Traders Quotes



He was describing the way that the Colonial America, Native American communities coped with the adverse consequence of violence brought about by liquor which had been given to the Indians by white traders for the purpose of impairing the Indians’ judgment so that they would trade more easily and on better terms. Since then and into the 21st century, business people have entertained’ potential customers with alcohol for the same general purposes.


At the time, the traders were mostly French who traded all kinds of goods and especially alcohol—usually rum—for fur animal pelts. Many of the Indians were partial to the French and French oriented traders who did not covet their land and would provide the Indians with alcohol and guns, lead and powder while English traders sometimes tried to restrict these items. Many tribes of American Indians are genetically very susceptible to alcohol—both in terms of immediate impairment—getting drunk and in developing a dependency on having alcohol—addiction or alcoholism.


After King Henry VIII left the Roman Catholic Church and adopted Protestantism, English Protestants were in great danger in Catholic Europe. Queen Elisabeth I, with its traditional trading partners in Catholic Europe too dangerous for English merchants, negotiated successfully with the Ottoman Empire Sultan Murad III, for mutual trading. An Englishman was much safer in the Islamic world than he was in Europe. Not only did England open up new markets but its merchants developed the skills of trading with the East which was one of the main factors allowing them to be so successful in establishing the British Empire which was always fundamentally a trading empire. Elizabeth’s successful foreign policy not only allowed prosperity despite the schism with Europe, but established the foundation for England to become the greatest world power.