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Various [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] groups have historically hunted beavers for food.<ref name=CIPNE>{{cite web|last1=Kuhnlein|first1=H. V.|last2=Humphries|first2=M. H.|title=Beaver|website=Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment|access-date=December 20, 2020|url=http://traditionalanimalfoods.org/mammals/furbearers/page.aspx?id=6142}}</ref> Beaver meat was advantageous, being more calorie-rich and fattened than other [[red meats]], and the animals remained plump in winter, when they were most hunted. The bones were used to make tools.{{sfn|Backhouse|2015|p=56}}<ref name=CIPNE/> In medieval Europe, the Catholic Church considered the beaver to be part mammal and part fish, and allowed followers to eat the scaly, fishlike tail on meatless Fridays during [[Lent]]. Beaver tails were thus highly-prized in Europe; they were described by French naturalist [[Pierre Belon]] as tasting like a "nicely dressed eel".{{sfn|Poliquin|2015|p=24}}
Beaver pelts were used to make [[Beaver hat|hat]]s; [[felting|felters]] would remove the guard hairs. The number of pelts needed depended on the type of hat, with [[Cavalier hat|Cavalier]] and [[Capotain|Puritan]] hats requiring more fur than [[top hat]]s.{{sfn|Backhouse|2015|pp=99–101}} In the late 16th century, Europeans began to [[North American fur trade|deal in North American furs]] due to the lack of taxes or tariffs on the continent and the decline of fur-bearers at home. Beaver pelts caused or contributed to the [[Beaver Wars]], [[King William's War]], and the [[French and Indian War]]; the trade made [[John Jacob Astor]] and the owners of the [[North West Company]] very wealthy.<ref>Axel Madsen, ''John Jacob Astor: America's First Multimillionaire'' (2001).</ref> For Europeans in North America, the fur trade was a driver of the exploration and westward expansion on the continent and contact with native peoples, who traded with them. For Europeans in North America, the fur trade was the main driver of the westward expansion on the continent and contact with native peoples, who traded with them.{{sfn|Poliquin|2015|pp=92–94}} The fur trade peaked between 1860 and 1870, when over 150,000 beaver pelts were purchased annually by the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] and fur companies in the United States.{{sfn|Müller-Schwarze|Sun|2003|p=98}} The contemporary global fur trade is not as profitable due to conservation, [[Fur clothing#Anti-fur campaigns|anti-fur]] and [[animal rights]] campaigns.<ref name="MacDonald"/>{{sfn|Müller-Schwarze|Sun|2003|pp=150–151}}
===In culture===
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