European Trade in America

Early European Trade in America

Trade between the Native American tribes has occurred in America for longer than can be recorded, however, the appearance of the Europeans changed the delicate balance that existed. In their attempt to obtain European goods, the Native Americans began to alter the way they lived and traded, and many conflicts arose. But as more and more Europeans colonized the New World, relations between Europeans and the Native Americans change from trade and cooperation into conflict; especially with the British settlements. As long as the Europeans only wanted to trade and not colonize, like the French in Canada, there were good relations, but in the end the expansion of the British, and later the independent Americans that all but destroyed a system that had existed for centuries.

Historians have discovered that long distance trade networks spanned the North American continent long before...
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