The North-West Company
&
Hudson Bay CompanyFur Trade Rivalry &
Settlement of the West &
Selkirk Settlements
SS10
Mr. Bausback
2015
I. Historic Map of CanadaLabel the Following:
 1. Physical Features- Rivers:
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Fraser River
Columbia River
Peace River
Athabasca River
Saskatchewan River (N&S)
Assiniboine River
Red River (MB)
• Albany River
• Ohio River
• Mississippi River
• Missouri River
• St. Lawrence River
• Ottawa River
• Saugenay River
II. Historic Map of Canada
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2. Physical Features- Land & Water Features:
Prairies
• Lake Manitoba
Interior Plains
• Lake of the
Canadian Shield
Woods
Rocky Mountains
• Lake Athabasca
Great Lakes (5)
• Great Slave Lake
Hudson Bay
• Pacific Ocean
James Bay
• Atlantic Ocean
Lake Winnipeg
• Gulf of St.
Lawrence
III. Historic Map of Canada 3. Settlements & Trading
Posts:
• Fort William (NWC)
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Rupert's Land
Selkirk Settlement
York Factory (HBC)
Fort Churchill (HBC)
Prince of Wales's Fort (HBC)
Moose Factory (HBC)
Fort Carlton (HBC)
• Fort Douglas (NWC)
• Fort Gary (HBC)
• Edmonton House (HBC)
• Fort George (HBC)
• Fort Langley (HBC)
• Fort Victoria (HBC)
IV. Historic Map of Canada 5. More Settlements & Trading
Posts:
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Fort St. John (NWC)
Fort St. James (NWC)
Rocky Mountain House (NWC)
Chesterfield House (HBC)
Fort McMurray (NWC)
Fort Gibraltar (NWC)
V. Historic Map of CanadaLabel the trade routes of these explorers
Explorers
 David Thompson
 Alexander Mackenzie
 Simon Fraser
 Raddisson, Pierre Esprit
 James Cook
 Robert La Salle
 George Vancouver
 Henry Hudson
 Martin Frobisher
 Pierre de la Verendrye
Part I:
Compare and contrast of HBC
and North-West Company
The North West Company
 North West Company (NWC) was a fur-trading enterprise based in Montreal active
in the Canadian West from the 1770s until 1821.
 The company was run mainly by Scots immigrants who came to Montreal after
1760.
 They relied for their workforce on French-Canadian voyageurs who had been
trading in the fur country for years.
 Nor'Westers, as the company men were called, were among the most daring
adventurers and skilled traders in the Northwest.
 The era of the North West Company was one of the most colourful in Canadian
history.
The North West Company
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The company began as a partnership of fur-trade merchants in the 1770s. These traders
were finding it expensive to compete against each other so they decided to pool their
resources in 1783-84.
Some of the leading partners were Simon McTavish, Joseph and Thomas Frobisher,
James McGill, and Isaac Todd. Simon McTavish was the leading partner until his death in
1804, when he was followed by William McGillivray.
Because of the great distance between the western fur posts and Montreal, the NWC
worked out a unique transportation system.
Each summer canoes from the St Lawrence River carried supplies to the head of Lake
Superior where they met the canoes laden with furs from the interior. Originally this
rendezvous took place at Grand Portage.
Later, the site moved to Fort William. After exchanging their goods, and having a grand
celebration, the two sets of canoes returned back in the direction they had come for
another season.
The North West Company
• The NWC soon emerged as the dominant fur-trade enterprise in Montreal and the trade
became a rivalry between the Nor'Westers and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), based
to the north in Hudson Bay.
• This rivalry lasted many years and was very bitter. The two companies built posts next to
each other and fought for furs and food supplies.
• Indians were bribed to bring in their trade and several people were killed during the
conflict.
• The need to find new supplies of furs led the traders deeper into the north and west.
• The Nor'Westers were noted especially for their skills as explorers. Men like Alexander
Mackenzie, Simon Fraser, and David Thompson carried the fur trade all the way across the
Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean
The Hudson's Bay Company
• Although the HBC enjoyed the advantage of being closer to the source of furs in the
North West, the French still controlled most of the trade, merchants hired hundreds
of voyageurs, who were paid to gather the furs and carry them back to Montreal.
Some of these voyageurs wintered in the North West, and received more pay.
• They bought their furs to Grand Portage, on Lake Superior, a second group of
voyageurs, in larger canoes, carried the furs from Grand Portage to Montreal.
• Between 1715 and the fall of New France in 1763, the fur trade expanded greatly.
• Several fur traders, such as the La Vérendrye family, were granted rights to trade in
the North West.
• In return, they explored, kept good relations with the native people, and build posts
to keep the English out.
• By 1756, the traders had reached as west as the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and
as far south as the mouth of the Mississippi.
• Throughout this period, competition continued between the Canadien traders and the
HBC.
• The HBC traders did not have the French skills with canoes. They waited in their
posts on the Bay for the native traders to come to them. This policy was known as
“Stay by the Bay”.
Competition Between the NWC and HBC
• The violent competition between the NWC and the HBC came to a head with
the creation of the Red River Colony in 1812.
• The Nor'Westers saw this colony as a plot by the HBC to ruin their trade, the
local Metis sided with the NWC and together they decided to drive the colony
from the country.
• All this bad feeling resulted in the violent meeting at Seven Oaks in 1816,
where 21 colonists died.
• Finally the two companies called a truce, The Nor'Westers were divided among
themselves, and the British government wanted peace in the fur country.
• In 1821 the NWC was absorbed into the HBC, many of the Nor'Westers went to
work for their old rival and the HBC gained control of the fur trade in the west.
• In 1772 two of these coureurs, Pierre Radisson and Groseilliers, went over to
the English, they opened a new route via Hudson Bay which presented a new
challenge to the St Lawrence.
• In 1670 the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) began to build posts on Hudson
Bay.
Competition Between the NWC and HBC
• The NWC and HBC carried on a fierce battle for furs in the North West, the two
companies leap-frogged past one another's posts along the Saskatchewan River.
• Despite the disadvantage of distance, the NWC dominated the trade, each year the
fur brigades would leave Fort Chipewyan, bound for Grand Portage (later replaced by
Fort William).
• Montreal merchants, such as Simon McTavish and James McGill, amassed large
fortunes.
• NWC explorers Alexander Mackenzie, Simon Fraser, and David Thompson opened up
vast new areas in the Northwest.
• The competition broke into open violence in 1816 when HBC settlers at Red River
clashed with the local Metis, who were allied with the NWC, the colony's governor
and 20 others were killed.
• In 1821 the two companies joined under the HBC name and the Montreal-based trade
came to an end.
• The fur trade played a very important role in the creation of Canada, it led to
exploration of much of the country and it built a strong tie between the North West
and the St Lawrence, based on the waterways.
• It encouraged relatively peaceful relations with the native people. It gave rise to
intermarriage between traders and native women, which blended native and
European cultures.
Part II:
Brief History of the Selkirk
Settlement:
Who Were The First
Explorers?
The French were the first
European explorers to come
to the Red River.
 They were led by Pierre La
Verendrye.
 The trail that they explored
and left behind is called the
La Verendrye trail.

Who Was Lord Selkirk?
 Lord
Selkirk was a
Scottish nobleman.
 His full name was
Thomas Douglas, the
Fifth Earl of Selkirk.
Lord
The Selkirk Settlers
In the early 1800’s, Scottish
peasants were in trouble.
 People started to raise sheep but
to do so they needed large
amounts of land
 The peasants that used to live on
the fields were cleared off and
didn’t have a home anymore.
 Lord Selkirk saw that his people
were being cleared out of their
homes and wanted to help them.
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Where Did They Go?
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There was no land for the peasants to
live on in Scotland so Lord Selkirk had
to send them somewhere else.
Lord Selkirk decided to send them to
North America.
The Hudson’s Bay Company gave Lord
Selkirk a lot of land near the Red River.
The first group of the Selkirk settlers
arrived in 1812.
Arguments
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The town they built grew quickly.
The Métis people were still living in
the same area between Selkirk and
Winnipeg when the Selkirk settlers
arrived.
There were many disputes between
them because the Métis didn’t like the
Selkirk settlers living on their land.
A big fight even happened called the
Seven Oaks Massacre.
The fighting stopped when Lord
Selkirk sent some soldiers from
Scotland.
Moving
 After
a while, the children of the Selkirk
settlers wanted to move.
 They wanted to move away because the
land they lived on continuously flooded.
 They moved to the Selkirk area in St.
Clements because it didn’t flood here.
East Selkirk Roundhouse/ Immigration
Shed
The Selkirk settlers built the East Selkirk
Roundhouse/Immigration Shed.
 It was originally supposed to fix train
engines but never did.
 Instead people moving here from other
countries used it as a first house.

Arriving in St. Clements
 The
Selkirk Settlers
created a town.
 They named the
town Selkirk after
Lord Selkirk.
The Hudson’s Bay Company
The next to come were the
Hudson’s Bay Company
workers.
 The English King Charles
II gave two explorers
named Radisson and
Groseilliers a ship called
the Nonsuch.
 With this ship, they
explored the land by
Hudson’s Bay.

King Charles II
Nonsuch
Why Did They Come?
 They
found an abundance of animals
for furs in the Red River area.
 They set up a trading camp to bring the
furs to England to make a profit.
 They were the first group of people to
live by the Red River, who were not
aboriginal.
Settling Down
 They
built their homes south
of Selkirk/East Selkirk.
 Today this would be
Winnipeg and Southern St.
Clements.
 Many of these European
settlers married and had
families with the aboriginal
peoples.
 These people were called the
Métis.
Lord Selkirk's Land Grant- “Selkirk
Settlement”:
Part III- Short History of the
Fur Trade:
History of the Fur Trade:
Phase 1: The Early Fur Trade- 1500-1603:
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Early fur trade began because of the cod fishery
Partnership was forged between Europeans and
First Nations because the Europeans had need
to replenish their supplies
Impact of economic competition introduced new
goods for trade as the Europeans and First
Nations begin to understand why trade was
important to lying a foundation of mutual benefit
From the First Nations point of view, the early fur
trade built relationships of peace and friendship
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=furtrad
e&sub=furtrade_basics_explorers&lang=En
The Beaver- “Le Castor”- & Products:
Phase 2: Expansion Inland- 1604-1670:
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French government identified that the fur trade was essential for
the growth of New France
Quebec and Montreal became shipping centrs for furs to Europe
Tension rose between the French and the Haudenosaunee, a
truce was established in 1701 after a long bloody war that incited
old tribal revelries Ouendat – the Fur trade middle man were
pushed out the the fur trade by the First Nations people
Hudson Bay & North-West Company Trade
Routes:
Phase 2: Expansion Inland-1604-1670:
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Jesuit Missions were established with the goal of converting First
Nations to Christianity. Many First nations people accept, but
continue to practice their own religion.
Coureurs de Bois – Independent traders, who replaced the
Ouendat, they were accepted at first but made illegal when
trading post became established.
Hudson Bay & North-West Company Trade
Routes:
Phase 3: Rival Nations – 1670-1760:
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The English fur trade is established with the Hudson’s Bay
Company trading post in 1670
Britain offered a group of merchants a monopoly on trade in an
area unclaimed called Rupert’s Land
The HBC did not look to colonize the land due to the harsh climate
in the Northwest
The HBC used the Anishinabe and the Couriers de Bois as their
middleman
p://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=fur
Hudson Bay & North-West Company trading
Posts:
Phase 3: Rival Nations – 1670-1760:
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During this phase that the Voyageurs emerged
They maintain the vital link between New France and the post on
the great lakes
A voyageur would work as a hired man to make the long canoe
trip up the St. Lawrence
Many marriages happened between the French and the First
Nations, they called the children of these families Métis or mixed.
Hudson Bay & North-West Company
Logos:
Phase 4: The Drive West- 1760-1821:
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The North West Company traders took over the French trade
network running the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes
This but pressure on the Fur Trade from the east and the north
(HBC) and pushed the fur trade further to the West
New France became a British Colony in 1763
The Fur Trade faced an economic shift when the British began
to establish more settlement and less trapping
Rupert's Land:
Phase 4: The Drive West- 1760-1821:
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A trade in pemmican developed and helped secure the lines of
trade
Territorial expansion occurred in the west and so did the
movement of people
Communities of business and trade occurred
The Métis people develop a distinct culture at Red River
They were key to the fur trade as iterpreters, guides, traders,
provisionary and carters.
tp://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=furtrade&sub=
Rupert's Land:
Phase 5 Monopoly in the West- 1821-1870:
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The HBC and NWC merged in 1821 under the name of HBC
The HBC began to lose control of the monopoly when independent
Métis Traders challenged the HBC for economic control using the
fear of the America to force its hand
This lead to a decline of the Fur Trade in the west. The buffalo
began to disappear, beaver became scares and European demands
for fur began to decline
Part IV: Tensions at Red RiverHudson Bay Company &
North-West Company Conflict
&
The Seven Oaks' Massacre
Background Information:
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Thomas Douglas “Lord Selkirk”- philanthropist
and HBC shareholder
Purchased Assiniboia- 300,000 km2 in Southern
Manitoba & North Dakota from the HBC
Renamed “Selkirk Settlement”
Brought 80-100 farmers from Scotland
Arrived each fall between 1812-1816
Food issues as a result of late arrival and early
winters
Events precipitated the Bloody Seven Oaks
Massacre!
The Players- Selkirk Settlers:
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80-100 displaced farmers from Scotland
Displaced because of Industrial Revolution
Arrived in fall and could not plant crops
No or little food available during winter- relied on pemmican
Presence disrupted traditional farming and hunting practises of the
Metis and aboriginals and added pressure on an already limited food
source
The Players- The Metis:
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Of mixed French-First Nation's background
Historic claim to Red River through Cree, Blackfoot, and Algonquin
heritage
Majority of population lived in Red River Settlement
Hunted buffalo, made pemmican, and farmed
Were threatened by Selkirk Settlers presence as it disrupted their
way of life
The Players- Nor-Westers (NWC):
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Traded furs and competed with the HBC
Direct trade fur route to Fort William (thunder bay)
went through the Red River Settlement and
extended through the waterways of Western Canada
Established good relations with Metis and First
Nations
Wintered at Red River
Were Voyageurs and Courers de Bois (“runners of
the woods”)
Relied on pemmican as winter food
Aggressive trading practises were a threat to the
HBC
The Players- HBC:
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Pemmican Proclamation, 1814- all pemmican to stay within the colony
for local consumption
Seven Oaks Massacre, 1814- Cuthbert Grant (Metis leader) vs.
Governor Robert Semple over Pemmican Proclamation- 20 settlers, 1
Metis, and Governor- killed!
Joining of HBC and NWC in 1821 and end of fur trade rivalry
Decline in fur trade
Your Task:
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Group of 4
Each person represents 1 of 4 “players”
Each person presents concerns to the group
Each group comes up with a non-violent solution
to the problems at Red River
Complete “Problem-Solving Solution” handout
Group to present solution to the class
Presentations next class
1 page written reflection outlining your group's
solution due class after presentation- 20 marks!
The End!