The Hudson’s Bay Company is the oldest company in North America, and the second-oldest in the world.
In 1670, Charles II granted a charter to the “Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Tradeing into Hudson’s Bay.” Its initial post was at Rupert’s House in what is now Quebec, followed by posts at Moose Factory and Albany in present-day Ontario. Although as early as 1673 attempts had been made to establish a post at Port Nelson (near York Factory), conflict with the French interfered. In 1684 Radisson helped the Hudson’s Bay Company to establish York Fort at the mouth of the Hayes River, the first fort and the oldest permanent settlement in the province of Manitoba.
The achievements of Hudson’s Bay Company are too numerous to describe in detail. The fur trade dominated its first two hundred years when it acted as the governing body for the vast region known as Rupert’s Land. Gradually the retail trade developed which is now the focus of its operations. And although London, England was the headquarters for three centuries, the heart of its operations for a large part of that time was York Factory and later Winnipeg, Manitoba. Even though the headquarters now resides in Toronto, the importance attached to Winnipeg and Manitoba is reflected in its 1994 donation to this province of its museum collection and archives, the former to the Museum of Man and Nature and the latter to the Archives of Manitoba. Through the Hudson’s Bay History Foundation, set up with the tax savings from that donation, it is providing ongoing funding for these treasures as well as supporting The Beaver magazine and Canada’s National History Society, both based in Winnipeg. And, of course they are active retailers in Manitoba operating stores under the Zeller’s name and The Bay.
In January 1999, an MHS Centennial Business Award was presented to the Hudson’s Bay Company by Judith Hudson Beattie.
Period
Governor
1670-1682
His Highness Prince Rupert
1683-1685
HRH James, Duke of York (King James II)
1685-1692
John, Lord Churchill (Duke of Marlborough)
1692-1696
Sir Stephen Evans
1696-1700
Sir William Trumbull
1700-1712
Sir Stephen Evans
1712-1743
Sir Bibye Lake
1743-1746
Benjamin Pitt
1746-1750
Thomas Knapp
1750-1760
Sir Atwell Lake
1760-1770
Sir William Baker
1770-1782
Bibye Lake
1782-1799
Samuel Wegg
1799-1807
Sir James Winter Lake
1807-1812
William Mainwaring
1812-1822
Joseph Berens Jr.
1822-1852
Sir John Henry Pelly
1852-1856
Andrew Wedderburn Colvile (?-1856)
1856-1858
John Shepherd
1858-1863
Henry Hulse Berens
1863-1868
Sir Edmund Walker Head
1868-1869
The Earl of Kimberley
1868-1874
Sir Stafford Northcote (Earl of Iddesleigh)
1874-1880
George Joachim Goschen
1880-1889
Eden Colvile (1819-1893)
1889-1914
Donald Alexander Smith [Lord Strathcona] (1820-1914)
1914-1915
Sir Thomas Skinner
1915-1925
Sir Robert Molesworth Kindersley
1925-1931
Charles Vincent Sale
1931-1952
SIr Patrick Ashley Cooper
1952-1965
William Johnston Keswick
1965-1970
Derick Heathcoat Armory
1970-1982
George Taylor Richardson (1924-2014)
1982-1994
Donald Scott McGiverin (c1924-1998)
Term
Land Commissioner
1879-?
Charles John Brydges (1827-1889)
?-1900
?
1900-1911
Jacob Lonsdale Doupe (1867-1952)
1911-1920
James Thomson (1859-1933)
See also:
MHS Centennial Business: Hudson’s Bay Company
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Reserve (Assiniboine Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Building (450 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Garage (115 Garry Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Wholesale Building / Gibraltar House (77 Main Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Steam Engine (Elphinstone, RM of Yellowhead)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Store / Seven Sisters Post Office / Seven Sisters Falls School No. 2218 (Seven Sisters Falls, RM of Whitemouth)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Cemetery (Norway House, Northern Manitoba)
Company of Adventurers by Peter C. Newman, Viking Penguin Inc., Appendix 4.
Error processing SSI filePage revised: 20 November 2022