Beginning in the early 1600s, Dolin traces the dramatic rise and fall of the American fur trade, from the first Dutch encounters with the Indians to the conservation movement in the late nineteenth century. He shows how the fur trade sparked controversy, fostered economic competition, and fueled wars among European powers as North America became a battleground for colonization and imperial aspirations. The trade in beaver, buffalo, sea otter, and other furs spurred the exploration and the settlement of the vast American continent, while it alternately enriched and gravely damaged the lives of America's native peoples.
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