Fur trader.
His early history is unknown, but he was apparently a sailor, possibly in the East India Company’s service. He was appointed governor-in-chief of Rupert’s Land in 1818, probably because of his courage and aggression. He arrived at York Factory in August of that year to continue the Hudson’s Bay Company’s struggle with the North West Company, which ended only with the merger of the two companies in 1821. In 1819 he took the offensive against the Nor’Westers, arresting a number of the opposition at Grand Rapids. He was given the Southern Department of the HBC while George Simpson got the Northern Department. The two men did not get on, and Williams was insufficiently familiar with the fur trade to hold his own. Simpson got the ear of the London Committee in 1825 and Williams was recalled in 1826. He died in Brixton.
See also:
William Williams, Dictionary of Canadian Biography VII, 912-14.
Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 25 June 2017
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