Page 110 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol III

hudson’s bay company 929

Keegan,W. F. (Ed.). (1987). Emergent horticultural economies of the east- which the loyalties of the Native Americans were eagerly
ern woodlands (Center for Archaeological Investigations, Occasional pursued by both sides both as fighting and as trading
Paper No. 7). Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University.
Keegan, W. F. (2002). The archaeology of farming systems. In Encyclo- partners.
pedia of life support systems (EOLSS) (Developed under the auspices The main products of the sparsely populated Hud-
of UNESCO). Oxford, UK: Eolss Publishers. Retrieved July 19,
2004, from http://www.eolss.net son’s Bay region were furs and pelts, especially highly
Kiple, K. F., & Omelas, K. C. (Eds.). (2000). The Cambridge world his- profitable beaver pelts, which were much valued in
tory of food (Vols. 1–2). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Europe where, manufactured into felt, they were used for
Press.
a range of hats, including the triangle hat that was in
common use in the eighteenth century. Many of the
beaver pelts were acquired through trade with the Native
Hudson’s Bay Americans, who through their choice of trading partners
came to be allied with either the French Canadians or the
Company Hudson’s Bay Company. Originally the company offered

standard European manufactured products, such as
he Hudson’s Bay Company was a significant British metal tools like scissors and hatchets, and vanity items in
Ttrading company, leading in fur trade, exploring exchange for the beaver pelts traded with the natives.The
and developing the Canadian wilderness, and holding exchange rate was fixed with the beaver pelt as the main
the biggest territory of any company in the history of the currency: a “made beaver” could be precisely measured in
world from its foundation in 1670 till the forced sale of value against European manufactured goods and the furs
its landholdings in 1869. Since the land sales it has of other Canadian game, and tokens were even minted
remained a significant actor in Canadian business till by the company to match the value of a pelt, with values
present times. from one-fifth to one whole beaver. In 1780, the com-
The Hudson’s Bay Company was founded as a pany introduced a new product, the point blanket, which
monopoly by a royal charter given by King Charles II was a durable woolen blanket that won favor with Euro-
(1630–1685) in concession to Prince Rupert (1619– pean Canadians as well as Native Americans, who
1682), the king’s cousin, and his syndicate was sub- started to accept the blanket as one of the main goods of
scribed to by royal courtiers. Originally, and until 1970, trade, as they found it useful both as clothing and as a
headquarters were in London while the main area of standard blanket.
activities was located in the Hudson’s Bay area of what Contention about land arose in connection with the
is now eastern Canada and northeastern United States. American Revolution, as the Hudson’s Bay Company
From its beginning the company antagonized the French, and the new states tried to claim the same territory in the
especially those of Montreal, who had already established border region around the Great Lakes. The dispute was
trading interests in the Hudson’s Bay area. However, settled, largely in favor of the United States, by the
temporary political affinity prevented active hostilities Treaty of Paris (1783), in which Britain acknowledged
between the company and the French until 1689, when the new republic and its national borders.
relations between England and France soured as William The Hudson’s Bay Company was in charge of enor-
III (1650–1702) and Mary (1662–1694) ascended to mous landholdings, at its height estimated at about one-
the throne of England and joined the Netherlands in the twelfth of the solid surface of the earth, and through its
League of Augsburg against France. As the political cli- explorations into the chartered territory it provided a
mate opened for hostilities, the conflicts of interests great contribution to the knowledge of the area.Through
between French Canadians and the Hudson’s Bay Com- most of its early existence, the company was almost all
pany led to continued fighting for nearly a century, in male, governors as well as associated employees usually