Due to the environmental changes that caused a "Little Ice Age", the fur trade became very prominent during the early modern era. European nations competed to be apart of this enterprise. The French obtained much of their fur from the St. Lawrence valley. British traders took over the Hudson Bay region and the Dutch primarily had control over the Hudson River where New York stands today.
For the most part, Europeans did not do any of the trapping that took place for trading fur. Many of the Native Americans that partook in these jobs benefited a lot from trading fur. They usually had the Native Americans do the messy work in exchange for gifts suchs as weapons, textiles, and brandy. The fur trade became widespread and everyone wanted to take part in it due to the cold climates that were approaching. Trapping caused environmental damage to beaver populations in the United States. Their habitats were degraded which almost lead to their extinction.
The Atlantic Slave trade was essential during this time period as well. Many African people were taken in by elites in and sent to the Caribbean, America, and the Mediterranean. In the Americas, the African slave trade brought diversity into their society. Unlike other societies, there was a racial barrier between African Slaves and their European counterparts. For a long period of time, they were not viewed as equals, but instead they were seen as property. In the Indian Ocean world, many of these slaves assimilated into other societies of their owners. They lost their identity through this process. Some slaves in the Islamic world were given prominent military or political status. Many of the slaves that were transferred from one place to another died in the process. They caught diseases that were not known to them in the process.
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