Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company is a Canadian corporation founded in 1670 to trade furs in northern North America. It later became a major landholder and retailer.

Royal Charter of 1670: The English royal charter that granted Hudson's Bay Company trading rights and territorial claims in the drainage basin of Hudson Bay. It established the company's legal privileges and the territory it called Rupert's Land.
Hudson's Bay: A large inland sea in northeastern Canada connected to the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. The bay's shores gave the company access to a maritime fur-trading network.
Fur trade in Canada: The commerce in animal pelts that connected Indigenous communities, European traders, and global markets in Canada. Hudson's Bay Company became one of the dominant institutions in this wider trade.
The Bay: The Canadian department-store chain historically operated by Hudson's Bay Company under the name The Bay. It became the company's best-known retail brand after its fur-trading era.
Prince Rupert: A German-born English military leader and royal cousin who became the first governor of Hudson's Bay Company. He helped secure the royal charter and gave Rupert's Land its name.
York Factory: A Hudson's Bay Company trading post established in 1684 at the mouth of the Hayes River in Manitoba. It served as a major depot where furs arrived and European goods entered the inland trade.
Indigenous peoples in Canada: The First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples whose homelands and histories encompass present-day Canada. Company expansion affected Indigenous trade, diplomacy, land, and political relationships.
Zellers: A Canadian discount department-store chain acquired by Hudson's Bay Company in 1978. Its acquisition marked the company's expansion into mass-market retail.
Rupert's Land: A vast territory in northern North America claimed by Hudson's Bay Company under its 1670 charter. The charter made this territory the geographic foundation of the company's trading empire.
Beaver hat: A hat made from beaver fur, especially felted beaver underfur, once fashionable in Europe. European demand for beaver hats made pelts the trade's most valuable commodity.

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