“Rupert’s Land” was the name given to the Hudson Bay watershed by King Charles II of Great Britain and Ireland in 1670. At the time, he had no idea that this encompassed about 3,861,400 square kilometers (1,490,900 square miles). English merchants and explorers only had a sketchy knowledge of the Hudson Bay coastline and almost no concrete data on the areas draining into that body of water. Wikipedia
Why was King Charles interested in this territory?
Because he was in the process of granting a royal charter to a trading company that was being formed by socially well-connected merchants lead by Prince Rupert (the king’s cousin) at the suggestion of two Courreurs des bois (Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard Chouart Des Grosellier): the Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson’s Bay, or the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) for short. He appointed the participants “true and absolute Lords and Proprietors of the land,” and granted them “the right of sole Trade and Commerce within Rupert’s Land.”
Prince Rupert became the Company’s first Governor.
The royal charter did not apply to any parts of Rupert’s Land “actually possessed by any other Christian Prince or State,” but made no mention of the many First Nations who actually held sovereignty within the territory. At the time, the Hudson’s Bay Company’s actual claim to the land was limited to small sites for trading posts and safe passage between those posts. Nearly two centuries later, however, in the 1860s, the issue became more contentious as the HBC negotiated the sale of this territory to the emerging Dominion of Canada without consulting the First Nations or Métis communities.
In 1867, the Dominion of Canada was formed out of the Confederation of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and the Confederation bought Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company.
For generations, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) was a cornerstone of Canadian retail, a brand synonymous with tradition, history, and reliability. However, in the rapidly evolving retail landscape, tradition alone isn’t enough to keep a business thriving. The Bay’s decline is a cautionary tale for retailers everywhere. It underscores the importance of agility, customer experience, and bold marketing.
Why did HBC. one of the oldest companies of the western world, seek bankruptcy protection after 355 years of successful operation?
Due to
- the collapse of the fur trade,
- loss of monopoly and land,
- inability to adapt to modern retail trends,
- poor strategic choices and leadership.
