Fur Trade Rivalry: Hudson's Bay Company vs. North West Company (1779–1821)

  1. HBC establishes Cumberland House as inland post

    Labels: Cumberland House, Samuel Hearne, Hudson's Bay

    The HBC founded Cumberland House (built by Samuel Hearne) as a major inland trading post, signaling a strategic shift from coastal Hudson Bay posts toward direct interior competition with Montreal-based traders linked to the NWC.

  2. North West Company partnership formed in Montreal

    Labels: North West, Montreal, Independent traders

    A Montreal-based coalition of independent fur traders organized what became the North West Company (NWC), creating a well-capitalized inland competitor to the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) and setting the stage for intensified rivalry across the northwest interior.

  3. NWC absorbs rivals in major 1787 reorganization

    Labels: North West, Gregory McLeod, Reorganization

    The NWC consolidated by merging with a rival firm (often described as Gregory, McLeod and Co.), strengthening its partner network and logistics—an organizational step that helped it challenge the HBC more effectively in the interior.

  4. XY Company formed to challenge the NWC

    Labels: XY Company, Montreal, New North

    The XY Company (New North West Company) was created as a Montreal-based competitor, escalating competitive pressure in the fur country and contributing to instability and violence among trading post networks.

  5. NWC begins shifting rendezvous from Grand Portage

    Labels: North West, Grand Portage, Lake Superior

    Facing border and customs complications after the U.S. Revolution, NWC partners ended their last Grand Portage rendezvous (1802) and moved operations to a new Lake Superior depot, a logistical change that reinforced NWC control of its inland supply chain.

  6. Fort William rendezvous begins after Grand Portage

    Labels: Fort William, Kaministiquia River, North West

    By 1803 the NWC rendezvous had shifted to the Kaministiquia River area (later Fort William), becoming the key inland hub where furs and trade goods were exchanged between Montreal brigades and western posts.

  7. XY Company merges into the NWC

    Labels: XY Company, North West, Merger

    After several years of costly rivalry, the XY Company was absorbed by the NWC, temporarily reducing competition within the Montreal trade while leaving the broader HBC–NWC struggle unresolved.

  8. Fort Kaministiquia renamed Fort William

    Labels: Fort William, William McGillivray, North West

    The NWC’s inland headquarters was renamed Fort William in honor of William McGillivray, reflecting the site’s central role in coordinating NWC operations and annual gatherings that underpinned its competitive reach.

  9. NWC builds Fort Gibraltar at Red River Forks

    Labels: Fort Gibraltar, Red River, North West

    The NWC established Fort Gibraltar at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, positioning itself to control regional provisioning and trade routes—an action that sharpened conflict with the HBC-backed Selkirk Settlement.

  10. HBC grants Selkirk Concession for Red River colony

    Labels: Selkirk Concession, Thomas Douglas, Hudson's Bay

    The HBC issued a large land grant (often called the Selkirk Concession/Grant) to Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, to establish an agricultural settlement at Red River—intended in part to supply provisions and strengthen HBC presence in the interior.

  11. Pemmican Proclamation restricts exports from Red River

    Labels: Pemmican Proclamation, Miles Macdonell, Red River

    Governor Miles Macdonell issued the Pemmican Proclamation limiting pemmican exports from the Red River district, directly threatening NWC provisioning and helping trigger the wider escalation known as the Pemmican War.

  12. Battle of Seven Oaks kills Governor Semple

    Labels: Battle of, Robert Semple, M tis

    At Seven Oaks near Red River, a Métis party associated with NWC provisioning confronted HBC/settlers; Governor Robert Semple and many of his men were killed. The clash became the best-known flashpoint of the Pemmican War and intensified calls to end the companies’ violence.

  13. Selkirk seizes Fort William and arrests NWC partners

    Labels: Lord Selkirk, Fort William, De Meuron

    Lord Selkirk, traveling with disbanded soldiers (including men from the De Meuron regiment), seized the NWC headquarters at Fort William and detained several NWC leaders, escalating the legal and political struggle over responsibility for Red River violence.

  14. Parliament’s Fur Trade Act and merger end rivalry

    Labels: Fur Trade, Parliament, Hudson's Bay

    British policy intervened to end the destabilizing conflict: an 1821 Act regulated the fur trade and jurisdiction in parts of British North America, and the companies were merged into a reconstituted Hudson’s Bay Company—formally closing the HBC–NWC rivalry as an independent contest.

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17741785179718091821
Last Updated:Jan 1, 1980

Fur Trade Rivalry: Hudson's Bay Company vs. North West Company (1779–1821)