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Indians, the Beaver, and the Bay: The Economics of Depletion in the Lands of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1700–1763

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

Ann M. Carlos  and
Frank D. Lewis
Ann M. Carlos
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of Economics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 and a fellow of the Institute for Economic Research, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.
Frank D. Lewis
Affiliation:
Professor of Economics, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6.
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Abstract

Indians depleted the beaver, yet we do not understand why. We analyzed the pattern and determinants of beaver exploitation in the hinterlands of three Hudson's Bay Company posts. Simulating beaver population, we found declining beaver stock within each hinterland, but overharvesting in only two. Central to this process was the Company reaction to French competition. Managers raised prices in the Albany and York hinterlands, and in response the Indians increased their harvests. Churchill, which did not experience French competition, had more stable fur prices and showed no evidence of overexploitation of the beaver.

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 53 , Issue 3 , September 1993 , pp. 465 - 494
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 1993

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