USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -There were two types of beaver pelts: castor gras and castor sec. The term “castor gras” designates pelts taken by the Indians when prime, trimmed into rectangular shape, 5 to 8 of them sewn together and worn with the fur next to the body for 12 to 18 months.

Detailed explanation-2: -The fur trade started because of a fashion craze in Europe during the 17th century. Europeans wanted to wear felt hats made of beaver fur. The most important players in the early fur trade were Indigenous peoples and the French. The French gave European goods to Indigenous people in exchange for beaver pelts.

Detailed explanation-3: -"Beaver fur was at one time extensively used in the manufacture of hats but has become so rare and valuable that it is now chiefly used for muffs, collars, and trimming.

Detailed explanation-4: -Many Europeans took part in the quest to collect beaver fur from Canada and the US to sell back home. The Europeans hired French Canadians known as voyageurs to paddle huge birch bark canoes from Montreal to the villages of First Nation people (native people in Canada) to collect the beaver pelts.