The Legacy of the North American Fur Trade:Market Economy vs. Subsistence Economy

One of the most amazing things one must acknowledge when studying human evolution is man’s sense of priority regarding elements that make up the daily struggle for survival. This is most obvious when focusing on primitive man’s instinctive reactions to environmental changes. Changes forced him to adapt and prioritize his life differently in order to continue his existence. A cyclical pattern emerged, whereby primitive man assumed habitation within an environment for as long as that environment could support him. Once it could no longer he either adjusted his methods of living to meet the new demands for survival, or he moved to another suited for his preferred way of life, or he perished. The primary goal was subsistence. Subsistence economics and the culture it produced remained the driving life force for primitive man and so too for Native Americans. That is, until the introduction of European traders and the market economy.
The various nations that inhabited North A...