It's funny to me, a Canadian,
that this even warrants a did-you-know article because everything about the beaver fur/hat making industry is something I learned extensively about in elementary and high school because it was like, a major driver of the European exploration and colonization and therefore significant to the history of my country.
But outside of here it's just a footnote to a fashion trend.
Some people speculate that the USA gained control of Oregon country in large part because Canadians/Brits trading in beaver furs had to send all their pelts back to the UK before they could go out to the rest of the world. America just sailed from Boston to the PNW, traded for pelts and went directly to, say, China. Much faster, and cheaper too.
What was stopping the British from taking their pelts directly across the Pacific? It can't have been American control of the region if this is the explanation for how America got control of the region.
Spain certainly wasn't exporting silver from the New World to Europe before shipping it on to China; they shipped it directly there.
What such a hat looks like:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_beaver_hat_-_D...
It's funny to me, a Canadian, that this even warrants a did-you-know article because everything about the beaver fur/hat making industry is something I learned extensively about in elementary and high school because it was like, a major driver of the European exploration and colonization and therefore significant to the history of my country.
But outside of here it's just a footnote to a fashion trend.
Some people speculate that the USA gained control of Oregon country in large part because Canadians/Brits trading in beaver furs had to send all their pelts back to the UK before they could go out to the rest of the world. America just sailed from Boston to the PNW, traded for pelts and went directly to, say, China. Much faster, and cheaper too.
What was stopping the British from taking their pelts directly across the Pacific? It can't have been American control of the region if this is the explanation for how America got control of the region.
Spain certainly wasn't exporting silver from the New World to Europe before shipping it on to China; they shipped it directly there.
We learned about it here in Minnesota, too! But I suppose we are about as close to Canadian as you can get without actually crossing the border.
The flag of New York City also features beavers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_New_York_City
Edit: it's clearer in the seal of the city https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_New_York_City
Perhaps it's only because we wiped them out so many places that we understand in the slightest the ecological role they play
I think if we hadn't we would've figured it out anyway. Someone would have found them interesting enough to study.