Red River Settlement
A royal charter issued in 1670, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) enjoyed exclusive commercial and settlement rights over Rupert’s Land, a vast territory that included the Red River region.
The hostility of the Nor’Westers , agents of the North West Company (NWC), a rival of the HBC which was active in Rupert’s Land despite the charter of 1670, exacerbated the challenges of establishing a settlement in a pioneer setting. The Nor’Westers included many Métis among their ranks.
In 1815 about 300 people, the majority of whom were Roman Catholic, were living there. Some 40 French Canadian settlers, recruited by the colony’s first Catholic missionaries, settled in 1818, thereby increasing linguistic and cultural diversity.
Until the merger of the two companies in 1821, which put an end to the Pemmican War, the settlers were periodically subjected to intimidation and harassment by the Nor’Westers and by their Métis allies, who were led by Grant. Twenty settlers lost their lives at Seven Oaks (Winnipeg) on 19 June 1816.
The administration of the settlement passed from Selkirk’s estate (he had died in 1820) to the HBC in 1835. Until 1870 the company appointed the governors of the settlement and members of the Council of Assiniboia, who were responsible for assisting the governor.
About 600 Métis who were involved in the buffalo hunt and the trade of hides left Red River during the 1850s and 1860s. The population of the settlement grew from about 600 to 6,500 between 1821 and 1856, and to over 10,000 in 1870.
In 1870, after a turbulent transition, the colony became Manitoba, the fifth Canadian province.
A large proportion of the inhabitants were French-speaking and English-speaking Métis. Red River was one of the centres of Métis society and many of its leaders, including Cuthbert Grant, Charles Nolin , Pascal Breland , John Bruce , Gabriel Dumont, and Louis Riel , had been born or had homes there.
Despite the provisions of the Manitoba Act, thousands of Métis left the Red River area in the following years, either driven off their lands by a huge influx of settlers, mainly from Ontario, or relocating with the desire to be closer to the remaining buffalo herds so that they could continue hunting them and processing their hides. Many Métis migrated to the west, particularly to the territories of the present-day provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta, where the fight for recognition of their rights led to the North-West rebellion and Riel’s execution in 1885.
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This page is a work in progress and will be updated as I research.