The North American fur trade left an enduring material legacy of the complex interactions between natives and Europeans. From the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries, the demand for pelts and skins transformed America, helping to fuel the Age of Discovery and, later, Manifest Destiny.

By synthesizing its social, economic, and ideological effects, Nassaney reveals how this extractive economy contributed to the American experience. Including research from historical archaeologists and a case study of the Fort St. Joseph trading post in Michigan, this innovative work highlights the fur trade’s role in the settlement of the continent and its impact, persisting even today, on social relations.