The Ubiquitous Beaver

Interesting that so much of the four-way (nine-way?) conflict between Algonquin and Iroquois, French and British (Huron? Siouan? Dutch? Swedish? Spanish?) interests in 18th Century North America should be centered around the humble beaver, giant amphibious rodent, once living in huge numbers across the continent, and hunted to near extinction, much like its Eurasian cousin.

The Subway Plaque Commemorating a Famous Furrier

An Interesting Behavior: Dear Enemy Effect

Below is a very enlightening passage, which helped me to understand the broader 18th century economics involved in the beaver felt hat trade:

From: A Brief History of the Beaver Trade

In the seventeenth and eighteenth  centuries, beaver hats were  produced for sale domestically in  the French and British markets,  as well as for export.  The French  domestic market included  military  and naval contracts, as  well as consumer products sold on  the general market.  The majority  of their exports were shipped to  French colonies in the Caribbean,  Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Spanish  South America.^[6]  Britain's  exportation of beaver hats picked  up in the eighteenth century, after  the acquisition of much of the  Hudson Bay Territory of French  Canada following the War of  Spanish succession In the 1720's,  the British exported to their own  Caribbean colonies in Jamaica:  two dozen beaver hats and one  dozen half beaver hats); three  dozen half beavers to Bilbao; three  dozen beaver hats to Barbados;  and three dozen beaver hats and  three dozen felts to Calais.  By the  1730's, Britain "exported formerly by the dozens but now by the hundreds of beaver and half beaver hats to the British West Indies."^[7]  On the European continent, Britain was able to infiltrate the Iberian market.  From 1700 to 1750 the revenue from beaver hats shipped to Spain and Portugal, and then on to their colonies, increased from £44,000 to over £263,000.^[8]  Of Britain's fur exports, 85% were comprised of beaver hats, 45% of which were exchanged with Spain and Portugal for bullion.  Additional evidence regarding the sale of beaver hats in Europe demonstrates greater English sales in Holland and Germany, with French advantages in Switzerland, the Baltic, and smaller markets in Spain and Italy.^[9]

Of course a nice picture is always welcome:

Posted here purely because I like the style, giant beavers of the primeval past:

A toast to the industrious beaver, and the many lessons to be learned.

One last thought. Do an image search for "Beaver Lake" and check out how many states are represented, as well as how many provinces. Looking for the one (one?) in Minnesota (Seven Beaver Lake), I quickly found one in New York, North Carolina, Arkansas, Nebraska, Colorado, British Columbia... That's a testament to ubiquity right there.

Cheers.