American Fur Company
Encyclopedia
The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor
in 1808. The company grew to monopolize
the fur trade
in the United States
by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts
in American business. It went out of business in 1842.
from New York
. The original plan for the company was to establish a trading post
at the mouth of the Columbia River
, send an annual supply ship from New York City
to the post, then take fur from the post to China
, where it would be traded for goods to be sold in New York. Astor also hoped to trade with other posts along the coast of the Pacific Northwest
, including Russian outposts of the Russian-American Company
. From the beginning, Astor formed subsidiaries of the American Fur Company to manage the company's business in these areas.
dealt with operations in Oregon Country
. The early operations of the company were often in competition with the great Canadian
and British
fur trading companies: the Hudson's Bay Company
and the North West Company
. During the War of 1812
many of the American Fur Company's trading posts were lost to the British (those in the Pacific Northwest
, including Astoria
, were simply sold to the North West Company
).
For a time it seemed that the company had been destroyed, but following the war, the United States passed a law excluding foreign traders from operating on U.S. territory. This freed the American Fur Company from its competition with the Canadian and British companies. It competed fiercely to establish a monopoly for the American Fur Company in the Great Lakes region and the Midwest. In the 1820s the company expanded its monopoly into the Great Plains
and the Rocky Mountains
. To achieve control of the industry, the company bought out or beat out many smaller competitors. By 1830, the company had nearly complete control of the fur trade in the United States.
The company's time at the top of America's business world was short lived. Sensing the eventual decline of fur's popularity in fashion, John Jacob Astor withdrew from the company in 1834. The company split up, and the Pacific Fur Company became independent. The Midwestern outfit would continue to be called the American Fur Company, and was now led by Ramsay Crooks
. To cut down on expenses, the company began closing many of its trading posts.
, from its Columbia District
headquarters at Fort Vancouver
began an effort to destroy the American fur companies during the late 1830s. By depleting furs in the Snake River
country and underselling the American Fur Company at the annual Rocky Mountain Rendezvous, the HBC effectively destroyed American fur trading efforts in the Rocky Mountains. By the 1840s, silk
was replacing fur for hats as the clothing fashion in Europe. The company was unable to cope with all these factors. Despite efforts to increase profits by diversifying into other industries like lead
mining, the American Fur Company folded. The assets of the company were split into several smaller operations, most of which failed by the 1850s.
to the position of richest man in the world and the first multi-millionaire in America. Astor remains the eighteenth wealthiest person of all time, and eighth to create that fortune in America, though he was actually from Germany. Part of Astor's fortune went to found the Astor Library in New York City. Later it merged with the Lenox Library
to form the New York Public Library
.
On the frontier, the American Fur Company opened the way for the settlement and economic development of the Midwestern and Western United States.Mountain men working for the company carved the trails that led settlers into the West. Many cities in the Midwest and West, such as Astoria, Oregon
, grew up around American Fur Company trading post
s. The American Fur Company played a major role in the development and expansion of the young United States.
John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
in 1808. The company grew to monopolize
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
the fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
in American business. It went out of business in 1842.
Creation
The American Fur Company began on April 8, 1808 when Astor received a charterCharter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The original plan for the company was to establish a trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
at the mouth of the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, send an annual supply ship from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to the post, then take fur from the post to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where it would be traded for goods to be sold in New York. Astor also hoped to trade with other posts along the coast of the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
, including Russian outposts of the Russian-American Company
Russian-American Company
The Russian-American Company was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the so-called Shelekhov-Golikov Company of Grigory Shelekhov and Ivan Larionovich Golikov The Russian-American Company (officially: Under His Imperial Majesty's Highest Protection (patronage)...
. From the beginning, Astor formed subsidiaries of the American Fur Company to manage the company's business in these areas.
Subsidiaries
The South West Company handled the Midwestern fur trade, while the Pacific Fur CompanyPacific Fur Company
The Pacific Fur Company was founded June 23, 1810, in New York City. Half of the stock of the company was held by the American Fur Company, owned exclusively by John Jacob Astor, and Astor provided all of the capital for the enterprise. The other half of the stock was ascribed to working partners...
dealt with operations in Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
. The early operations of the company were often in competition with the great Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
fur trading companies: the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
and the North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
. During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
many of the American Fur Company's trading posts were lost to the British (those in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
, including Astoria
Fort Astoria
Fort Astoria was the Pacific Fur Company's primary fur trading post in the Northwest, and was the first American-owned settlement on the Pacific coast. After a short two-year term of US ownership, the British owned and operated it for 33 years. It was the first British port on the Pacific coast...
, were simply sold to the North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
).
For a time it seemed that the company had been destroyed, but following the war, the United States passed a law excluding foreign traders from operating on U.S. territory. This freed the American Fur Company from its competition with the Canadian and British companies. It competed fiercely to establish a monopoly for the American Fur Company in the Great Lakes region and the Midwest. In the 1820s the company expanded its monopoly into the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
and the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. To achieve control of the industry, the company bought out or beat out many smaller competitors. By 1830, the company had nearly complete control of the fur trade in the United States.
The company's time at the top of America's business world was short lived. Sensing the eventual decline of fur's popularity in fashion, John Jacob Astor withdrew from the company in 1834. The company split up, and the Pacific Fur Company became independent. The Midwestern outfit would continue to be called the American Fur Company, and was now led by Ramsay Crooks
Ramsay Crooks
Ramsay Crooks immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1803 and he worked in a trading post on the Great Lakes. He helped W. Price Hunt to organize and lead an overland trip to Astoria in the Oregon Country for John Jacob Astor in 1809 through 1813, as a partner in the Pacific Fur Company...
. To cut down on expenses, the company began closing many of its trading posts.
Decline
Through the 1830s, competition began to resurface. At the same time, the availability of furs in the Midwest declined. Hudson's Bay CompanyHudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, from its Columbia District
Columbia District
The Columbia District was a fur trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of British North America in the 19th century. It was explored by the North West Company between 1793 and 1811, and established as an operating fur district around 1810...
headquarters at Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
began an effort to destroy the American fur companies during the late 1830s. By depleting furs in the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
country and underselling the American Fur Company at the annual Rocky Mountain Rendezvous, the HBC effectively destroyed American fur trading efforts in the Rocky Mountains. By the 1840s, silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
was replacing fur for hats as the clothing fashion in Europe. The company was unable to cope with all these factors. Despite efforts to increase profits by diversifying into other industries like lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
mining, the American Fur Company folded. The assets of the company were split into several smaller operations, most of which failed by the 1850s.
Impact
During its heyday, the American Fur Company was one of the largest enterprises in the United States and held a total monopoly of the fur trade in the country. The company provided the money for the land investments that catapulted John Jacob AstorJohn Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
to the position of richest man in the world and the first multi-millionaire in America. Astor remains the eighteenth wealthiest person of all time, and eighth to create that fortune in America, though he was actually from Germany. Part of Astor's fortune went to found the Astor Library in New York City. Later it merged with the Lenox Library
Lenox Library
Lenox Library may refer to:*Lenox Library *A former library now part of the New York Public Library...
to form the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.
On the frontier, the American Fur Company opened the way for the settlement and economic development of the Midwestern and Western United States.Mountain men working for the company carved the trails that led settlers into the West. Many cities in the Midwest and West, such as Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
, grew up around American Fur Company trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
s. The American Fur Company played a major role in the development and expansion of the young United States.