The account of French occupation is to be found in French Marine Archives and in the Relation of Jeremie, Bernard’s Voyages.
Governor Knight paid £277 to the French for provisions left at Nelson. It was the cargo of furs he sent home in 1714 that enabled the Company to pay its long-standing debts and declare a dividend by 1718.
As York may soon be Manitoba’s seaport, it is worth noting that in 1715 Captain Davies spent the entire summer beating about and failed to enter Hayes River for the ice. For this failure, he was severely reprimanded by the Company.
In 1695 the lease was signed for thirty-five years for the premises on Fenchurch Street, occupied till the Company moved to present quarters in Lime Street.
The first map of the bay drawn for the Company was executed in 1684, by John Thornton, for which he was paid £4.