Discover the role that the beaver trade played in populating 17th-century New England and contributing to its economic well being in this video adapted from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The Pilgrims. While Plymouth’s London-based investors filed for bankruptcy in 1626, Plymouth’s bleak prospects soon turned for the better when the demand for beaver skins rose but became scarce during the war with England, France and Spain. The business model the Pilgrims developed inspired an influx of Puritan immigrants to America.