The FuR TRADE
Economic activities in Mackinac Island could have dated back to the start of the Fur Trade. The Fur Trade was first inspired by the Indians who were hunting and trapping wild animals to be used for two purposes; the flesh was their source of food and their skin for clothing (Williams 1901, 99). However, this is a very small operation as opposed to the Fur Trade, which took this idea in a much greater scale. Mackinac Island’s terrain was a push factor to the establishment of the Fur Trade since the millions of acres of forest land serves as the habitat of fur-bearing creatures. Specifically, the creatures that contributed to the trade were beavers, sea otters, buffalos, etc. and their skin was used to make expensive hats, coats and sleigh blankets (Dolin 2010, XVI). The Fur Trade was first mentioned by a French officer, Baron Ia Houtan. In 1688 in his journal describing the trade as a “depot for the goods obtained from the south and west savages, as they could not avoid passing this way when they went to the seats of the Illinese and the Oumamis, and to the river of Mississippi.” (Appletons' Journal of Literature, Science and Art 1873, 322) Given that the “savages” were said to have to pass through Mackinac Island, it indicates that the island proves to be a strategic area for the fur trade.
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This Fur Trade was a pioneer industry in North America. It is one of the first activities that exploited natural resources and rebranded it as a business (Williams 1901, 101). However, although the straits of Mackinac have been a pivotal part of the fur-trade as early as 1688, the constant military activities interfered with this economic activity. In 1809, John Jacob Astor, a German businessman who came to the United States through England, took over the trade activities previously established by the British(Appletons' Journal of Literature, Science and Art 1873, 323), and established the American Fur Company, monopolizing the market for fur for 40 years (Brown 1994, 324). His company traded furs valued at $3 million annually (Wickman 1948, 56). This impressive number was the product of rebounding economy European and American markets after the War of 1812 (Dolin 2010, 221). The island serves as an important hub of the trade chain as it was where the great central mart was. The great central mart consisted of supply-stores, for outgoing and incoming voyagers, and the warehouse to store good and fur brought from New York and the interior region. The trade gave beneficial economic effects in terms of increasing employment in the island given that the fur business was labor intensive. In 1834, Astor sold the American Fur Company which lead to the business’ decline (Williams 1901, 109). The business strived up until 1842, which ended the company’s run in Mackinac Island (Wickman 1948, 56).
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Brief Introduction to the Fur Trade by Eric Jay Dolin, Author of Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America