INDIANS, THE BEAVER, AND THE BAY - THE ECONOMICS OF DEPLETION IN THE LANDS OF THE HUDSONS-BAY-COMPANY, 1700-1763

• 成果类型: Article; Proceedings Paper
• 署名作者: Queens University - Canada
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0507
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022050700013450
• 发表日期: 1993
• 页码: 465-494
• 关键词: newfoundland; commons

摘要

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.