaves, New Georgia Encyclopedia