Charles II Grants Charter: Hudson's Bay Company Rises
King Charles II granted the Hudson's Bay Company its royal charter on May 2, 1670, giving a group of English and French investors exclusive trading rights over Rupert's Land, an enormous territory defined as all lands draining into Hudson Bay. This amounted to roughly 1.5 million square miles, or about 40% of modern Canada. The Company established trading posts where Indigenous peoples exchanged beaver pelts for European goods like blankets, metal tools, and firearms. For two centuries, the HBC was the de facto government of much of northwestern North America, administering justice, maintaining forts, and employing thousands of Cree, Ojibwe, and Metis people. The Company transferred its territorial claims to Canada in 1870 and still exists today as a department store chain.
May 2, 1670
356 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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