Extent—Discovery—Settlement—Contests with France—Present State.
Extent.—The Hudson's Bay Territory is a region of British America, far surpassing, in extent, the settled and occupied parts. It is about two thousand six hundred miles in length, from east to west, and nearly one thousand five hundred miles in width, from south to north. It extends northerly till it reaches the Arctic ocean.
Discovery.—Hudson's bay, from which the territory takes its name, was repeatedly visited, at an early period, by English navigators, though for a long time solely with a view to the great object of discovering a north-west passage to Asia. It appears that Sebastian Cabot, in 1517, first penetrated to this gulf, but did not view it as an inclosed sea. This voyage, however, was lost sight of, so that when Hudson, in 1610, sailed through the straits now bearing his name, and found a wide and open expanse, it was considered a new discovery, and named, from him, the Hudson sea. Nor was it recognized as a bay, but was viewed, with hope, as a part of the Pacific. The great navigator, however, having been compelled to winter within the straits, where the crew were exposed to severe suffering, a violent mutiny arose among them, when he and several of his adherents were exposed, in a small boat, on this inhospitable shore, and doubtless perished.
Several voyages were made during the next half century, with many perils and disasters, and all of them abortive as to the primary object. But they were the means of laying open the great extent of Hudson's bay, and of conveying some idea of the valuable furs which might be obtained on its shores.
Settlements.—A Frenchman, named Grosseliez, having penetrated thither from Canada, made a survey of the country, and laid before the French court the plan of a settlement. Finding his proposition unheeded, he sought the English patronage under Prince Rupert, and in June, 1668, a company of adventurers sailed in a vessel commanded by Zachariah Gillam, and reached a river, then called Nemisco, to which they gave the name of Rupert. Here they wintered with comparative comfort. Upon the report made by this party, a capital of ten thousand five hundred pounds was subscribed by the prince and others, and a charter was obtained, securing to them the exclusive trade and administration of all the countries around Hudson's bay. They immediately sent out adventurers, who formed a settlement on Rupert's river. Others were established on Moose river, in 1674, and four years later on the Albany. By 1685, they had added two more on the Nelson and Severn, and in 1690, their affairs were in such a flourishing condition, that they determined to triple their original stock.
Contests with France.—France, learning these results, regretted her indifference to the proposal of Grosseliez, and commenced efforts to secure advantages which she had, in effect, thrown away. "A claim was advanced on the ground of prior occupation, and Grosseliez, already detached from the English service, was sent out, in 1682, with another officer. He not only laid the foundation of a factory on Hayes' river, but, in the following spring, surprised the British one on the Nelson, taking Gillam a prisoner, and carrying him to Canada; and yet, soon after, by means not very distinctly stated, the English became masters of these stations. In 1686, however, amid a profound peace, the Chevalier de Troyes marched thither, and suddenly took the Rupert, Hayes, and Albany factories. These movements do not seem to have attracted much attention in Europe, but when the war in 1688 broke out, hostile operations were carried on with great ardor. During 1693-94-95, the different posts were successively taken and rëtaken. In 1696, the English had recovered almost the whole; but in the following year, a squadron from France defeated the Hudson's bay ships, and took all the forts except Albany. The treaty of Ryswick leaving things in statu quo, this state of possession continued till the peace of Utrecht, in 1713, by which the various posts were restored to Britain."
Discoveries have been made in the intervening years, from the above date to the present time, which have resulted in a more extensive knowledge of this immense country. Settlements have occasionally been made on the coasts of the bays or rivers which so abound there; but the object principally in view of the many expeditions on those northern waters—viz: the ascertaining of a passage into the Pacific at the head of the American continent—has never been secured.
