After week six, I learned a lot of interesting information. So far this has been my favorite week since it really explains a lot of the ways older societies functioned. I really enjoyed learning about the Fur Trade since it showed how intellectual they were with their resources. The Indigenous people were smart when it came to running a high functioning trade system and when it came to bargaining with their allies.
The Fur Trade was widely considered a middle ground between Indigenous and European culture, both parties could benefit from trading. Trading allows people to receive items that they would not normally be able to obtain, while also losing something they can live without. Since both the Indigenous and European people sought after different cultural products, they could mutually give each other what they desired.
Power dynamics during fur trade were mainly catered towards the Europeans due to their military. Since Europe was a large country, it caused an imbalance in power with the Indigenous people since they didn’t really have a “military.” The Europeans had a more modern functioning military rather than a tribe which greatly improved their firepower. However, the Indigenous people had all of the rare furs that people wanted, so it allowed them to thrive. They also gained more power by having rare furs. With the power the Europeans held, they were able to negotiate with countries into forming alliances. This protected them from stronger nations that would have attempted to take them over if they did not have trade items. (It reminds me of the shoe market)
I would consider material culture as “historical documents” because it is physical evidence that people had their own way of living back in the day. For example, “Bandolier bags [were] based on bags carried by European soldiers armed with rifles, who used the bags to store ammunition cartridges” (Kilroy-Ewbank 1). The Indigenous people had to hold their ammunition in an efficient way, so they invented a bag to hold their bulk. They were able to survive and have peace by having everyone contribute to their community. All of the people in the communities had certain roles to fulfill allowing operations to run smoothly.