Question

What were the most important items for trade during the time period covered in this episode? Why do you think those items had value?

Answer 1

Items such as knives, tobacco and blankets were traded for guns, gunpowder and other items.  In short, what items were useful for survival were the items people often traded with.  They had to have purpose in the frontier for the items to be of value.

Answer 2

Answer:

Beaver pelts.

Beavers were unknown in Europe and everyone loved the beaver pelts as they were warm and water resistant. For daily use or dress and ornamentation, furs have been applied for the generation of outerwear so as jackets and cape, garment and footwear covering a variety of head tops, and exquisite trim and trappings. Beaver pelts could be formed into both full-fur or felted-fur hats.