American Fur And Trade Company No 6 Bear Trap

American fur trading company based in New York City (1808-47)

American Fur Visitor

Blazon	Private
Manufacture	Fur trade
Founded	New York City, United States (1808 (1808))
Founder	John Jacob Astor
Defunct	1847 (1847)
Fate	Dissolved
Successor	None
Headquarters	New York City
Area served	United states of america and Territories

The
American Fur Company
(AFC) was founded in 1808, by John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant to the United States.^[1]
During the 18th century, furs had go a major commodity in Europe, and North America became a major supplier. Several British companies, most notably the Due north Due west Company and the Hudson’southward Bay Company, were eventual competitors against Astor and capitalized on the lucrative merchandise in furs. Astor capitalized on anti-British sentiments and his commercial strategies to become one of the first trusts in American business and a major competitor to the British commercial dominance in North American fur trade. Expanding into many former British fur-trapping regions and trade routes, the company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the The states by 1830, and became ane of the largest and wealthiest businesses in the land.

Astor planned for several companies to function beyond the Great Lakes, the Slap-up Plains and the Oregon Land to gain command of the North American fur trade. Comparatively inexpensive manufactured appurtenances were to be shipped to commercial stations for trade with various Indigenous nations for fur pelts. The sizable number of furs collected were then to exist brought to the port of Canton, as pelts were in loftier demand in the Qing Empire. Chinese products were, in plow, to be purchased for resale throughout Europe and the United States. A beneficial agreement with the Russian-American Company was also planned through the regular supply of provisions for posts in Russian America. This was planned in part to prevent the rival Montreal based North W Company (NWC) to gain a presence forth the Pacific Coast, a prospect neither Russian colonial authorities or Astor favored.^[ii]

Demand for furs in Europe began to decline during the early on 19th century, leading to the stagnation of the fur trade by the mid-19th century. Astor left his visitor in 1830, the company declared defalcation in 1842, and the American Fur Company ultimately ceased trading in 1847.

Background

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Origin

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Earlier John Jacob Astor founded his enterprise in the Oregon Country, European descendants throughout previous decades had suggested creating trade stations along the Pacific Declension. Peter Pond, an active American fur trader, offered maps of his explorations in modern Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories to both the United States Congress and to Henry Hamilton, Lieutenant Governor of Quebec in 1785. While it has been conjectured that Pond wanted funding from the Americans to explore the Pacific Declension for the Northwest Passage,^[3]
there is no documentation of this and information technology is more than likely that he had sent a copy of the map to Congress due to personal pride.^[4]
Swimming later became a founding member of the North West Visitor (NWC) and continued to trade in modern Alberta.

In fourth dimension Pond had an influence upon Alexander Mackenzie, who later on crossed the Northward American continent.^[4]
In 1802, Mackenzie promoted a plan form the “Fishery and Fur Company” to the British government. In it he called for “a supreme Civil & Military Institution” on Nootka Island, with two additional posts located on the Columbia River and some other in the Alexander Archipelago.^[5]
Additionally this plan was formed to featherbed the three major British monopolies at the time, the Hudson’south Bay Company, the Southward Body of water Visitor and the East India Company for access the Chinese markets.^[5]
However the British government turned downwards the offer, leaving the NWC to pursue MacKenzie’s plans alone.^[3]
Another likely influence upon Astor was a longtime friend, Alexander Henry. At times Henry mused at the potential of the western coast. Forming establishments on the Pacific shoreline to harness the economic potential would exist “my favorite program” equally Henry described in a letter to a New York merchant.^[6]
Information technology is likely that these considerations were discussed with Astor during his visits to Montreal and the Beaver Club. Despite not originating the idea to create a venture on the Pacific coast, Astor’due south “ability to combine and use the ideas of other men”^{[half dozen]}
allowed him to pursue the idea.

Cathay trade

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Astor joined in on two NWC voyages charted to canvas to the Qing Empire during the 1790s. These were done with American vessels to bypass British commercial law, which at the time prohibited whatever visitor as well the East Bharat Company from commerce with Cathay. These were financially profitable ventures, enough and then that Astor offered to become the NWC agent for all shipments of furs destined for Guangzhou. Nonetheless Alexander Mackenzie denied his offer, making Astor consider financing voyages to Prc without the Canadian traders.^[7]
Now a fully independent international merchant, Astor began to fund trading voyages to People’s republic of china along with several partners. Cargoes often amounted to $150,000 in such every bit otter and beaver pelts, in addition to needed specie. Astor ordered the construction of the
Beaver
in 1803 to expand his trade fleet.^[8]

Formation

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By 1808, Astor had established “an international empire that mixed furs, teas, and silks and penetrated markets on three continents.”^[8]
He began to court diplomatic and regime back up of a fur trading venture to be established on the Pacific shore in the same year. In correspondence with the Mayor of New York Urban center, DeWitt Clinton, Astor explained that a state lease would offer a particular level of formal sanction needed in the venture.^[3]
He in turn requested the Federal government grant his operations military back up to defend against Indians and command these new markets. The bold proposals were non given official sanction however, making Astor to go on to promote his ideas among prominent governmental agents.

President Thomas Jefferson was contacted by the ambitious merchant also. Astor gave a detailed plan of his mercantile considerations, declaring that they were designed to bring well-nigh American commercial authorization over “the greater part of the fur-trade of this continent…”^[iii]
This was to exist accomplished through a chain of interconnected trading posts that stretching across the Great Lakes, the Missouri River basin, the Rocky Mountains, and ending with a fort at the entrance of the Columbia River.^[9]
Once the pelts were collected from the extensive outposts they were to be loaded and shipped aboard ships endemic past Astor to the Chinese port of Guangzhou, where furs were sold for impressive profits. Chinese products similar porcelain, nankeens and tea were to be purchased; with the ships then to cross the Indian Ocean and caput for European and American markets to sell the Chinese wares.^[ten]

Subsidiaries

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Pacific Fur Company

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To begin his plans of a chain of trading stations spread across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Northwest, Astor incorporated the AFC subsidiary, the Pacific Fur Company.^[11]
[12]
Astor and the partners met in New York on 23 June 1810 and signed the Pacific Fur Company’south provisional agreement.^[13]
The boyfriend partners were former NWC men, existence Alexander McKay, Duncan McDougall, and Donald Mackenzie. The chief representative of Astor in the daily operations was Wilson Price Hunt, a St. Louis businessman with no outback feel.^[12]

From the outpost on the Columbia, Astor hoped to gain a commercial foothold in Russian America and Mainland china.^[ten]
In detail, the ongoing supply problems faced by the Russian-American Company were seen as a means to gain notwithstanding more furs.^[fourteen]
Cargo ships en route from the Columbia were planned to and then canvas north for Russian America to bring much needed provisions.^[x]
By cooperating with Russian colonial government to strengthen their material presence in Russian America, it was hoped by Astor to end the NWC or whatever other British presence to be established upon the Pacific Coast.^[2]
A tentative understanding for merchant vessels owned by Astor to ship furs gathered in Russian America into the Qing Empire was signed in 1812.^[14]

While intended to gain control of the regional fur trade, the Pacific Fur Company floundered in the State of war of 1812. The possibility of an occupation past the Royal Navy forced the auction of all company assets across the Oregon Country. This was formalized on 23 October 1813 with the raising of the Union Jack at Fort Astoria.^[15]
On thirty November HMS
Racoon
arrived at the Columbia River and in honor of George Iii of the U.k., Fort Astoria was renamed Fort George.^[sixteen]
Subsequently the forced merger in 1821 of the North Due west Visitor into their long fourth dimension rivals, the Hudson’s Bay Company, in a short time the HBC controlled the majority of the fur trade beyond the Pacific Northwest. This was done in a manner that “the Americans were forced to acknowledge that Astor’s dream” of a multi-continent economic web “had been realized… by his enterprising and far-sighted competitors.”^[17]

South W Visitor

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The South West Company handled the Midwestern and Southwestern fur trade. In the Midwest, information technology also competed with regional companies forth the upper Missouri, upper Mississippi, Platte rivers and as far southward every bit New Mexico. These competitors were mostly companies based in Saint Louis, Missouri, which were active in the fur merchandise as well equally in trade of general merchandise, and which were typically founded and led by French colonial families, such equally Pratte, Chouteau, Cabanne and Ceran St. Vrain amongst the nigh prominent, both earlier and subsequently the Louisiana Purchase or Astor setting up his company. Competition in the wilderness areas between men of the companies sometimes erupted into physical violence and outright attacks.^[18]
In 1834, the American Fur Visitor sold its Western Sectionalization to Bernard Pratte and Pierre Chouteau Jr., with whom they had been already cooperating, with the latter continuing the business as Pratte, Chouteau & Company.

After history

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For a fourth dimension, information technology seemed that the company had been destroyed but, following the war, the Us passed a police force excluding foreign traders from operating on U.S. territory. This freed the American Fur Company from having to compete with the Canadian and British companies, particularly along the borders around the Great Lakes and in the Due west. The AFC competed fiercely amid American companies to establish a monopoly in the Great Lakes region and the Midwest. In the 1820s the AFC expanded its monopoly into the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains, dominating the fur trade in what became Montana by the mid-1830s.^[19]
To achieve control of the industry, the company bought out or beat out many smaller competitors, like the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.

By 1830, the AFC had nearly consummate command of the fur trade in the United States. The company’s time at the top of America’southward concern world was short-lived. Sensing the eventual decline of fur’southward popularity in fashion, John Jacob Astor withdrew from the visitor in 1834. The visitor split into smaller entities like the Pacific Fur Company. The Northern Division of the midwestern outfit continued to be called the American Fur Visitor and was led by Ramsay Crooks. To cutting downward on expenses, it began endmost many of its trading posts.

Refuse

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Through the 1830s, competition began to resurface. At the same fourth dimension, the availability of furs in the Midwest declined. During this period, the Hudson’s Bay Company began an try to destroy the American fur companies from its Columbia Commune headquarters at Fort Vancouver. By depleting furs in the Snake River country and underselling the American Fur Company at the annual Rocky Mount Rendezvous, the HBC effectively ruined American fur trading efforts in the Rocky Mountains.^[xx]
By the 1840s, silk was replacing fur for hats every bit the wearable style in Europe. The company was unable to cope with all these factors. Despite efforts to increment profits past diversifying into other industries like lead mining, the American Fur Company folded. The assets of the company were separate into several smaller operations, most of which failed by the 1850s. In 1834, John Jacob Astor sold his interest on the river to replace the quondam fur company. He invested his fortune in real estate on Manhattan Isle, New York, and became the wealthiest homo in America. Afterwards 1840, the concern of the American Fur Visitor declined.

Influence

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During its heyday, the American Fur Company was one of the largest enterprises in the The states and held a total monopoly of the lucrative fur merchandise in the immature nation by the 1820s. Through his profits from the company, John Jacob Astor made numerous, lucrative land investments and became the richest human being in the earth and the beginning multi-millionaire in the United States.

The High german-born Astor is ranked as the eighteenth-wealthiest person of all time, and the eighth to create his fortune in the United States. He used part of his fortune to plant the Astor Library in New York City. Afterwards it merged with the Lenox Library to form the New York Public Library.

On the frontier, the American Fur Company opened the mode for the settlement and economical development of the Midwestern and Western The states. Mountain men working for the company improved Native American trails and carved others that led settlers into the West. Many cities in the Midwest and West, such as Fort Benton, Montana, and Astoria, Oregon developed around American Fur Company trading posts. The visitor played a major role in the development and expansion of the young United States.

See as well

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• North American fur trade
• Fur trade in Montana

References

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Bibliography

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External links

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• American Fur Visitor collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana Country Library