Hudson's Bay Company: Tycoon of the Fur Trade
After over 350 years this influential and historic company is still going strong.
Businesses today like to flaunt their longevity as proof their products or services have withstood the test of time. We’ve all seen countless t-shirts for “Company X: EST. 1968” or something like that. Est. “x” is on shirts, signs, billboards, drinking bottles, beer cans, and just about anything else people can stamp their name on. And for good reason. A business that has a long history can prove that they have satisfied customers for long periods of time and thus can be expected to provide high-quality goods or services. If there is one company that has bragging rights when it comes to flaunting their history it is the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Early Days
To understand the early days of the Hudson’s Bay Company, you first have to understand the English world of late 1600’s. Remember, back in those days the king controlled all land and resources within the territories England claimed. One example of this was a set of laws that claimed all of the best white pine trees in Britain’s colonies for the king even if those trees happened to be on land you cleared yourself. As a result, many of the businesses that were created had to be granted charters to be given authorization from the government to the land and resources they were doing business in. You probably remember learning about the Virginia Company settling Jamestown. They were an example of a company that was given authority by the king to conduct business under ceratin terms. It is in this manner the Hudson’s Bay Company came to be.
By 1670, the English crown had realized the wealth, resources, and importance of the Hudson Bay region. In order to access all the region had to offer, King Charles II issued the Royal Charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company in May of 1670. This charter granted the company exclusive rights to all the land within the drainage of Hudson’s Bay. Well, although they didn’t know it at the time, that area would amount to over 1.5 million square miles of land the English world had little knowledge of. It also created what we would call a monopoly or a business that has no competition. This gave the company tremendous potential and in return, they had to operate under the terms of the charter that had certain benefits for the English government. In was under these circumstances that the Hudson’s Bay Company got its start.
There is actually a little more back story than that, and if you are interested in this detailed history give this video a watch.
Once granted the charter the company soon built trading posts along the shores of the Hudson’s Bay. Basically, these trading posts served as locations trappers (Native or European) could come and swap the furs they collected for the manufactured goods they needed and wanted. Many people today seem to have no knowledge of how important the fur trade was to the early English history of North America. However, it was extremely important and the Hudson’s Bay Company was the major driving force in what today is Canada. Bolstered by the profitability of furs, the company expanded until it eventually established Fort Vancouver in 1824 on the Pacific coast. By this time the HBC had also merged with the rival Northwest Company, but that may be best saved for another article.
Native Americans trading at a Hudson’s Bay fort. Image via wikicommons.
Western Fur Trade
Here is where it gets really interesting for people interested in the American fur trade and mountain men. At this time, both the United States, England, and even Russia were competing for territorial claims to the Pacific Northwest. Also, the boundary between the United States and what would be Canada had not yet been determined in the west. Here is a map of what North America in 1839. Notice the “Oregon Territory” of the west coast that was still disputed.
Oregon Territory outlined in green. Image via loc.gov.
Because it was still working basically as an offshoot of the English government the Hudson’s Bay Company was a major tool to try and prevent Americans from settling and using the area too heavily. In fact, the Blackfoot people were close trading partners with the HBC and as a result had an incentive to also try and prevent American expansion. This may have been partly the reason for so much bloodshed between that nation and the mountain men.
As time wore on, it became more and more apparent Americans would come to control the Pacific Northwest. If you are reading History of the West with Jemmey Fletcher: A Tyrant’s Road to Oregon you might already be aware that several of the trading posts along the trail were actually controlled by the HBC. As mentioned in the book, oftentimes the post commanders would encourage pioneers to head for California instead of Oregon to try and bolster their country’s claim. All political motives aside, the British held posts were always willing to help settlers and helped to provide supplies late in the journey. As more and more American settlers poured across the Oregon Trail the United States eventually officially claimed the territory in 1846.
Although the HBC continued to operate forts in American territory, it’s influence began to weaken. By 1860 it abandoned its last American post and moved all operations north to what we know as Canada. However, the move did not spell the end of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Instead, the HBC survived the transition out of America, the decline of the fur trade, the end of English control of Canada, two world wars, the rise of industrialization, and a host of other challenges. Today it still is a viable business earning over $9.3 billion in 2018 alone. Although recently it has experienced some major changes, after 350 years the historic Hudson’s Bay Company is still in business making it one of the oldest businesses in the English speaking world.
