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Hudson Bay Company Facts & Worksheets

Hudson Bay Company is a Canadian retail trading company established in 1670.

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Hudson Bay Company is a Canadian retail trading company established in 1670. It became famous for its iconic Point Blankets and its role in starting the fur trade industry in Canada.

See the fact file below for more information on the Hudson Bay Company or alternatively, you can download our 27-page Hudson Bay Company worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

16th Century

  • In 1610, Henry Hudson was commissioned to find and chart a sea passage in search of Northwest Passage to get to the Far East. He failed, which led to a mutiny on his ship. In 1611, Henry Hudson discovered the bay they called Hudson Bay.
  • In 1659 the French authorized several fur trading companies in Hudson Bay.
  • In 1660, two voyagers, Radisson and des Groseilliers, returned with a hundred canoes full of fur. The fur was confiscated because they didn’t have a license.

Late 16th Century

  • Prince Rupert of Batavia sponsored an exploratory trading mission in 1668. Radisson and des Groseilliers were part of the expedition. Radissons’ ship had to turn back to England when they ran into trouble with illness and starvation, but in 1668, Des Groseilliers arrived at Rupert River in Hudson Bay, where they built the Charles Fort. Des Groseilliers returned to England in 1669 with cargo worth £1380, which was a huge amount of money at the time. The prince organized a group of 18 investors to form the Hudson’s Bay Company on May 2, 1670.
  • In 1670, King Charles II issued a charter to Prince Rupert and the Company of Adventurers of England trading in Hudson Bay, granting a monopoly over all the trade in the area.
  • The first trading post was built in 1673, called Moose Factory, followed by Fort Albany in 1674, Fort Seven in 1680, and York Factory in 1684.

17th Century

  • In 1715, a Chipewyan Dënesųłı̨ne nation woman called Thanadelthur traveled with HBC employee William Sturat and Cree representatives to negotiate a peace treaty with the Dene.
  • In 1774, Samuel Hearne built the first inland post near Pine Island Lake on the Saskatchewan River.
  • In 1806, Isobel Gunn disguised herself as a man to get a job at HBC in the fur trade, shipping, and carrying goods by canoe until her true identity was discovered two years later. She was then not allowed to work with men anymore and was offered work as a washerwomen, despite proving herself for two years. She only worked there for a year before returning to Orkney in 1809.
  • In 1811, Lord Selkirk established a settlement at Red River for the Scottish highland farmers who were forced off their farms in Scotland during the Highland Clearances.
  • In 1821, HBC merged with its most successful rival, the North West Company, based in Montreal.
  • From 1836, HBC used a steamship for the first time to transport its goods.
  • In 1849, Fort Victoria became the new Pacific headquarters for HBC.

18th and 19th Century

  • In 1875, Calgary was founded, and HBC opened a small post in 1876.
  • Donald Smith drove the ceremonial last spike of the new railroad; later, he was also appointed director of the new railroad by HBC in 1885.
  • HBC sent Ralph Parsons to the northern border of Quebec to create trading relationships for Arctic fox furs, in 1909.
  • HBC was the chief shipping agent for France, Russia, Belgium, and Romania during World War I.
  • HBC formed the new headquarters of the fur business in London in 1925.
  • HBC joined Marland Oil to form the Hudson’s Bay Marland Oil Company in 1926.
  • HBC formed the Hudson Bay Oil and Gas Company in 1929.
  • HBC became a supplier of Inuit art from Canada in 1953.
  • HBC expanded into Canada by buying 10 Morgan outlets in 1960.
  • HBC invested $8 million in exploration. Hudson’s Bay Oil & Gas had a major gas strike north of Edmonton, in Canada’s largest gas field, in 1962.
  • Queen Elizabeth II granted the company a new charter, and its head office moved from London, England, to Winnipeg, Manitoba. 1970 also marked the company’s 300th anniversary.
  • HBC acquires; interest in Markborough Properties Ltd. HBC also acquired interest in Siebens Oil and Gas in 1973.
  • HBC relocated its corporate office to Toronto in 1974.
  • Kenneth Thomson bought controlling interest in HBC in 1979.
  • HBC sold off its shares in Siebens Oil and Gas to Dome Petroleum in 1979.

19th Century and 20th Century

  • HBC purchased the Kmart stores in Canada and merged them into the Zellers banner in 1998.
  • Jerry Zucker acquired HBC for CAN $1.13 billion in 2006; upon his death in 2008, his widow, Anita Zucker, became the first female Governor in HBC History.
  • The American Retailer bought 220 leasehold interests for C$1.825 billion from HBC in 2011.
  • In 2012, HBC rejoined the Toronto Stock Exchange.
  • On February 18, 2016, they opened the first Saks Fifth Ave in Canada.
  • In September 2018, HBC entered an agreement to merge HBC Europe with Germany Karstadt, owned by SIGNA.
  • In June 2019, HBC agreed to sell the company’s remaining stake in its German real estate joint venture to SIGNA.
  • HBC announced the closure of its Canadian Home Outfitters in 2019.

Hudson Bay Company Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Hudson Bay Company across 27 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Hudson Bay Company worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Hudson Bay Company which is a Canadian retail trading company established in 1670. It became famous for its iconic Point Blankets and its role in starting the fur trade industry in Canada.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Hudson Bay Company Facts
  • Timeline
  • Create a Company
  • True or False?
  • Hudson Bay Company Quiz
  • Create an Advert
  • Find the Words
  • Canoe Maze
  • Pop Quiz
  • Crossword
  • Design a New Blanket

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Link will appear as Hudson Bay Company Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, April 1, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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