History Unplugged Podcast

Scott Rank

If the 1700s American Fur Trade Had Turned Out Differently, Californians Would Be Speaking Russian Today

February 4, 2021 ● 48 min

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Today's guest is David Bainbridge, author of "Fur War 1765-1840," which focuses on the catastrophic - and previously overlooked - elements of the Western fur trade in North America.

We discuss how the many First Nations fought to maintain their communities and local ecology while Russia, Great Britain, America, France, Spain, Mexico, and Hawaii contested for furs and power. With just a few minor changes in government response or markets - the North Americans on the west coast might speak Spanish or Russian and how Tlingit, Haida, and Mowachat Nations might dominate the North Coast.

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