Siberian fur trade to overhunting. Instead of one sable pelt, the following was accepted as its equivalent: one fox, glutton (relative of the marten), or otter pelt; two blue-fox pelts; sixteen polar-fox pelts; or one hundred squirrel pelts. The Russian government decided the amount of other pelts that were equivalent to the sable pelt. Within forty years, almost all Siberian natives were forced into paying fur tribute to the Russians. Russian traders, hunters, and explorers reached the Pacific coastline by 1650 and were collecting fur tribute from most natives along the coast. Beyond the yasuk, the Russians had two principal ways of obtaining
Neil Marten Neil Marten Sir Harry Neil Marten PC (3 December 1916 – 22 December 1985) was a British Conservative Party politician. Born in Lambeth, Marten was educated at Rossall School. During World War II he was parachuted into France to work with French resistance and later served with Norwegian resistance. He worked in the Foreign Office 1947–57 and was a solicitor and shipping advisor. Marten was Member of Parliament for Banbury from 1959 to 1983, and served as a junior aviation minister 1962–64 and Overseas Development minister under Margaret Thatcher. Marten was a leading opponent of the European Economic Community. At