The Merger of the HBC
and the NWC
Changes at Red River Colony
• By 1820 both HBC and NWC were
suffering financially
• Fur resources were declining
• Profits were shrinking
Merger
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In 1821, the companies joined together
There were 100 shares in the company
The HBC controlled 45 shares
The NWC controlled 55 shares
The Company was called the Hudson’s
Bay Company
Benefits
• Great Britain gave the new company
control over Rupert’s Land
• It extended the monopoly to west of the
Rocky Mountains
• The company controlled over half modern
Canada
HBC Maintains Power
• Even though the NWC had more shares in
the company the HBC maintained control.
• The old HBC trading routes were used
because they were cheaper
• By 1825, the NWC partners sold their
shares back to the HBC
Native Peoples
• The company reduced the number of its
European employees after the merger
• They relied on the Native people as:
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Guides
Trappers
Translators
Map makers
Canoe builders
• Native women worked at the post
• Gardening
• Tending Livestock
• Chopping Wood
• If pemmican was not available the HBC
relied on the Native people to provide
meat for the posts.
A New Boss:
George Simpson
• George Simpson became Governor of the
Northwest Department
• Dynamic and an experienced manager
• Spent 40 years traveling across Rupert’s
Land visiting trading posts
The Little Emperor
• Autocratic leader
• High standards
• Arrived at the post without warning
Frances Simpson
• 18 year old wife of
George Simpson
• Simpson was also
married to a native
woman in Red River
• Simpson’s Red River
Family was shipped
away from the post
before Frances
arrived
Anti-social Simpson’s
• Mrs. Simpson refused to socialize with the
Metis wives at the post
• The Simpson’s were isolated from the
community
• It was lonely and George Simpson started
writing down all of the faults of his
employees in his “character” book
• The Simpsons left Red River in 1832
• They later settled in Montreal
• George Simpson died in 1860.