History
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From the beginning of the eighteenth century until the American Revolution, Cherokee hunters and trappers in the Overhill Towns traded tens of thousands of animal pelts for manufactured goods imported by licensed British traders. The first resident trader in the Overhill Towns settled at Tanasee (Tennessee) in 1711. Unchecked harvesting of animals for commercial purposes severely depleted the Cherokees’ main sources of meat, especially white-tailed deer. Incoming trade goods transformed or replaced many traditional Cherokee crafts, and this deerskin trade soon made the Cherokees economically dependent on foreigners. It also made fortunes for middlemen and entrepreneurs in Charleston (now South Carolina) and in England, where this new wealth helped spark the Industrial Revolution. On July 14, 1716, Commissioners of the Indian Trade recorded that 21 Cherokee burden bearers brought in 418 beaverskins, which were exchanged for 400 weight of gun powder, 200 and a half of shot, 7 pieces of strouds, 1000 flints, 7 brass kettles, and 20 yards of half thicks.
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Vonore, Tennessee · United States
