The trans-Atlantic trade in deerskins was a significant commercial activity in Colonial America[clarification needed] that was greatly influenced, and at least partially dominated, by Scottish traders and their firms.
This is evidenced by the recollection, quoted by Cashin, that "the Indians were greatly attached to the Highlanders ... because of their wild manners, of their manly sports, of their eastern costume, so much resembling their own" .
This together with similarly structured societies, based in both cases upon clan or tribal ties and bonds of kinship, is thought to have led to a greater trust and willingness to trade and socialise with the Scots ahead of other traders with little in common to themselves.
The marriages ensured a connection to the kinfolk of the trader's wife in various villages, providing some protection against ill treatment and a guaranteed customer base.
As Martin states, "Scottish resident traders, most of them with Native American wives and offspring, connected themselves to the existing culture instead of proscribing or attacking it".
As the first Southern Superintendent of Indian Affairs Edmond Atkin said, "Licences on the present footing may as well be given to men living in Cheapside”.
For instance, the Scots firm of Panton, Leslie and Company controlled the Florida Indian trade (which was Spanish territory following an exchange with Britain after the war) by offering credit which United States traders were unable to equal.
Great Britain had a superior capacity to produce and deliver high quality goods desired by the Indians to that of the French or Spanish.
The ability of Scottish traders to sustain the delivery of trade goods even in time of war also influenced their customers, as the French and Spanish had difficulty in supplying the Indians.
As the French Governor of Louisiana stated , the Indians "every day tell our traders that if they were in a position to supply them with the things that they need, they would never permit the English to come upon their land".
[citation needed] British, or Scottish, traders offered better credit terms, a reliable source of supply, and a wider variety and better quality of goods than their competitors.