During the years before the Confederation, HBC is pressured by the British government, as it investigates the Company as a monopoly and it's trading practices. Also, the company was granted a license for exclusive trade in areas outside the boundries of Rupert's Land. Also at this time Queen Elizabeth II granted the company a new charter and it's head office moved from london, England to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Mar 18, 1774, The Cumberland House Jan 1, 1912, Modernization A group of Rich English merchants(Inclucing prince Rupert) formed the Hudsons Bay company and King Charles II granted the company a fur trade ownership for all of the lands drained by the river flowng into Hudson's Bay. Jan. 13, 2011: Hudson’s Bay Co. sells leasing rights to the majority of its Zellers locations to Minnesota-based Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) for $1.83 billion. The Pemmican War was a series of armed confrontations during the North American fur trade between the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the North West Company (NWC) in the years following the establishment of the Red River Colony in 1812 by Lord Selkirk.It ended in … 1754 – Anthony Henday, an explorer working for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), may have been the first European to enter the Edmonton area. Jan 1, 1849, HBC discovers rich coal deposits at Nanaimo. Richard A. Baker becomes the 39th Governor of HBC. We are committed to the preservation, education, and promotion of Hudson’s Bay Company’s history and the ongoing care and maintenance of the Company’s historical HBC Corporate Art, Artifact, Image, and Reference Collections. But it’s a story that predates Canada, the making of which is only one small telling. Jan 1, 1870, The Deed of Surrender, by which HBC returns control of Rupert’s Land to the Crown, comes into effect. Four years later they bring their first cargo of fur to England from the Hudson Bay region. The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), chartered 2 May 1670, is the oldest incorporated joint-stock merchandising company in the English-speaking world.HBC was a fur trading business for most of its history, a past that is entwined with the colonization of British North America and the development of Canada. York Factory is the first fur trading post by the company. The HBC built the Cumberland House which was the first inland post inbetween the Saskatchewan and Churchill rivers, then the HBC pushed westward to the Padcific slope. This warfare with the French did not end untill the british conquest of Canada in 1762. Assuming this was Hudson Bay, they sought French backing for a plan to set up a trading post on the Bay, to reduce the cost of m… 1612-1632 Exploration of Hudson Bay by several others (Thomas Button, William Baffin, Jens Munk, Luke Foxe and Thomas James) shows it to be landlocked. 1960: The company begins eastward expansion by taking over Montreal-based Morgan’s department stores, converting Ontario locations to The Bay banner but leaving Quebec stores as Morgan’s until 1972. 1885. The discovery of coal deposits at Nanaimo leads the Company to establish new mines and a trading post at Nanaimo in 1852. Hudson's Bay Company's John Montgomery account receipt, signed by William F. Tolmie, April 29, 1858. Before an agreement is reached, the British colonies of the Province of Canada (Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick join together to form the Dominion of Canada. 1997: Thomson family relinquishes ownership of the company. Hudson’s Bay Company, corporation that occupies a prominent place in both the economic and the political history of Canada. This let the Comapny expanded themselves throughout Western and Central Canada. By 1744 the Hudson's Bay Company had to establish its first post in the interior at Cumberland House on the Saskatchewan River near the present Saskatchewan-Manitoba border. Nov. 26, 2012: Hudson’s Bay Co. becomes a public company once again with the closure of a $365 million public offering. Mining continues there until 1873 where the HBC's coal needs are fullfiled, it was also a source of income for some time. Also selling off interests in the oil and gas business, HBC sells its Northern Stores Division and fur auction house. After this the Hudson's Bay Company began an rapid modernization program. Courtesy Washington State Historical Society (1920.96.1.1) Dr. William Fraser Tolmie, ca. Early 1900s: Hudson’s Bay continues expansion by building a chain of stores in western Canada. April 12, 2008: Zucker dies after a battle with cancer. The HBC got very lucky and got to expand the company in 1821 when it merged with it's most competitive rival, the North West company, which further aided in their sales of goods. July 16, 2008: New York-based NRDC Equity Partners, owner of American department store chain Lord & Taylor, buys Hudson’s Bay, with plans to expand its brand into Canada and give a fresh approach to both The Bay and Zellers outlets. Negotiations begin regarding the transfer of land ownership to Canada and compensation for HBC. 1811. 1869: The company’s territory, Prince Rupert’s Land, is turned over to the government of Canada, in exchange for Prairie land and 300,000 pounds in cash. Territorial Timeline Fort Nisqually, the first trading post on Puget Sound, founded by the Hudson's Bay Company By 1832 the Hudson's Bay Company recognized the need for a trading post midway between Fort Vancouver and their trading posts on the Fraser River. It was incorporated in England on May 2, 1670, to seek a northwest passage to the Pacific, to occupy the lands adjacent to Hudson Bay, and to carry on any commerce with those lands that might prove profitable. By the 19th century there was a string of Hudson’s Bay Company posts throughout Canada. 2003: U.S. businessman Jerry Zucker starts accumulating holdings in HBC, and two years later bids $1.1 billion to acquire the company, making it a private enterprise. About seven full-line Saks stores and roughly two dozen discount location will operate in Canada. which is also the reason as to why the company sold off its northern Canadian stores and it's ventures in gas, oil and coal. In 1912, following advice from one of its directors who was with Harrods department store in London, Hbc began an aggressive modernization program. The resulting ‘original six’ Hudson’s Bay Company department stores, in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg, are the living legacy of this period. 29, 2013: The company announces a US$2.9 billion deal to acquire U.S. luxury retailer Saks. In other words, the history of the Hudson’s Bay Company is a global story for our global era. (This was the largest real estate transaction in history). 1665 Bubonic plague sweeps July 29, 2013. This plan was the result of the original six Hudson's Bay Company department stores in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg. In the 17th century, the French had a de facto monopoly on the Canadian fur trade with their colony of New France. Visit HBC's own website for their telling of the company’s history.. HBC was founded on 2 May 1670 when King Charles granted a charter to his cousin Prince Rupert and his associates. Courtesy Washington State Historical Society (2006.0.257) Fort Nisqually blockhouse, ca. 1979: Hudson’s Bay expands further with the acquisition of Simpsons department stores. St. Joseph Communications uses cookies for personalization, to customize its online advertisements, and for other purposes. *** In October 1666, King Charles II of England granted an audience to two men who had travelled a long way to see him.