Book SummaryThe Company, by Stephen Bown

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Company

The evolution of the Hudson's Bay Company.

The establishment of the Company was greatly shaped by the pioneering ideas brought forth by Radisson and Groseilliers.

Radisson and Groseilliers embarked on their early expeditions within the French territories in North America, which ultimately prompted them to seek backing from England.

The story, as recounted by Stephen Bown, follows the journey of Médard Chouart des Groseilliers and Pierre-Esprit Radisson, two French fur traders, in their pursuit of new opportunities in the fur trade that led them to England, ultimately resulting in the establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company. The duo possessed a deep and poetic understanding of the different traditions and ways of life of various Indigenous groups. In 1659, they set out on a bold journey beyond Lake Superior to seek exceptional sources of fur. They came across various indigenous tribes including the Ojibwa and Cree, which unveiled complex networks of trade that connected settlements across extensive territories. They had also been informed of a region with saltwater located to the north.

Upon their return to New France in 1660, laden with a fleet of canoes brimming with furs, they were celebrated as heroes; however, the French colonial officials, apprehensive that their achievements could shift the central axis of the fur commerce from the St. Lawrence, appropriated a significant portion of their earnings. Their quest for allies in Boston concluded when encroaching sea ice impeded their expedition, prompting them to embark on a voyage to England. They encountered King Charles II and his royal court in London, where the court's interest was piqued by their accounts of a profitable fur trade reachable by maritime routes. They formulated a plan to sail towards Hudson Bay and establish a series of trading posts at the river mouths leading inland, aiming to engage in trade with the native Indigenous populations. The approach promised substantial wealth and also presented an opportunity to weaken the power of the French, who frequently opposed England in many disputes.

Throughout the 17th century and into the 18th, The Company expanded the scope of its commercial operations.

The Company initially flourished by setting up robust outposts along the edge of Hudson Bay.

Stephen Bown narrates the story of the Company, founded in 1670, overcoming early obstacles and, by addressing a multitude of functional problems, enabled the prosperous expansion of the commerce involving pelts. The company's initial expansion was propelled by the skillful negotiation and trade skills demonstrated by the French explorers Radisson and Groseilliers, who established a robust partnership with the Cree community in 1668. The area encircling Hudson Bay abounded with beaver populations, whose pelts were highly coveted by Europeans. The Company's consistent profitability facilitated the creation of new stations around the bay.

In the 1670s, the Company expanded consistently by establishing a series of fortified positions and commercial outposts at key junctures where significant rivers flowed into the bay, in line with the foundational tactics laid out by Radisson and Groseilliers. The fort consisted of several buildings surrounded by a wooden fence and was staffed by a small number of soldiers. Their primary objective centered on engaging in trade instead of seeking to control colonies. Trading posts were established progressively, beginning with Moose Factory in 1672, and continued with the establishment of Fort Albany along the Albany River in 1679, then came the creation of Fort Severn in 1689, the establishment of York Factory in 1684, and finally the founding of Fort Churchill in 1717.

The Company's growth and steadiness were profoundly influenced by its competitive interactions and conflicts with French traders.

The organization's early successes prompted a reaction by the French, as Bown describes, during a period marked by growing tensions between the two nations as the seventeenth century drew to a close. The organization was under constant harassment by French privateers and military units. Initially skeptical about the practicality of land-based travel from the St. Lawrence River to Hudson Bay, the French began sending representatives and Jesuit missionaries to the north to interact with the Cree and persuade them to redirect their trade from the company to French stations along the St. Lawrence.

The initial assault by the French in 1686 was launched under the cover of darkness, with Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville at the helm, commanding a contingent of soldiers and Canadian voyageurs who took the employees at Moose Factory by surprise. The French had learned that the Company's forts were built to resist attacks from the sea but not from the land, and over the course of the next decade d'Iberville led a series of raids against the Company's outposts, culminating in the 1697 confrontation at Hudson Bay, where they captured York Factory after the Hampshire, a vessel of the Royal Navy, was sunk, all in pursuit of the objectives...

The Company Summary The HBC encountered competition and disputes with various fur trading competitors, including French merchants and the North West Company.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Company often experienced disruptions in its trade operations due to French hostilities.

The establishment of The Company in Hudson Bay was met with resistance due to the French employing military strength and forging alliances with the native Indigenous communities.

Bown observes that the French viewed the English ventures in Hudson Bay as a threat to the fur trade of New France and sought to undermine the fledgling operation. Forces originating from New France, lacking the commercial strength of the Company, launched a series of attacks on its outposts in an effort to drive them out of Hudson Bay. French forces, commanded by the skilled and audacious Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, took advantage of the structural weaknesses that were specific to the fortifications, which were mainly intended to repel attacks from the sea, and in 1686 captured all significant positions held by the Company around James Bay.

D'Iberville, a charismatic leader in maritime command, spent over a decade threatening the Company through assaults on its vessels and invasions of its strongholds, culminating in 1697 when the French took control of York...

The Company Summary The growth of the Hudson's Bay Company into North America's heartland significantly impacted the economic and social structures of indigenous populations.

Numerous factors influenced the Company's move to extend its operations inland in the late 1700s.

The search for unexploited fur resources was driven by the necessity to challenge the expanding sway of the North West Company.

Bown examines the significant competitive pressure that the North West Company's focus on interior trade exerted on the Company's longstanding fur trade operations, which had been ongoing for over a century at various locations along the shores of Hudson Bay. The Nor'Westers had established dominance over most of the valuable fur regions by creating a complex network that involved canoe brigades and strategic partnerships, as well as establishing outposts in distant areas, thereby restricting the Company to areas of lesser value. The Company sought to expand its reach by sending explorers to map the lands to the west of Hudson Bay and to create new trading posts deeper into the continent.

The substantial reduction in fur-bearing wildlife around Hudson Bay, coupled with the objective to bypass the need for native intermediaries, were key factors to consider.

After a century of engaging in the fur trade, the beaver population saw a...

The Company Summary The fur trade was significantly influenced by exploration, cartography, and the comprehension of geographical landscapes.

The first voyages embarked towards Hudson Bay, seeking the fabled sea lane referred to as the Northwest Passage.

The expeditions led by Hudson, Button, James, Foxe, and Middleton were pivotal in advancing knowledge and improving the mapping of the Bay.

Bown delves into the fervent initial endeavors aimed at uncovering a navigable passage across North America to enhance connectivity with the East, sparking a century of exploratory ventures in the continent's northern regions. In the early 1600s, sea voyages into Hudson Bay's waters, although unsuccessful in uncovering a lucrative route to Asia, established that English ships could navigate these seas and encountered indigenous communities possessing beaver pelts of significant worth.

Henry Hudson sailed into Hudson Bay in 1610 and mapped its eastern shore. In 1612, Thomas Button embarked on a journey to explore the western areas of Hudson Bay and determined that the southern territories did not provide a navigable route. In 1631, Thomas James embarked on a voyage to explore the western areas of Hudson Bay and James Bay, aiming to discover a pathway that would facilitate a direct western passage to the territories...

The Company Summary The Hudson's Bay Company's evolution, innovative commercial tactics, and lasting impact.

In the 1800s, the transformation of the Company was significantly influenced by George Simpson.

The merger of the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company endowed Simpson and his enterprise with unmatched authority over the extensive territories of western and northern North America.

Bown highlights the mandatory merger between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company in 1821, a pivotal event that reshaped the fur trade industry and played a crucial role in shaping the emergence of Canada's national identity. British authorities grew concerned that their waning influence over the Company could hinder their ability to prevent the advance of American settlers moving westward and northward amidst growing conflicts in the regions linked to the fur business. In 1821, the government intervened to consolidate the rival factions, securing the ongoing operations of the combined entity known as the Hudson's Bay Company. The nascent Company received from the government an exclusive trading mandate that spanned the extensive western and northern regions of North America, reaching as far as the Pacific coastline.

The Company was also responsible for encouraging...