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Why Are There Statues of Beavers on Top of This Oxford Street Shop?

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Re: Why Are There Statues of Beavers on Top of This Oxford Street Shop?

#11

Post by bluedino »

KellyCriterion wrote: post #10
sharkjacobs wrote: post #3

It's funny to me, a Canadian, that this even warrants a did-you-know article because everything about the beaver fur/hat making industry is something I learned extensively about in elementary and high school because it was like, a major driver of the European exploration and colonization and therefore significant to the history of my country. But outside of here it's just a footnote to a fashion trend.

Thanks for sharing this discrepancy! Indeed, the "beaver as relevant tool as major driver" does actually not exist in schools in EU mainland; the chance is higher you hear about the porks brought by first European-immigrants that they used for food production because of their fast reproduction numbers. (and porks are easy to deal with, they eat everything; Once I heard someone from crime enforcement saying: "the perf…

The movie "Snatch"

https://youtu.be/_Yvmg4wcfzY?is=paeV1wjPaF2c6WZB

Re: Why Are There Statues of Beavers on Top of This Oxford Street Shop?

#12

Post by 1-more »

conartist6 wrote: post #5

Perhaps it's only because we wiped them out so many places that we understand in the slightest the ecological role they play

$1.2 Million worth of wetland restoration and years of ecological revue skipped https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver-engineered_dam_in_the_C...

Re: Why Are There Statues of Beavers on Top of This Oxford Street Shop?

#14

Post by sparky_twofort »

redwood wrote: post #8

The flag of New York City also features beavers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_New_York_City Edit: it's clearer in the seal of the city https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_New_York_City

The Astor Place subway station also contains several beaver tiles / bas-reliefs, because John Jacob Astor made his fortune with beaver pelts. EDIT: see https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/beavers-john-jacob-astor

Re: Why Are There Statues of Beavers on Top of This Oxford Street Shop?

#15

Post by _whiteCaps_ »

If you're interested in learning more about the ecological impact of beavers, I highly recommend "Three Against The Wilderness" by Eric Collier. He homesteaded in BC in the 1930s-60s and encouraged the re-introduction of beavers after being on the brink of extinction here.

Re: Why Are There Statues of Beavers on Top of This Oxford Street Shop?

#16

Post by KellyCriterion »

bluedino wrote: post #11
KellyCriterion wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for sharing this discrepancy! Indeed, the "beaver as relevant tool as major driver" does actually not exist in schools in EU mainland; the chance is higher you hear about the porks brought by first European-immigrants that they used for food production because of their fast reproduction numbers. (and porks are easy to deal with, they eat everything; Once I heard someone from crime enforcement saying: "the perf…

The movie "Snatch" https://youtu.be/_Yvmg4wcfzY?is=paeV1wjPaF2c6WZB

So, is it about Beaver or Pork then? :-D

Re: Why Are There Statues of Beavers on Top of This Oxford Street Shop?

#18

Post by Tiktaalik »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #9
helterskelter wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people speculate that the USA gained control of Oregon country in large part because Canadians/Brits trading in beaver furs had to send all their pelts back to the UK before they could go out to the rest of the world. America just sailed from Boston to the PNW, traded for pelts and went directly to, say, China. Much faster, and cheaper too.

What was stopping the British from taking their pelts directly across the Pacific? It can't have been American control of the region if this is the explanation for how America got control of the region. Spain certainly wasn't exporting silver from the New World to Europe before shipping it on to China; they shipped it directly there.

That's a good question. The British were definitely engaging in a very, very lucrative trade in sea otter pelts from the NW Coast of British Columbia, trading direct to Macau, and the Boston Men/USA got in on that as well over time.

Plausibly some agency (Hudson Bay company?) had a monopoly on beaver trade and this did not apply to sea otter, or maybe the story isn't quite right or there were other economic reasons why beavers to Asia as a concept wasn't exploited.

Re: Why Are There Statues of Beavers on Top of This Oxford Street Shop?

#19

Post by CPLX »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #9
helterskelter wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people speculate that the USA gained control of Oregon country in large part because Canadians/Brits trading in beaver furs had to send all their pelts back to the UK before they could go out to the rest of the world. America just sailed from Boston to the PNW, traded for pelts and went directly to, say, China. Much faster, and cheaper too.

What was stopping the British from taking their pelts directly across the Pacific? It can't have been American control of the region if this is the explanation for how America got control of the region. Spain certainly wasn't exporting silver from the New World to Europe before shipping it on to China; they shipped it directly there.

I guess it depends on what you call the new world, but for what it's worth that's not quite correct, the main transit point was Manila.

In true pedantic HN fashion I am currently vacationing on the west coast of Mexico and learned this fact yesterday.

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