The Remarkable History of the Hudson's Bay Company: Including That of the French Traders of North-Western Canada and of the North-West, XY, and Astor Fur Companies

This is a grand, sweeping history of the most powerful corporation in North American history. Bryce, writing in 1900 with access to company records and firsthand accounts, tells the story of how two French explorers, Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard Chouart des Groseilliers, first conceived of trading furs from the vast interior of the continent, and how their vision birthed an empire that would govern Rupert's Land, control one-third of the continent, and shape the destiny of Canada itself. The narrative moves through the company's legendary battles with French traders, the brutal competition with the North-West Fur Company of Montreal, and the eventual consolidation of all British North American fur trade under one banner. Bryce gives vivid treatment to the era of Sir George Simpson, the "Emperor-Governor" who ruled the company's vast territories with absolute authority. This is history written in the Victorian mode: certain of its own importance, grand in scope, and unafraid of great men and great events. For readers who want to understand how Canada came to exist as a nation, this book traces the corporate thread that held a continent together.