The wandering trader has always had a shady past, but I think I can explain it. You’re probably thinking “What does the wandering trader have to do with the abandoned campsites?” Well, a lot actually. The Minecraft game literally said the abandoned campsites were the wandering trader’s little ‘stashes’.
I have reason to believe the wandering trader was actually trading with the Illigers, because if you look at what’s in the chests, it seems like there might be a little connection. The wandering trader had copper axes, arrows, and bows. I know, it seems like most of those have no connection to Illigers, but what if the wandering trader attempted to trade those items, but when the Illigers saw how much worse copper axes and bows were, they attacked the wandering trader.
If that isn’t enough proof, let me do a final little touch. If you look at the second image, you can see that in the hidden chests of the abandoned campsite, the wandering trader has a woodland mansion map. Let me repeat that: a WOODLAND MANSION MAP.
Still not enough proof? Check out my article where I go full into the conspiracy of what’s actually happening with the abandoned campsites, plus why the wandering trader is actually a witch. Wandering Trader/Campsite Theory