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Hudson's
Bay Company Products:
Standards
of Trade
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When the Europeans
began trading with First Nations and Inuit, they soon realized that
their money was worthless. Money was no good to First Nations
and Inuit people. They wanted goods such as metal knives and axes.
They had used sharpened stone and sea-shell blades, but these
did not last as long and could not be sharpened easily.
The beaver pelt
became a currency.
There were even tokens made. Items to be traded were measured against
the value of a beaver pelt. HBC established a system that calculated
how much one "made" beaver
pelt was worth compared to other furs and goods. HBC traders
and Aboriginal hunters and trappers would each try to get more than
the standard allowed.
| Supplies |
Value
of Supplies in Beaver Pelts |
| 2.25
kg of sugar |
1
beaver pelt |
| 1
gun |
12
beaver pelts |
| 2
scissors |
1
beaver pelt |
| 20
fish hooks |
1
beaver pelt |
| 1
pair of shoes |
1
beaver pelt |
| Beaver
Pelts |
Other
Pelts |
| 1
equals... |
2
otters |
| 1
equals... |
2
foxes |
| 1
equals... |
1
cat |
| 1
equals... |
1
wolf |
| 2
equals... |
1
moose |
| 1
equals... |
1
black bear |
| 1
equals... |
2
deer |
Links
to more information…
…About
HBC products:
Hudson's Bay Company: HBC
Fashion Then and Now
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Why
did the made beaver pelt become a kind of money?
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