The Presence of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the Territories of Canadian Native Societies: Some Negative Impacts (Note 1)

Abstract

The Hudson’s Bay Company was founded in 1667. King Charles II of England granted his cousin, Prince Rupert of the Rhine—an impoverished nobleman in need of funds—a license to exploit animal furs in the Canadian territories that came to be known as Rupert's Land. The Hudson’s Bay Company began operations in Canada in 1670 and successfully established itself in the fur trade thanks to two Frenchmen, Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers; they provided crucial information, having previously traveled through the Great Lakes region and explored much of the Hudson Bay area. The company’s first trading posts were set up on Hudson Bay and at the mouths of the Hayes and Nelson rivers; these settlements were named York and Port Nelson. Interior territories—particularly those now part of the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan—supported connections with these two hubs, as Indigenous people traveled there to trade the furs they had harvested.

Although it falls outside the scope of this essay, it is worth noting that the Northwest Company appeared in 1779 to compete with the Hudson’s Bay Company. The rivalry between the two institutions was resolved by the British Crown and Parliament through a merger in 1821.

Canadian furs were primarily traded for firearms, iron tools, and alcohol. This essay focuses on two distinct ethnic groups: the Assiniboine (associated with the Sioux) and the Western Cree (an Algonquian people)—though one must consider that intertribal marriages played a role in an individual's affiliation with one group or the other. These two subgroups have previously been studied from historical perspectives, specifically about the impact of the regional and international fur trade, as well as the influence exerted primarily by Catholic and Methodist missionaries. Social, political, economic, and neighborly relations were first documented by explorers from the Hudson’s Bay Company.

The first to encounter these societies were the French who had settled in the colony of New France, followed by the British associated with the Hudson’s Bay Company. Some of these individuals are cited here, though it is impossible to mention everyone who left behind accounts.

The negative impacts caused by the HBC were numerous. I would highlight, in particular, those affecting the flora; the overexploitation of specific wildlife species for their furs; the early stages of British urban development, which led to the elimination of Indigenous encampments; and the shift from traditional forms of labor to work compensated in cash or kind—among others.

From the late 19th century onwards, serious studies began to appear by historians, philologists, and university professors interested in examining the era of the indiscriminate trapping of valuable furs in Canada. Prominent among them are the Hudson’s Bay Company employees who recorded what they saw and what the native peoples told them during their travels; the Catholic and Protestant missionaries who ventured into these same regions; and the researchers—particularly those cited in this essay. The history of this company has been expertly chronicled by E.E. Rich (1958–59).