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This is a list of Hudson's Bay Company trading posts. [1]For the fur trade in general see North American fur trade and Canadian canoe routes (early).For some groups of related posts see Fort-Rupert for James Bay.
Its services are used by both large fur farms and small-time trappers. Its auctions are held three to four times a year in Toronto. It is the largest fur auction house in North America, and the second largest in the world. [1] In its May 2008 auction, NAFA handled nearly 3.5 million pelts.
Modern fur trapping and trading in North America is part of a wider $15 billion global fur industry where wild animal pelts make up only 15 percent of total fur output. In 2008, the global recession hit the fur industry and trappers especially hard with greatly depressed fur prices thanks to a drop in the sale of expensive fur coats and hats ...
By the early 19th century, several companies established strings of fur trading posts and forts across North America. As well, the North-West Mounted Police established local headquarters at various points such as Calgary where the HBC soon set up a store.
Eventually, traders began using various foreign coins as stores of value. In order to trade with Indigenous peoples, the HBC standardized the unit of account as the made beaver, or one high quality beaver skin. In 1795, a made beaver could buy eight knives, one kettle, or a gun could be purchased with 10 made beaver pelts. [2]
The American Fur Trade of the Far West: A History of the Pioneer Trading Posts and Early Fur Companies of the Missouri Valley and the Rocky Mountains and the Overland Commerce with Santa Fe. 2 vols. (1902). full text online; Dolin, Eric Jay (2010). Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America (1st ed.).
Harold Innis begins The Fur Trade in Canada with a brief chapter on the beaver which became a much desired fur due to the popularity of the beaver hat in European society. [1] He remarks that it is impossible to understand the developments of the fur trade, or of Canadian history, without some knowledge of the beaver's life and habits. [4]
Beaver fur has long been used in making muffs, stoles, collars, trimmings, and felt for hats. [4] The American beaver scores a 90/100 on the Austin Fur Durability chart [5] making it practical for utilitarian items such as linings. In the 21st century beaver is considered a premium fur and is often seen as very attractive to designers.