<P> The North American fur trade was the industry and activities related to the acquisition , trade , exchange , and sale of animal furs in North America . Aboriginal peoples in Canada and Native Americans in the United States of different regions traded among themselves in the Pre-Columbian Era , but Europeans participated in the trade beginning from the time of their arrival in the New World and extended its reach to Europe . The French started trading in the 16th century , the English established trading posts on Hudson Bay in present - day Canada in the 17th century , and the Dutch had trade by the same time in New Netherland . The 19th - century North American fur trade , when the industry was at its peak of economic importance , involved the development of elaborate trade networks . </P>
<P> The North American fur trade was the industry and activities related to the acquisition , trade , exchange , and sale of animal furs in North America . Aboriginal peoples in Canada and Native Americans in the United States of different regions traded among themselves in the Pre-Columbian Era , but Europeans participated in the trade beginning from the time of their arrival in the New World and extended its reach to Europe . The French started trading in the 16th century , the English established trading posts on Hudson Bay in present - day Canada in the 17th century , and the Dutch had trade by the same time in New Netherland . The 19th - century North American fur trade , when the industry was at its peak of economic importance , involved the development of elaborate trade networks . </P>
when did the north american fur trade start
when did the north american fur trade start
16th century
16th century