Hudson Bay Company Research Paper

The Hudson Bay Company is a Canadian company that is one of the oldest in the world. Their initials HBC, are jokingly said to mean Here before Christ. The company was the major reason for growth in Canada. King Charles 11 of England is the reason the company was established in 1670, he granted the company a fur trade monopoly even though the land did not belong to him or his country. The success of HBC in the early years is due to the First Nations people, the Native American Indians that lived in the area. In the late 1600's, Britain became the driving force in the North American fur trade by establishing the Hudson Bay Company in 1670. The King of England granted the company trading privileges in an area fifteen times the size of Britain.

From the Indian tribes who lived in Canada and surrounding areas, who caught and killed the animals for their fur to individual men who worked for HBC in the early years. Henry Kelsey, an apprentice who joined HBC in 1677 made the first journey into the prairie in 1690. Alexander Mackenize, who later was knighted, was the most, famous fur trader of this day. Mackenize pushed the trade boundaries further westward. Many of his trade expeditions were historical achievements: in 1789 he traveled 1,600 miles and back in 102 days, and 1793 he crossed the Rocky Mountains and reached the Pacific Ocean. Also, Peter Ogden traveled into the interior of North America. He was the first non Indian to winter on the prairies, in

They started a wholesale department in 1907 to sell liquor, tobacco, coffee, tea and blankets. Two years later the company reorganized itself into three divisions: retail, fur trade, and land. After World War 1 the company ventured into the oil business. While they stopped dealing with land in the 1940s, retail stores were their top priority early in the 20th century. In 1970, the companies 300th year of existence, the Queen of England granted HBC a new charter and it changed from a British company to a Canadian company. In 1991 they temporarilly left the Canadian fur trade because anti-fur groups targeted them, only to reopen their fur stores in 1997, Today, Hudson's Bay Company, is one of the fastest growing department store retailers in the world, because of its successful formula of driving the performance of high quality stores and growing through acquiring other businesses. Hudson Bay Company includes Hudson's Bay, Lord and Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Gilt, Saks OFF 5th, Find @ Lord and Taylor and Home Outfitters. They operate more than 460 stores and employ 66,000 employees around the world. Their claim " Canada's Merchants since 1670" is an accurate statement. Their legacy has been maintained by 347 years of detailed record- Keeping and archiving of this material by the company. There is no indication the Hudson Bay Company will not continue to thrive for