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The initial European interest in the fur trade quickly evolved into a quest for more direct links to Indigenous suppliers. Explorations by British and French settlers aimed to find routes that bypassed existing middlemen. A striking feature of this period was the reluctance of European settlers to engage in direct confrontation with Indigenous tribes, as they heavily relied on the furs provided by Indigenous communities. However, as the demand for beaver pelts skyrocketed, hunting pressures led to the depletion of beaver populations in eastern North America, pushing the trade westward.