North West Company facts for kids
Company coat of arms
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| Private | |
| Industry | Fur trade |
| Fate | Merger |
| Successor | Hudson's Bay Company |
| Founded | 1779 |
| Founder | Benjamin Frobisher, Joseph Frobisher, Simon McTavish, Robert Grant, Nicholas Montour, Patrick Small, William Holmes, George McBeath |
| Defunct | 1821 |
| Headquarters | |
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Area served
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United States territory, Spanish territory, Russian Empire territory, Qing Dynasty China, British Canada |
The North West Company was a big fur trading business based in Montreal, Canada. It operated from 1779 to 1821. This company was a strong rival to the Hudson's Bay Company, especially in what is now Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. Because so much money was involved, the two companies often had disagreements. These sometimes led to small fights. Eventually, the British government made them join together.
Contents
The Fur Trade Before the Company
After the French arrived in Quebec in 1608, brave French traders called coureurs des bois explored new lands. They built a huge fur trade network around the St. Lawrence River. The French competed with Dutch and English traders. The French traveled deep into the land to trade with First Nations people in their villages. The English, however, set up trading posts on Hudson Bay and invited Indigenous people to come to them.
After 1731, a French explorer named La Vérendrye pushed the fur trade even further west, past Lake Winnipeg. In 1763, the British took over New France (which is now Canada). English-speaking traders, sometimes called "pedlars", then managed the fur trading posts. These traders soon started to work together. This was because competition was costing them money. Also, it was very expensive to send canoes far out into the western lands.
How the Company Started
People talked about a "North West Company" as early as 1770. This included traders like Benjamin Frobisher and Alexander Henry the elder. But the company we know today officially started in 1779. It had 16 owners, including Simon McTavish and James McGill.
These traders wanted to break the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly (meaning they had almost total control) over the fur trade in North America. In 1780, more partners joined, like Peter Pond and Alexander Ellice.
The North West Company officially became a long-term business in the winter of 1783–84. Its main office was in Montreal. It was led by Benjamin Frobisher, his brother Joseph, and Simon McTavish. Other important partners included the Ellice family, Robert Grant, and George McBeath.
The Company's Official Beginning
In 1787, the North West Company joined with another trading group called Gregory, McLeod and Co. This brought in new skilled partners like Alexander Mackenzie. The company now had 20 shares. Some shares were held by agents in Montreal. Others were held by "wintering partners" who spent the trading season in the fur country. These partners managed the trade with Indigenous peoples.
The wintering partners and Montreal agents met every July. They gathered at the company's main storage place at Grand Portage on Lake Superior. Later, this meeting place moved to Fort William.
The North West Company also supported important explorations. Alexander Mackenzie led two big trips. In 1789, he traveled down the Grand River (now called the Mackenzie River) all the way to the Arctic Ocean. In 1793, he went overland from Peace River to the Pacific Ocean. Later, David Thompson and Simon Fraser also explored for the company. They pushed into the Rocky Mountains and reached the Strait of Georgia on the Pacific Coast.
McTavish Takes Control
When Benjamin Frobisher died, Simon McTavish took over the North West Company. He made a deal with Joseph Frobisher, Benjamin's brother. A new company, McTavish, Frobisher and Company, was formed in 1787. This new company controlled 11 of the 20 shares in the North West Company.
At this time, the company had 23 partners. But it also had about 2,000 other people working for it. These included agents, clerks, guides, and interpreters, often called voyageurs. Famous people like Peter Pond and Alexander Henry the elder were part of this group. The company changed its ownership structure again in 1795 and 1802. This allowed more wintering partners to join.
In 1792, the company became even more organized. Simon McTavish and John Fraser started a company in London called McTavish, Fraser and Company. This London company bought goods for trade and sold the furs. Many of the main leaders of the North West Company were Anglo-Quebecers (English-speaking people from Quebec). But Simon McTavish and Joseph Frobisher married French Canadian women. Many French Canadians were also very important to the company. They helped build and manage trading posts and worked as voyageurs trading with Indigenous people.
The North West Company grew its business far north to Great Bear Lake and west beyond the Rocky Mountains. For a few years, they tried to sell furs directly to China. They used American ships to avoid the British East India Company's special trading rights. But they didn't make much money from this. The company also expanded into the United States' Northwest Territory (which is now states like Michigan and Ohio). In 1796, to help with global trade and politics, the North West Company briefly opened an office in New York City.
Even with all its efforts, the North West Company had a big problem. It was hard to compete with the Hudson's Bay Company. The Hudson's Bay Company had a special permission from the king (a charter) that gave it almost total control over the fur trade in Rupert's Land. This area had the best furs. The North West Company tried to get the British Parliament to change these rules. They wanted to at least be able to ship their goods through Rupert's Land. It's said that Simon McTavish even asked Prime Minister William Pitt for help, but all their requests were turned down.
A few years later, with no help from the government, McTavish and his group took a risk. They sent an expedition overland from Montreal to James Bay. They also sent a ship by sea. In September 1803, the overland group met the ship, the Eddystone, at Charlton Island in what is now Nunavut. There, they claimed the area for the North West Company. This allowed them to get rich furs from that region. This expansion into the northwest cut into the Hudson's Bay Company's profits. For example, in 1800, the Hudson's Bay Company made £38,000, while the North West Company made £144,000. This bold move surprised the Hudson's Bay Company. Instead of trying to find a compromise, which McTavish had hoped for, the Hudson's Bay Company fought back in the following years.
Challenges in the Early 1800s
Simon McTavish brought many family members into the company. But he made sure they were skilled, not just related. His nephews, William McGillivray and Duncan McGillivray, were trained to take over the business. By 1796, William McGillivray was already acting as the main representative for the Montreal agents at the yearly meetings.
Simon McTavish was a very determined businessman. He knew that other companies were always looking for weaknesses. His strong leadership sometimes caused arguments with some of the company's owners. Several of them left the North West Company in the 1790s. Some of these former partners started their own company, unofficially called the "XY Company." They used an "XY" mark on their fur bales. Their company became much stronger in 1799 when Alexander Mackenzie, the famous explorer from the North West Company, left and joined them.
There was strong competition between the two rival companies. When Simon McTavish died on July 6, 1804, William McGillivray became the new leader. He wanted to end the four-year rivalry. The competition had become so bad that an XY Company employee had shot a North West Company leader during a fight. McGillivray successfully made a deal with the XY Company in 1804. The old North West Company partners kept 75% of the shares, and the former XY Company partners got 25%. Alexander Mackenzie was not included in this new partnership.
Under William McGillivray, the company continued to grow and make money in the early 1800s. However, competition with the Hudson's Bay Company was still very tough, which reduced their profits. The North West Company's office in New York City helped them avoid the British East India Company's special trading rights. This allowed them to ship furs to China. The North West Company's ships often sailed under the American flag, and they worked with an American businessman named John Jacob Astor.
But Astor was just as ambitious as Simon McTavish. Soon, a strong rivalry grew between Astor and William McGillivray. They competed for the Asian fur market and for control of new lands in the Columbia River basin (in today's Washington and Oregon states). Astor's Pacific Fur Company managed to build a trading post, Fort Astoria, near the mouth of the Columbia River before the North West Company could.
However, the population of sea otters (whose furs were valuable) dropped. Also, during the War of 1812, the British might have taken Astoria. So, Astor sold Fort Astoria to the North West Company in 1813. Even though the fort was already under British control, a British ship, HMS Racoon, still held a ceremony to claim it. Because of a treaty after the war, the fort was given back to the United States in 1817. The North West Company renamed it Fort George and kept using it until the Hudson's Bay Company took over.
The Canadian fur trade started to change in 1806. Napoleon Bonaparte ordered a blockade of the Baltic Sea. This was part of a big fight between France and Britain for world power. Britain relied on Baltic countries and parts of the US for almost all its timber (wood). At the same time, tensions between Britain and the United States were also increasing.
In 1809, the American government passed the Non-Intercourse Act. This law almost completely stopped trade between the two countries. Britain then depended entirely on its Canadian colony for timber, especially the large white pine trees used for ship masts. Almost overnight, timber became Canada's most important export, replacing fur. However, fur still made money because it was very valuable for its size. In a time when cash was scarce, Canadian merchants often used furs to pay their debts to London businesses.
The Forced Merger
By 1810, another problem hit the fur industry: too many animals, especially beavers, had been hunted. The destruction of the North West Company post at Sault Ste. Marie by Americans during the War of 1812 was a serious setback. After the war, the United States also stopped Canadian traders from freely crossing its northern border. This greatly reduced the profitable border trade and caused problems for traders who worked with Native American tribes whose lands crossed the border.
All these events made the competition between the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company even more intense. Thomas Douglas, a shareholder in the Hudson's Bay Company, convinced his partners to give him land called the Selkirk Concession. This was one of many events that led to the end of the North West Company.
The Pemmican Proclamation (a rule about food supplies) and the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816 led to violence. Lord Selkirk arrested William McGillivray and several North West Company owners. He ordered their property at Fort William to be taken. He also charged them with the deaths of 21 people at Seven Oaks. Even though the authorities in Montreal sorted out this legal issue, some of the richest and most skilled partners started to leave the North West Company in the following years. They were worried about the company's future. Also, the way family members were given jobs in the company had changed. It was no longer based on skill, which hurt the business and its workers' spirits.
By 1820, the company was even making its own copper coins, each worth one beaver pelt. But the North West Company's future was very uncertain. The owners had no choice but to agree to join with their rival, the Hudson's Bay Company. This happened after Henry Bathurst, a British government official, ordered the companies to stop fighting.
In July 1821, under more pressure from the British government, a merger agreement was signed with the Hudson's Bay Company. The North West Company name disappeared after more than 40 years of business. When they merged, the new company had 97 trading posts from the North West Company and 76 from the Hudson's Bay Company. With the competition over, the new leaders wanted two field governors to manage the large territory. George Simpson became the head of the northern division. He set up his main office in Lachine, near Montreal. Many trading posts were then closed to avoid having too many in one area.
People and Roles in the Company
The leaders of the North West Company, called bourgeois, were usually of Scottish background. They brought money to the company. Over time, many were related, as sons and nephews joined. The workers, called engagés, were mostly Canadiens. They were often sons of farmers from around Montréal. Many Métis (people of mixed Indigenous and European heritage) also followed their fathers into the fur trade, either as bourgeois or engagés. The bourgeois were seen as gentlemen, while the engagés did the hard physical work.
Company Leaders
The bourgeois or leaders of the North West Company had three different levels:
- Montreal merchants (agents de Montréal): These were the owners of trading companies and shareholders in the North West Company. They hired staff, exported furs, bought supplies, and arranged for goods to be shipped to the trading posts. They earned money from commissions and their shares in the company.
- Wintering partners (associés): These were also shareholders, owning one or two shares each. They didn't get a salary but earned money from the company's profits through their shares. They received trading goods on credit from the Montreal agents. They spent the winter in the interior, managing a district with several trading posts and overseeing trade with Indigenous peoples. In the summer, they met with the agents at Fort William. Wintering partners usually started their careers as clerks.
- Clerks (commiss): These were salaried employees. They usually started as apprentices for five to seven years. Then they became clerks and bookkeepers. Everyone hoped to become a shareholding partner, but many remained clerks.
Company Workers (Engagés)
The engagés or workers were not all the same. The lowest level were the voyageurs. These were the paddlers who traveled between Montreal and the posts around the Great Lakes. They were hired for the season and were sometimes called mangeurs du lard ('pork-eaters') because of their diet.
Hivernants, or wintering servants, were the next level up. They paddled canoes from the Great Lakes to the inland trading posts and worked there during the winter. Their status and pay depended on their role in the canoe. The milieu or middleman did the hardest work of paddling. The bowsman (devant) and steersman (gouvernail) had more responsibility and could earn up to five times more than a middleman. Interpreters and guides could earn up to three times as much as a middleman.
How People Connected
The company's social structure was based on family ties and background. The company was formed by a close group of people of Scottish descent who were related by blood or marriage. Many important Montreal agents were related to Simon McTavish. His successors, William and Duncan McGillivray, were his nephews. Out of 128 main figures in the company, 77 were of Scottish descent. Because of these strong family connections, it was almost impossible for someone not related to the main families to move up from a worker (engagé) to a leader (bourgeois).
Company Staff (Examples)
In 1799, the North West Company employed nearly 2,500 people. Here are some examples of the types of roles and locations:
- Athabaska (including Fort George, Fort McLeod, Fort St. James):
- John Finlay (proprietor), Simon Fraser, Alexander MacKenzie, John Stuart;
- Upper English River:
- Angus Shaw (proprietor), Alexander MacKay;
- Fort Dauphin:
- A. N. McLeod (proprietor), Hugh McGillis;
- Upper Fort des Prairies and Rocky Mountains:
- Daniel Mackenzie (proprietor), John MacDonald (proprietor), David Thompson;
- Upper Red River:
- John Macdonell (proprietor), George MacKay;
- Lower Red River:
- Charles Chaboillez (proprietor), Alexander Henry the younger;
- Lac Winipic:
- William MacKay (proprietor), John Cameron;
- Nipigon:
- Duncan Cameron (proprietor), Ronald Cameron;
- Sault Ste. Marie:
- John Burns, John Johnston;
- South of Lake Superior:
- Michel Cadotte (partner), Francois Malhiot (clerk);
- Fond du Lac:
- John Sayer (proprietor), J. B. Cadotte;
- Lac La Pluie:
- Peter Grant (proprietor), Arch. MacLellan;
- Grand Portage:
- Doctor Munro, Charles Hesse.
Company History: Key Changes
The North West Company's structure changed many times. Here's a simplified look at some key moments:
- 1779: The company officially forms with 16 shares.
- 1784: Some partners leave, and the shares are reorganized.
- 1787: The North West Company merges with Gregory & McLeod, bringing in new partners like Alexander Mackenzie. The company now has 20 shares.
- 1788: A new company, McTavish, Frobisher & Co, is formed and controls half of the North West Company.
- 1792: The company grows to 46 shares, with more partners joining.
- 1796: Joseph Frobisher retires.
- 1802: 6 new shares are added for clerks.
- 1804: Simon McTavish dies, and William McGillivray takes over. The North West Company merges with the XY Company.
- 1806: McTavish, Frobisher & Co becomes McTavish, McGillivrays & Co.
- 1821: The North West Company merges with the Hudson's Bay Company. Former North West Company owners have half the money but little power in the new company.
The XY Company (also called the New North West Company) was a rival company formed in 1798. Alexander Mackenzie joined them in 1799 and became their leader. They built trading posts very close to those of the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company. The competition was so fierce that a Hudson's Bay Company man was killed by an XY Company employee. In 1804, the XY Company merged with the North West Company, getting 25% of the combined company.
The South West Company was an attempt in 1811 to partner with John Jacob Astor to bring goods through New York and handle trade in the Great Lakes. The War of 1812 mostly stopped this plan, but parts of it lasted until 1820.
McTavish, Fraser & Co. was Simon McTavish's agent in London from about 1790. They helped supply goods and sell furs.
Todd & McGill was a company formed in 1776. They were part of the North West Company in 1779, left in 1784, and rejoined in 1792. They focused on the southern Great Lakes trade.
Gregory & McLeod joined the North West Company in 1787. They employed Alexander Mackenzie.
The Company Today
In 1987, the Hudson's Bay Company sold its northern trading posts. A group of employees bought them and brought back the name The North West Company in 1990. The new company is a chain of grocery and merchandise stores. It is based in Winnipeg and has stores in Northern Canada, Alaska, US Pacific territories, and the Caribbean. Its main office is right across the street from a historic site where an old North West Company fort once stood.
Images for kids
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Original flag of the North West Company
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The Company's flag after 1801
See also
In Spanish: Compañía del Noroeste para niños
