Beavers and Plumes: The History of the Trade and Conflicts Over Beaver Hats and Feathered Hats

Though the importance of hats is easy to overlook, it was deadly serious in more ways than one, impacting the beavers and birds used to make fashionable hats, the environment of the region, and the people fighting over the resources. Beaver hats put the Dutch, British, and French in conflict, and later the Americans and Canadians. Plumed women's hats were considerably less important historically, but they had a huge ecological impact. The beaver is a crucial species that once had an immense...