Analysis of the Hudson Bay Company
Analysis of the Hudson Bay Company
The Hudson’s Bay Company is among the oldest, but still active companies in the world. When Canada confederated in 1867, the company was already 200 years old. It was incorporated in England on May 2, 1670, with hopes of seeking a northwest passage to the Pacific, and to generate business with those lands that might prove to be profitable. In 1667, the Royal Navy was ordered by King Charles II to sponsor the Eaglet (ship), while a group of private investors outfitted the other ship called the Nonsuch. On June 3, 1668 the Eaglet, with a man named Pierre-Esprit Radisson (1636-1710) on board and the Nonsuch with Medard Chouart Des Groseilliers (1618-1710), set sail down the Thames River to cross the Atlantic. The Eaglet was captained under William Stannard, and the Nonsuch under Captain Zachariah Gillam. Throughout this voyage the Eaglet was damaged in a storm and had to return to England. The Nonsuch arrived in the southern tip of James Bay on September 29, 1668. After spring break up, the Native people were able to travel down the Rupert River to trade their furs. After the trading ceased, Captain Gillam, Des Groseilliers, and the crew left with a ship full of furs. The success of their voyage prompted England to give right to the charter, and soon after, the Hudson’s Bay Company Charter of Rights (1670) was formed. This occurred when Charles II, king of England, granted the charter to his cousin Prince Rupert and 17 other noblemen, which gave them the rights to trade in any region where waters flowed into Hudson’s Bay. Since 1670 when the company was formed, it has controlled one-third of present day Canadian territory. This widely spread out territory soon became known as Rupert’s Land, however it’s boundaries were never really clearly defined. The general understanding was that the boundaries extended from Labrador to the Rocky Mountains and from the start of the Red River to the Chesterfield Inlet on Hudson Bay. In order to maintain some rules and regulations, the company was allowed to establish its own laws and impose its own penalties within this boundary.
For its first two centuries of existence the Hudson’s Bay Company only engaged in the trading of furs. The company appointed...