Native American History of Alaska - Adamagan, Aleut People, Anangula Archeological District, Arctic Small Tool Tradition, Birnirk Site, Gallagher Flint (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 30. Chapters: Adamagan, Aleut people, Anangula Archeological District, Arctic small tool tradition, Birnirk Site, Gallagher Flint Station Archeological Site, Haida people, History of the Tlingit, Kijik Archeological District, Maniilaq, Maritime Fur Trade, Norton tradition, Onion Portage Archeological District, Paleo-Arctic Tradition, Paleo-Eskimo, Prehistory of Alaska, Thule people, Yukon Island Main Site. Excerpt: The Maritime fur trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese goods, which were then sold in Europe and the United States. The maritime fur trade was pioneered by Russians, working east from Kamchatka along the Aleutian Islands to the southern coast of Alaska. British and Americans entered during the 1780s, focusing on what is now the coast of British Columbia. The trade boomed around the beginning of the 19th century. A long period of decline began in the 1810s. As the sea otter population was depleted, the maritime fur trade diversified and transformed, tapping new markets and commodities while continuing to focus on the Northwest Coast and China. It lasted until the middle to late 19th century. Russians controlled most of the coast of what is now Alaska during the entire era. The coast south of Alaska saw fierce competition between, and among, British and American trading vessels. The British were the first to operate in the southern sector, but were unable to compete against the Americans who dominated from the 1790s to the 1830s. The British Hudson's Bay Company entered the coast trade in the 1820s with the intention of driving the Americans away. This was accomplished by about 1840....