Hudson Bay Company

The Company by the Bay

Beaver furs were in great demand all over Europe. As a result, Britain and France competed for furs in North America.
Two coureurs de bois, Pierre Radisson and Sieur des Groseilliers had heard stories from the First Nations about a vast sea that lay far to the north. This “sea” was the Hudson Bay.
In 1668, des Groseillier and his crew reached the Hudson Bay.
They traded with the local Cree and Innu during the winter and in the summer returned to England with a shipload of furs.
Hudson Bay provided an ocean route into the heart of the continent and an abundant supply of new furs.

In 1670, King Charles II of England granted a monopoly to the Hudson’s Bay Company.
The monopoly covered all the lands and rivers that flowed into Hudson Bay. Most of what is now Western and Northern Canada.
This area was known as Rupert’s Land.
The Hudson’s Bay Company was not interested in building a colony. They were merchants, interested only in trade.
They built trading posts at the mouths of important rivers.
First Nations and Inuit brought furs to these posts.