Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in AmericaA Seattle Times selection for one of Best Non-Fiction Books of 2010 The news of Hudson's 1609 voyage to America ignited a fierce competition to lay claim to this uncharted continent, teeming with untapped natural resources. The result was the creation of an American fur trade, which fostered economic rivalries and fueled wars among the European powers, and later between the United States and Great Britain, as North America became a battleground for colonization and imperial aspirations. In Fur, Fortune, and Empire, best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin chronicles the rise and fall of the fur trade of old, when the rallying cry was "get the furs while they last." Beavers, sea otters, and buffalos were slaughtered, used for their precious pelts that were tailored into extravagant hats, coats, and sleigh blankets. To read Fur, Fortune, and Empire then is to understand how North America was explored, exploited, and settled, while its native Indians were alternately enriched and exploited by the trade. As Dolin demonstrates, fur, both an economic elixir and an agent of destruction, became inextricably linked to many key events in American history, including the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812, as well as to the relentless pull of Manifest Destiny and the opening of the West. This work provides an international cast beyond the scope of any Hollywood epic, including Thomas Morton, the rabble-rouser who infuriated the Pilgrims by trading guns with the Indians; British explorer Captain James Cook, whose discovery in the Pacific Northwest helped launch America's China trade; Thomas Jefferson who dreamed of expanding the fur trade beyond the Mississippi; America's first multimillionaire John Jacob Astor, who built a fortune on a foundation of fur; and intrepid mountain men such as Kit Carson and Jedediah Smith, who sliced their way through an awe inspiring and unforgiving landscape, leaving behind a mythic legacy still resonates today. Concluding with the virtual extinction of the buffalo in the late 1800s, Fur, Fortune, and Empire is an epic history that brings to vivid life three hundred years of the American experience, conclusively demonstrating that the fur trade played a seminal role in creating the nation we are today. |
Contents
3 | 24 |
4 | 34 |
Clash of Empires | 59 |
Many Hounds Are the Hares Death | 74 |
12 | 77 |
6 | 94 |
8 | 117 |
America Heads West | 131 |
Mountain | 227 |
Taos Trappers and Astors Empire | 255 |
14 | 282 |
The Last Robe | 294 |
End of an Era | 310 |
Notes | 317 |
409 | |
Illustration Credits | 417 |
Other editions - View all
Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America Eric Jay Dolin Limited preview - 2010 |
Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America Eric Jay Dolin No preview available - 2010 |
Fur Fortune and Empire: The Epic History Of The Fur Trade In America Eric Jay Dolin No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
Adventures American Bison American Fur Company American Fur Trade animals arrived Astoria Bison Blackfeet Boston Bradford Britain British buffalo Canada canoes Captain Chittenden claimed colonies colonists Colter Columbia Cook coureurs de bois Courtesy Library Delaware Discovery Dutch early Empire England English European expedition Exploration France French Fur Company fur-trading guns History of Plymouth Hudson Hudson's Bay Company hundred Hunt Ibid Indians Iroquois Island James Jefferson Jewitt John Jacob Astor killed Lakes land later Ledyard Lewis and Clark Lisa Louis Maquinna Massachusetts merchants Meriwether Lewis miles Mississippi Missouri Morton mountain men Netherland North America North West Company Pacific Northwest Plymouth Plantation Press profits rendezvous river robes Rocky Mountains sailed Santa Fe sea otter sent settlement ship Skins Were Money Smith soon Stuyvesant Swedes territory Thomas thousand trading post trap trappers traveled treaty tribes United valley voyage wampum wanted Washington West western William wrote York