Chapters 7-9, How the Fur Trade Shaped the American Economy, Beads and Buildings, Corn, Cotton and Tobacco Summary and Analysis

New York City has been the center of world events in the twentieth century but it got its start as a trading post for furs. John Jacob Astor built the fur industry in New York after emigrating from Germany. He was one of the first men to achieve a multi-million dollar fortune, through creating the American Fur Company in 1808 which competed fiercely with the Hudson Bay Company in Canada. Astor could not sell to the English and so found a Chinese market for his furs. He got his supply of furs from the Native Americans, who hunted and trapped animals that produced the best and thickest pelts. Hunting often...