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Industrial Experiments in the Wilderness: A Sidelight in the Business History of the Hudson's Bay Company*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2012

Alvin C. Gluek Jr.
Alvin C. Gluek Jr.
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor of History at Michigan State University
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Abstract

Development of the North American continent was a halting process, characterized by use and misuse of latent opportunities. The Hudson's Bay Company, giant in fur trade and northern exploration, proved by trial and error experiments that abundant natural assets were not in themselves the magic key to wealth.

Type
Articles
Information
Business History Review , Volume 32 , Issue 4 , Winter 1958 , pp. 423 - 433
Copyright
Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 1958

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References

1 The Governor and Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company to George Simpson, Feb. 27, 1822. Hudson's Bay Company's Archives, on microfilm in the Publie Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. Series A.6. Hereafter references to the company's archives shall be given: H.B.C.

2 Selkirk died in 1820 and his estate (including Assiniboia) fell into the hands of his son, the sixth Earl of Selkirk. In 1836, the Hudson's Bay Company purchased the Selkirk grant, “being of opinion that it would be better and with greater facility managed if entirely in the hands of the Company.” The Governor and Committee to Simpson, March 9, 1836. H.B.C. Series A.6.

3 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, July 25, 1827. H.B.C. Series D.4.

4 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, July 10, 1828. H.B.C. Series D.4.

5 Ross, Alexander, The Red River Settlement (London, 1856), p. 115.Google Scholar

6 In 1834, the company directed Simpson to freeze prices for the next three years. The Governor and Committee to Simpson, March 5, 1834. H.B.C. Series A.6.

7 At the same time, the half-breeds brought up several other claims against the company; but without strong leadership on their part, Simpson “had little difficulty in bringing them to order without conceding one single point.” Simpson to the Governor and Committee, Aug. 10, 1832. H.B.C. Series A. 12.

8 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, Aug. 26, 1830. H.B.C. Series D.4.

9 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, July 21, 1834. H.B.C. Series D.4.

10 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, July 18, 1831. H.B.C. Series D.4.

11 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, Aug. 10, 1832. H.B.C. Series D.4.

12 Material on the Assiniboine Wool Company is found in H.B.C. Series F.30.

13 Governor and Committee to Simpson, March 30, 1830. H.B.C. Series A.6.

14 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, July 10, 1828. H.B.C. Series D.4.

15 E. T. Langham to General William Clark, Fort Snelling, Aug. 14 and 18, 1828. Lawrence Taliaferro Papers, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minnesota.

16 Simpson to the inhabitants of Red River, Oct. 25, 1832. H.B.C. Series F.30.

17 Campbell, Robert, “A Journey to Kentucky for Sheep,” North Dakota Historical Quarterly, Vol. 1, pp. 35–45.Google Scholar Cf. Ross, Red River, pp. 146–150.

18 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, July 10, 1828. H.B.C. Series D.4.

19 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, Aug. 10, 1832. H.B.C. Series D.4.

20 The Governor and Committee to Simpson, March 5, 1834. H.B.C. Series A.6.

21 Ross, Red River, pp. 138–140. Cf. the Governor and Committee to Simpson, March 4, 1834. H.B.C. Series A.6.

22 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, July 6, 1839. H.B.C. Series D.4.

23 Material on the Red River Tallow Company is found in H.B.C. Series F.31. Most of the cattle in the settlement were longhorns which had been driven up from the United Stetes in the 1820's.

24 The Governor and Committee to Simpson, March 5, 1834. H.B.C. Series A.6.

25 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, July 8, 1839. H.B.C. Series D.4.

26 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, June 30, 1829. H.B.C. Series D.4.

27 Simpson to the Governor and Committee, Aug. 26, 1830. H.B.C. Series D.4. Cf. Ross, Red River, pp. 153–154.

28 The Governor and Committee to Simpson, March 7, 1838. H.B.C. Series A.6.

29 The Governor and Committee to Duncan Finlayson, March 4, 1840. H.B.C. Series A.6.

30 Ross, Red River, pp. 211–221. Ross cynically questioned the company's motives in the establishment of the farms.

31 William Laidlaw (the manager) deserted the company in the fall of 1821 and, together with William McKenzie, went to Lake Traverse and joined with a Sioux half-breed, Joseph Renville, in the formation of the Columbia Fur Company. This company was bought out by John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company, in 1826. McKenzie and Laidlaw remained in Astor's concern, managing the famous (and infamous) Upper Missouri Outfit.

32 Among the commissioned officers in the company's service, James McMillan (in Simpson's eyes) held a position of the greatest importance. Harvey Fleming, R., ed., Minutes of Council, Northern Department of Rupert's Land, 1821–31 (Toronto, 1940), pp. 450–451.Google Scholar

33 Ross, Red River, p. 215.