two companies are contained in an Act of the British 
Parliament. This Act also provided for the government 
of the West. The governor and directors of the Hudson's 
Bay Company were given power to appoint local governors,
who presided over the meetings of the chief factors. The 
less serious offences against the law were tried by local
magistrates. More serious cases were left to the courtS 
of Upper Canada.  There was also a council composed of 
twenty-five chief factors and twenty-eight chief traders.
A strong man for the position of governor was  found in 
a young Scot sm an named George Simpson.  For forty years
Simpson controlled the fur trade. His energy was unfailing.
Every  year he made the journey from Montreal to the 
distant West by the fur traders' route. He inspected the 
most distant posts, and on several occasions crossed the
Rocky Mountains. To the enterprise of the Hudson's Bay 
Company, in no small measure, Great Britain owes her 
control of the Pacific coast. The Russians from the north,
and the Americans from the south, were pressing rival 
claims which threatened to shut out Great Britain from 
the Western Sea. Thanks to the activity of Simpson, the 
country between the Rockies and the Pacific was occupied 
by the British. Upon the coast there were six trading-posts,
and in the interior six-teen. These trading interests were 
protected on the side of the ocean by a fleet of six 
armed vessels. 



Image:
SIR GEORGE SIMPSON


 179. Progress of the Selkirk settlement.-Meanwhile,
the Selkirk settlement was winning its way to prosperity. 
The population, composed at the outset of two hundred 
Scottish and Irish settlers, one hundred German soldiers,
and a number of French traders and half-breeds, was 
steadily in-creasing. The hardships of pioneer life in 
eastern Canada were here repeated. Spade and hoe, sickle 
and cradle, flail and quern-all told of the day of small 
things. The land was just beginning to yield a scanty 
living, when a series of disasters swept away the fruits
of patient labour. For three years in succession clouds 
of grasshoppers descended upon the land, making of the 
fields a "desolate wilderness." A few years later the 
Red River overflowed its banks and swept over the fields,
driving back the settlers to the neighbouring heights, 
and carrying off houses and barns. The courage of the 
settlers, however, was equal to all these misfortunes and
brought them through to better days. 
 For many years the government of the colony was in the 
hands of the local governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
assisteed by a local council. Growth made a change neces-
sary.  In 1834 the Hudson's Bay Company bought back from
the heirs of Lord Selkirk the land originally sold to him.
In the next year the Council of Assiniboia, the governing 
body of the colony, was reorganized, with Sir George 
Simpson as president.  The council consisted of fifteen 
members appointed by the company. The new arrangement, 
however, was not altogether satisfactory. The people com-
plained that the councillors were too closely connected 
with the company to represent the popular will. Discontent
was a sign of progress, a sign that the settlement was 
growing beyond the control of a fur company. The historic
centre of the colony was Fort Garry. A weather-beaten 

MACMILLAN'S WESTERN CANADA SERIES

The West 1763-1812, The West 1812-1841, Western Canada,
1870-1920, The Prairie Provinces and The Rise of the
North West, North West, Prairies, prairie provinces,
 Western provinces, Sask Gen Web, Saskatchewan Gen Web

Canada history, Ca, Can, Canada, Canada by A.G. Bradley, 
A.G. Bradley, Canadian History, The Story of the Canadian 
People, Duncan, The Western Canada Series, David Duncan

Canada history, Ca, Can, Canada, Canada by A.G. Bradley, 
A.G. Bradley, Canadian History, The Story of the Canadian 
People, Duncan, The Western Canada Series, David Duncan

Visitor # 156
Web Master: Julia Adamson,
for Sask Gen Web Project
Web Page title: CP192-193.html
URL: /~cansk/history/CP192-193.html
Web Publish Date: © Wednesday, 14-Apr-2004 12:49:03 MDT
Saskatchewan History Comments
View comments.....Add comments.

Guestbook
Genealogy Queries

The West 1763-1812, The West 1812-1841, Western Canada,
1870-1920, The Prairie Provinces and The Rise of the
North West, North West, Prairies, prairie provinces,
 Western provinces, Sask Gen Web, Saskatchewan Gen Web