Hudson's Bay Company Charter

Timeline

1. 1668–1670Hudson Bay · Hudson BayAround 1668, French-born explorers Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers presented English investors with the rich beaver fur resources of Hudson Bay. Nobles and merchants including Prince Rupert formed a group of adventurers and petitioned Charles II for a monopoly trade charter.
2. 1670London · LondonOn May 2, 1670, Charles II signed the charter establishing the Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay. The charter granted the company all trade rights in waters flowing into Hudson Bay, James Bay, and Rupert River, and conferred broad powers of legislation, jurisdiction, and land disposal, effectively establishing a commercial territory in northern North America.
3. 1670–1684Coast of James Bay · James BayAfter the charter was granted, the company established trading posts such as York Factory along the coast of James Bay, exchanging European manufactured goods for Indigenous beaver pelts and forming a 'trading post system.' The company competed long-term with French North American colonial forces and later the Montreal-based North West Company, gradually establishing dominance over the fur trade of northern Canada.