In 1659-1660, Médart Chouard Des Groseillers and Pierre
Radisson, both of whom had been trading illegally in the Great
Lakes region, attempted to introduce the French court to their
discovery of an alternative to packing out furs from the
interior through the long and costly Saint Lawrence route,
instead going via Hudson Bay. Their failure at the royal court
caused them to seek out the English, who gladly put their
knowledge to use. This led to the establishment of the Hudson’s
Bay Company (HBC) in 1670, which had dominion over the territory
known as Rupert’s Land, in homage to the royal patron of the
company, Prince Rupert.
The presence of the English in the Hudson Bay basin was not
well received by the French in New France, and they long fought
for control of the region. In 1713, following the Spanish War of
Succession (which since 1703 had led to a number of battles in
French and British territory in North America), French rights to
the Bay were handed over to the English with the Treaty of
Utrecht. For over 100 years, the HBC remained close to the coast
of the bay, content to wait for the indigenous peoples to come
to trade furs for goods, and establishing Henley House only 200
kilometres from the bay on the Albany River. The company fared
reasonably well as the enterprising Cree had become their
middlemen for the entire Northwestern trade. The Canadians,
however, did business in a completely different way, supplying
individuals with trade goods and allowing them to go further
inland with their canoes, on trading trips which they called "en
dérouine." This system gave severe competition to the HBC.
In the meantime, the HBC had financed some explorations to
the West and the North. Between 1690 to 1692, Henry Kelsey
travelled to the Saskatchewan River and crossed parts of the
prairies, but in spite of this the Company’s first inland and
furthest trading post, Cumberland House, just north of the
Saskatchewan river, was only established in 1774.
Four years earlier Peter Pond had discovered the existence of
Portage-la-Loche, which gave access to the superb furs of the
Athabasca basin. Kelsey’s discovery of Saskatchewan remained
unknown for a long time, and the company made no use of the
knowledge. In fact, when Louis-Joseph de La Vérendrye reached it
in 1739, he was considered its discoverer.
|