Deerskin trade in Colonial United States

The deerskin trade in the Colonial United States was between European settlers and the Native Americans (Indians), especially in the southeastern part of what later became the United States. In the 18th century, deer skins were an important source of revenue for the British colonies and enabled the Indians to purchase European goods, especially guns. Most of the deerskins were exported to England. The trade engaged the Catawba, Shawnee, Cherokee, Muscogee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and other peoples. The export trade began to expand in the 1670s with the foundation of Charleston, South Carolina and boomed in the 1700s, mostly ending with the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and the decimation of the whitetail deer population in the region. The Cherokee and others mainly traded their deer skins to the English, while the Shawnee traded deer skins to both the French and English colonies prior to 1760.