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2 May 1670Reputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

The Hudson's Bay Company receives its royal charter

A London monopoly and French coureurs des bois compete for control of the northern fur trade

On the timeline · around 2 May 1670 · Contact and New FranceContact and New FranceBritish North AmericaThe Hudson's Bay Company receives its royal charter1450150015501600165017001750

Quick facts

Chartered
2 May 1670, by Charles II
Territory granted
Rupert's Land (Hudson Bay drainage basin)
Key figures
Radisson and Groseilliers
French rivals
Coureurs des bois

What happened

On 2 May 1670, King Charles II granted a royal charter to a group of London investors, creating the Hudson's Bay Company and giving it exclusive trading rights over Rupert's Land, the entire drainage basin of Hudson Bay, an area covering much of what is now northern Canada. The charter followed a scouting expedition by two French traders, Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Medard Chouart des Groseilliers, who had defected to English backers after French officials refused to support their plan to trade directly with Cree and other northern nations by sea rather than overland. Where the HBC built permanent coastal posts and waited for Indigenous traders to come to them, independent French traders called coureurs des bois, unlicensed and often operating outside colonial law, travelled inland to trade directly in Indigenous communities, competing directly with the English company for the same furs.

Why it matters

The charter created one of the oldest continuously operating commercial corporations in the world and gave Britain a permanent foothold controlling trade across a vast interior territory, setting up more than a century of Anglo-French competition for the fur trade that shaped alliances, warfare, and exploration across the continent.

How we know

The original 1670 royal charter survives and is held by the Hudson's Bay Company archives; the Canadian Encyclopedia's entries on the HBC and coureurs des bois summarize its terms and the roles of Radisson and Groseilliers.

Sources

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The Hudson's Bay Company receives its royal charter · History of Canada · SourcedStory