The document provides a summary of the competition in the fur trade between the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the Northwest Company (NW Co) from the late 17th to mid-19th century in western Canada. It outlines the key events and terms related to each company's operations. The HBC was established in 1670 and had a strict hierarchy and trade practices, focusing on trading goods at its bay posts. The NW Co was more flexible and established deeper in the interior by "wintering" partners. It had advantages like easier access for trappers and a vested interest structure. The document examines the differences in how each company operated and structured its trade.

1. The Northwest to 1870
PART 1
Competition in the Fur Trade
(pp 125 - 138 of Horizons)
J Marshall, 2014

2. Timeline:
167
• _______HBC created
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
0
178
_______NW Co created
3
181
_______Selkirk Settlement founded
2
181
_______Pemmican Proclamation
4
_______Selkirk’s treaty with the Cree
181
7
182
_______HBC/NW Co merge
1
_______Govt of Canada gets Ruperts Land
186
9
_______Red River troubles
186
9
1700
1800
1900

3. Drainage Basin
Hinterland: back country that provides resources
Heartland: settled regions that use resources to create goods

4. The Hudson’s Bay Company
Terms
Factor
Clerk
Factory
“Stay at the Bay”
Made beaver
Trade Goods

5. BC
H
• The Factor was like a god – the Governor was
even worse!
• Marriages were not encouraged
• Traded with various First Nations groups
• Strict trade standards – everything translated
into “made beaver”
• Strict timelines (H Bay open July – Mid-Sept
only
• All in-country workers were salaried
• Forced inland as resources shrank

6. The Northwest Company
Montreal, 1783
Terms
Montreal Partners
Hivernants/Wintering
Partners
Voyageurs
Portage
Canots du nord (7m/6
crew)
Canots du maitre
(11m/12 crew)
Pieces (40kg)

7. NW Co
• New France fell 1763; 1783
NW Co established (about a
century after the HBC)
• Initially outside HBC
territory/then in competition
• Hivernants went to hinterland
to establish trade and would
negotiate prices
• Hivernants were partners, not
salaried employees
• Canoe brigades moved pieces
from Ft William to Lachine

8. York Boat

9. Canoe

10. jmarshallchat.blogspot.com
to access the websites on York boats
and canoes
York Boat
Pros
Cons
Canoe

11. NW Co: Advantages
 Trappers accessed NW Co posts easier
 Hierarchy was less rigid than HBC
 Montreal partners managed overseas
business
 Hivernants could stay in the bush
 Hivernants had a vested interest in profits
 Explorers found new routes/mapped
 Trade prices were more flexible than HBC
 Willing to trade alcohol
IN WHAT ORDER WOULD YOU RANK THE
IMPORTANCE OF EACH?

12. HBC Problem Solving:
• Create a plan to win the fur trade competition
with the NW Co.
• Think about the pros and cons of your
decisions.
• Consider the short term and longer term
effects of your choices.

14. Canoe: click to access website
http://www.hbcheritage.ca/content/canoe/dash/full

15. end