Description

The Hudson's Bay Company was one of the great merchant companies. Granted sole trading rights to a huge part what is now Canada they were coerced in the mid nineteenth century to set up a colonial administration on Vancouver Island to protect British interests at a time of growing expansionism from America to the south and possible threats from a Russian Alaska to the north. 'Company, Crown and Colony' tells the story of the challenges they faced. Drawing on rich archival resources the author provides a detailed account of this turbulent period, revealing the difficulties faced by a leading merchant company as they sought to resolve their conflicting interests of commerce and settlement in a complex situation, and providing fresh and lively insights into the emergence of a region of North America that is today one of the principal commercial centres of Canada.

Table of Contents

Figures
Tables
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Companies, Colonialism and Frontiers in the New World
Chapter 2: Settlement and Society of Vancouver Island Colony
Chapter 3: Indigenous Peoples and the Hudson’s Bay Company on Vancouver Island
Chapter 4: The Economy of Vancouver Island Colony
Chapter 5: Company, Crown and Governors
Chapter 6: The Hudson’s Bay Company Governance of Vancouver Island
Chapter 7: Vancouver Island, Western Canada and the Outside World
Chapter 8: Conclusion: Company, Colony, Island and Frontier
Appendix 1: Archives: ‘yours to explore’
Appendix 2: Abbreviations
Appendix 3: Dramatis Personae
Appendix 4: First Nation Names
Notes
Index

Author Info

Stephen Royle is Professor of Island Geography and Director of the Centre of Canadian Studies at Queen's University, Belfast. A Member of the Royal Irish Academy, he is the author of a number of books including The Company's Island.

Bibliographic Info