The fur trade is one of the oldest arts we know. Furs were traded by the Phoenicians and other ancient Mediterranean civilizations. The search for fine skins (including sable) lay behind Russia’s push eastwards, in the 17th century, beyond the Urals into Siberia and the Pacific regions. The fur trade was also the economic engine that drove adventurers to explore North America during the same period.
Winters in Europe were long and cold – and furs were in great demand to produce warm and practical clothing. Teams of fur traders known as voyageurs traveled thousands of kilometers from Montreal on an often perilous journey that took them to the Great Lakes and beyond. They traveled deep into the interior of the continent to trade for furs with Aboriginal hunters. Aboriginal people also provided food and other supplies the traders needed. Then, as now, many areas unsuited to agricultural development were ideal habitat for beaver, muskrat and other valuable products. Today, the fur trade is still important for the livelihoods of many Aboriginal and other people in Canada.