The North West Company

In the wake of Pond’s discovery, rival fur trade companies were created, notably the XY Company, (which was eventually absorbed by the NWC) as well as several American companies including the Pacific Northwest Company and the American Fur Company, both owned by John Jacob Astor. Series of fur trade forts were established in leapfrog fashion along the rivers of the Canadian Northwest, and although at times the employees of the various companies were friendly enough, strong rivalries prevailed. The rivalries often translated into violent confrontations, such as the Seven Oaks Incident (La Grenouillère) in 1816, between the NWC and the Hudson’s Bay Company men, in the Red River Colony. Peace was finally re-established with the amalgamation of the NWC into the HBC in 1821.