THE BEAVER TRADE BEGINS
As early as 1517, ships from France, Spain, and Portugal crossed the Atlantic Ocean to fish off the coast of present-day Newfoundland, Canada. They were met by the Indigenous people who lived there. Those people were willing to trade the beaver pelts they wore for a few of the tools and trinkets the fishermen carried.
The fishermen knew they could draw a high price for the beaver furs back in Europe. But the Indigenous people had only a few
