The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement) was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on 300,000 square kilometres (120,000 sq mi) of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay Company in the Selkirk Concession
Selkirk Concession
The Selkirk Concession was a land grant issued by the Hudson's Bay Company to Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, in 1811. The HBC held a commercial monopoly in Rupert's Land, consisting of the entire Hudson Bay drainage basin. The Selkirk Concession, also known as Selkirk's Grant…
What was the Red River Colony?
The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement) was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on 300,000 square kilometres (120,000 sq mi) of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay Company in the Selkirk Concession.
Who was the founder of the Red River Settlement?
1771–1820, Scottish philanthropist, founder of the Red River Settlement. ..... Click the link for more information. . Wishing to relieve the dispossessed and impoverished in Scotland and Northern Ireland, he secured enough control of the Hudson's Bay Company Hudson's Bay Company,
What was the Red River settlement in Manitoba?
Red River Settlement. The Red River Settlement was administered by a governor and council appointed by Lord Selkirk and his heirs until 1836, when the Hudson’s Bay Company purchased the colony from the Selkirk estate and created the District of Assiniboia. The region became part of the province of Manitoba in 1870.
Why did the North West Company attack Red River?
Red River first came under attack from the North West Company in the summer of 1815. Convinced that Macdonell's proclamation was a deliberate attempt to block Northwest trade, the company destroyed Fort Douglas and burned down all of the surrounding buildings.
Why was the Red River settlement created?
The Red River Colony was created to disrupt trades between the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company.
What happened in the Red River settlement?
Locusts devastated the crops in 1818 and 1819, and the greatest known flood of the Red River virtually destroyed the settlement in 1826. After Selkirk's death in 1820, his executors administered the colony and sought to reduce expenses by ending settlers' subsidies and refusing to recruit new European immigrants.
When was the Red River settlement?
Red River Settlement, (1811–36), colony in Canada on the banks of the Red River near the mouth of the Assiniboine River (in present-day Manitoba).
Why was the Red River settlement important to the Métis?
Subsequently, the Red River Métis negotiated Canada's entry into the North-West and Rupert's Land. After the creation of Manitoba, recognising and honouring our role in founding the province, Louis Riel and others referred to us as the Manitoba Métis.
Who lived in the Red River settlement 1860?
Red River was one of the centres of Métis society and many of its leaders, including Cuthbert Grant, Charles Nolin, Pascal Breland, John Bruce, Gabriel Dumont, and Louis Riel, had been born or had homes there. The settlement also included several dozen aboriginals who had been converted to Christianity.
Who was part of the Red River settlement?
In 1872, the population of Red River Settlement totaled about 15,000 people. Most residents were of First Nations and/or Métis/half-breed heritage. Other residents were of European heritage from the countries of Scotland, England, Ireland, Germany, eastern Canada, and the United States.
Who was the leader of the Red River settlement?
Founded in 1812 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, the colony grew through times of extreme hardship into a multiracial society. It was the site of the Red River Resistance before reluctantly joining Canada as the province of Manitoba.
Who owns the Red River?
Thus, Texas (or its residents) own the property up to the gradient boundary along the southern bank of the river, while the federal government owns the land between the medial line of the river and the southern gradient boundary. Issues of jurisdiction again arose due to the highly transitory nature of the Red River.
How did the Métis lose their land?
Losing the Land, 1870-1880 The Manitoba Act was the result of negotiations between the Peoples of Red River and the Canadian Government. The Act itself was created by the Métis Provisional Government from a 'List of Rights' developed after widespread discussion among the Métis residents of the Settlement Belt.
When did Métis move to Red River?
In early November 1869, Louis Riel emerged as Métis spokesman. He led a group from Red River that prevented McDougall and a land-survey party from entering the colony. Riel gathered support from both the francophone and anglophone Métis communities.
What era is the first European settlement on Turtle Island?
seventeenth centuryThe seventeenth century was the century of permanent European settlements on Turtle Island. In 1604, Samuel de Champlain of France began to establish French settlements, first at “Acadia” (Nova Scotia) and then at “Kebec” (Quebec City).
Who were the first settlers in the Selkirk settlement?
Most of the Selkirk Settler families came from the north of Scotland, from Kildonan valley of Sutherlandshire. They were tenant farmers there, who were being displaced by their landlord, the Countess of Sutherland, in favour of sheep farming.
When was the Red River cart invented?
According to the journal of North West Company fur-trader Alexander Henry the younger, the carts made their first appearance in 1801 at Fort Pembina, just south of what is now the Canada–United States border.
What river was the Red River Settlement?
Red River Settlement. The Red River Settlement refers to permanently and semi-permanently inhabited areas along the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. The Parishes of St. Boniface, St. James, St. Charles surrounded the Forks of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers where Upper Fort Garry was located; adjacent to these were the Parishes of St. John and St. Vital.
When was the Red River Settlement established?
While Indigenous people had used the area around the Forks for millennia, the founding of the Red River Settlement dates to 1811. The first group of Lord Selkirk’s settlers arrived the following year. The area experienced a major increase in population (and decrease in tensions) after the amalgamation of the Hudson’s Bay and Northwest Companies in 1821. Upper Fort Garry, located at the centre of the Red River Settlement, was the headquarters of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). The HBC controlled the import, export and marketing of goods harvested from the land and those shipped in from Europe during the early years. Challenges by the Metís ended the HBC monopoly in 1849, allowing goods to be shipped in from St. Paul. By the 1860s, paddlewheel steamboats from the United States had largely replaced Red River cart brigades.
Who were the most wealthy people in the Red River Settlement?
Hudson’s Bay Company employees and retirees, such as James Bird and Cuthbert Grant, were among the wealthiest individuals in the Red River Settlement. Until 1870, permanent houses were usually constructed from squared oak logs using mortise and tenon (tongue and groove) techniques.
Who was the first person to settle in the Red River?
The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement) was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on 300,000 square kilometres (120,000 sq mi) of land. This land was granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company, which is referred to as the Selkirk Concession, which included the portions of Rupert's Land, or the watershed of Hudson Bay, bounded on the north by the line of 52° N latitude roughly from the Assiniboine River east to Lake Winnipegosis. It then formed a line of 52° 30′ N latitude from Lake Winnipegosis to Lake Winnipeg, and by the Winnipeg River, Lake of the Woods and Rainy River .
When did the Red River colony come under attack?
Red River first came under attack from the North West Company in the summer of 1815.
Why did the Pemmican Proclamation come about?
Dogged by poor harvests and a growing population, Macdonell, now governor of Red River, issued the Pemmican Proclamation in January 1814 to prevent the export of pemmican from the colony.
Why did Selkirk not settle in the Red River?
Selkirk became interested in the Red River region after reading Alexander MacKenzie 's Voyages in 1801; however, Selkirk was prevented from settling the region in 1802 when the Hudson's Bay Company raised concerns that the proposed colony would interfere with the running of the company.
What was Selkirk's plan?
By 1811, the Hudson's Bay Company had reconsidered Selkirk's proposal and granted Selkirk 300,000 km 2 (116,000 sq mi), an area five times the size of Scotland, to establish an agricultural settlement in the region of Red River. Supplies of "produce, such as flour, beef, pork and butter...".
What company was involved in the establishment of the Red River colony?
By 1807, Selkirk acknowledged that an alliance with either the Hudson's Bay or North West Company, the dominant fur trading companies at the time, was essential to the establishment of a colony at Red River.
How many men did Selkirk give to the colony?
The grant was also pending the annual provision of 200 men to the company and Selkirk's assurance that the colony would remain out of the fur trade. Selkirk, who once mocked the fur trade for rarely grossing more than £200,000 and only having 3 ships employed in its service, gladly agreed to the terms.
What was the Red River Settlement?
Red River Settlement was a colony built at the forks of the Red and Assiniboine rivers long before Confederation. It would become the city of Winnipeg. It became an official colony in 1812 with the arrival of settlers from the Scottish Highlands, known today as Selkirk Settlers.
What was the name of the area that was part of the Red River Settlement?
Boniface and west to White Horse Plains (Headingly). The areas we now call St. Clements, St. Andrews, Selkirk, and East Selkirk were the northern extensions of Red River Settlement. Before the concept of Confederation emerged, there was no Canada.
Why are the Saulteaux called Saulteaux?
They called them this because the people leaped and jumped across the rapids as they speared fish on the St. Mary’s River near modern day Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario).
Where did the Saulteaux settle?
They established new camps on the banks of Netley Creek and places further inland near Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis. On 1 July 1867, the British North American Act (BNA) passed, creating the Dominion of Canada.
What was the territory of Rupert's Land?
The territory he claimed was huge, about forty percent of modern-day Canada from Alberta to Quebec and from Hudson Bay south to the northern United States. Red River Sett lement was in the territory of Rupert’s Land.
How many people lived in the Red River Settlement?
After the Scottish settlers arrived, others followed. In 1872, the population of Red River Settlement totaled about 15,000 people. 1. Most residents were of First Nations and/or Métis/half-breed heritage. Other residents were of European heritage from the countries of Scotland, England, Ireland, Germany, eastern Canada, and the United States.
When did Selkirk become a colony?
It became an official colony in 1812 with the arrival of settlers from the Scottish Highlands, known today as Selkirk Settlers. They sailed from their homeland to York Factory on Hudson Bay and travelled the waterways to Red River.
Where did the Italians follow the Wood Road north to Red River Settlement?
Paul, the expedition reached Minnesota Territory where the Italians followed the Wood Road north to Red River Settlement. Some considered their trip to be a dangerous one because of the recent Sioux uprisings in Minnesota.
Who concluded that those who left the Red River settlementbefore 1875 were pursuing the buffalo trade?
Francois Xavier, Gerhard Ens concluded that those who left the Red River settlementbefore 1875 were pursuing the buffalo trade as well as avoiding the racism of the incoming Protestant settlers from Ontario.
What was the North West Company's hostility to the Métis?
The determined hostility of the North West Company mounted, especially after the company men had won the Métis (people of mixed European–indigenous Canadian descent), entirely to their side. By cajolery and threat they persuaded settlers to desert, but a new group of settlers came, and the colony was restored in 1815.
What tribe is Red Rock?
Red Rock Chapter of the Navajo Tribe
When were the Manitoba settlements?
The Manitoba Settlements at St. Daniel and the Boyne, 1871-1901
What did Schooners do to Norway House?
Schooners linked Norway House to the fort which was a focus for industry and transport in the lower Red River Settlement. Its farm helped supply food for boat brigades and oxen for Red River carts.
When did the first people live in the Red River Valley?
The first people in the Red River Valley were ancestors of the American Indians. They were here after 10000 years ago . This estimate is based on findings at several archaeological sites with either radiocarbon dates, or diagnostic artifacts known from other parts of the continent to date to that time period, known to archaeologists as the Paleoindian. At Browns Valley Minnesota, near Lake Traverse, remains of an ancient man with these distinctive early artifacts was radiocarbon dated to 9050 years ago. This is one of the most famous of all Paleoindian sites in North America.
What is the Red River?
The Red River is therefore a very young geographical feature. It is shallow, winding along a 550 mile course to Lake Winnipeg. The shallowness of the river, combined with its numerous bends and oxbows, plus the heavy annual snowfall that can readily occur in the prevailing climate, create ideal conditions for Spring flooding. Geological studies confirm that flooding was almost an annual event in the pre-settlement era. Several streams flow into the Red; but, as Brophy notes, the "stream network [has] great distance between streams, leaving vast areas untouched by any natural drainage areas." The land surrounding the river and streams is generally flat but also is filled with uneven depressions that can hold the runoff of the melting snow. Before the land was put heavily to the plow, these 'potholes' acted as "storage tanks" for ground water, and contributed nutrients to the soil. But the swamp-like ground aslo limited how much land could be planted; as late as the 1920s, the agriculture agent for Clay County Minnesota noted that farmers could increase their crops as much as thirty percent if drainage efforts were undertaken.
What was the first settlement in Manitoba?
The first major agricultural settlement established by the British in the Manitoba region was the Selkirk Colony , in 1811. The colony was the brainchild of Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, a Scottish laird. Lord Selkirk had for years been seeking a place to establish a North American colony for displaced Scot farmers who had lost their livings when ever more land in Scotland was enclosed for sheep. The British crown and parliament had encouraged this ongoing process for decades, as a method of building the empire's profitable woolen goods trade; they had succeeded so well that between 1760 and the early 1800s over 40,000 displaced Scots had left their homeland for overseas colonies. In 1803 Selkirk had helped to settle some 800 homeless highlanders on Prince Edward Island. A year later he paid out funds to help another group establish the hamlet of Baldoon in southern Ontario. But it was the lands of the Manitoba prairie that drew his most avid attention. In 1808, Selkirk visited Montreal and met with shareholders in the Northwest Fur Company, the only real rival to Hudson Bay for Canadian pelts. After extended talks with the already renowned explorer and entrepreneur Alexander Mackenzie, Selkirk approached the board of directors of Hudson's Bay, in which he held considerable stock, and persuaded them to let him fund a colony on a huge tract of land extending south of Lake Winnipeg, reaching east toward Lake Superior and south nearly to the banks of the Missouri River. It encompassed nearly 75 million acres in all.
What did the American traders do on the Manitoba Plains?
American traders who did business with those Europeans living up on the Manitoba plains invariably made their expeditions with combination of canoes, flatboats and two-wheeled carts, usually drawn by oxen. The oxcart trails became the 'international highways" between the two countries. The cart trade with settlements like Pembina and the Selkirk colony, became very profitable. Norman Kittson's cart business grew to the point that by the late 1840s he employed hundreds of men and women between St. Paul and Pembina, and operated over 600 carts. (3)
Why did the British create the Hudson Bay Company?
In 1670, the British crown authorized the creation of the Hudson Bay Company for maintaining control of the trade in furs for this part of the continent. The Hudson Bay Company became immutably linked to the subsequent settlement and history of Manitoba and the Red River Valley.
What are the Plains Village artifacts?
The Plains Village artifacts are very similar to those used by the Oneota, a skilled group pf farming natives who moved into the eastern plains regions about 1100 years ago. Oneota natives may have been the ancestors of several plains "tribes" that European explorers and traders came into contact with in the late 17th and early 18th century -- the Omaha, Winnebago, Oto and Iowa.
How did the Red River Valley form?
The Red River Valley as it exists today emerged from receding glacier ice at the end last major ice age. Over a period of time that began about 14,000 years ago, an enormous "ice lobe" crept south from the Arctic, pulverizing all in its way and kneading the land into a new configuration. After reaching a point in what is today mid-Iowa, the ice sheet slowly receded northwards as the climate warmed, until about 12,000 years ago the land that is now the Valley was uncovered once again. The advance and retreat of the ice sheet had remade the land, smoothing it, in the words of geologist John Brophy, with deposits of "glacial and lake sediments so that the topography was now a broad, shallow basin" that gradually sloped away to the north. As melt-off and precipitation filled the low-lying ground a massive inland lake developed, covering some 370,000-430,000 square miles of ground, with depths of 200 to 700 feet. In the late 1800s, after the Swiss geologist Louis Agassiz, compiled evidence for the existence and impact of the ice ages, this massive lake was named Lake Agassiz. Lake Agassiz waxed and waned in size during climate changes over thousands of years, until the further retreat of ice permitted it to drain eastward and northward. Approximately 7500 years ago, the lake had disappeared, replaced by the Red River watershed that now extends from Lake Traverse (another product of the glacier age) on to the north.
Where did the Indians hide and cast away the stock in trade?
They found a cave in a high bluff, near the Washita, in which they stored away all the peltry, bear skins and ammunition, goods, etc., with the understanding that they return and help to move the stores so soon as they could go to the settlement and return. Off they went and were never heard of since. Left Capt. Hart, the Creek Indian and the faithful dog to close out with the Indians. Hart and his Creek would fight, and the dog too, but at last the Indians pressed so hard they succeeded in killing the Creek. That left Hart and the dog alone, but nothing daunted, he still fought whenever pressed; but at last the Indians fought so hard that he was compelled to leave. But in the last rush at him the Indians succeeded in separating Hart from his dog. The Indians chased him for about fifty miles—he killing one now and then when they pressed him too hard; but finally they gave up the chase and Capt. Hart was once more left there to rest and recruit his stores of provisions. His only companion was gone and he had no doubt but was killed by the Indians. So he was now all alone, indeed, not even a dog. Hart rested a few days and then killed a buffalo to get meat which he dried on a fire till dry; that he could pack upon is back enough to last him some twenty or thirty days. Thus equipped he started back to camp, keeping a look out for Indians, for he was all alone, and had not even the assistance of a faithful dog. He was very cautious about approaching his old camp for fear of being still waylaid. So when he arrived in a few miles of his camp he was exceedingly watchful, all depended upon care; so he did not approach the camp until late in the night, then with great care. As he was moving in the dark he could not hear anything, but all at once something sprang upon him and commenced whining, for it was his faithful dog, who had to hug and kiss him, and I can imagine that feeling was mutual; he felt relieved, for now he had a friend to help in time of trouble; he felt his dog and found that he had been wounded and almost starved to death; he took off his pack of provisions and fed the dog, but the dog would stop eating two or three times to hug its master. Such is the fidelity of a faithful dog. They laid down without fire that night—Hart and his dog slept together as friends as they were.
Where did John Hart go when he returned home from the war?
When Capt. John Hart returned home from the war, he was still desirous of adventure, so he went up Red River to a point near the mouth of the False Washita and made his settlement preparatory to entering into the location of lands, as he could see that there was the finest body for good land that the world had ever seen.
Overview
The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement) was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on 300,000 square kilometres (120,000 sq mi) of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay Company in the Selkirk Concession. It included portions of Rupert's Land, or the watershed of Hudson Bay, bounded on the nort…
Colony conception
Growing up in Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745, Lord Selkirk was constantly troubled by the plight of his Scottish kin. Selkirk was influenced by humanitarians including William Wilberforce and, following the forced displacement of Scottish farmers that took place during the Highland Clearances, decided that emigration was the only viable option to improve the livelihood of the Scottish people. Upon inheriting his father's title in 1799, Selkirk focused the majority of hi…
Settling Red River
The early settlement of the Red River region was marked by a long series of crises and ecological disasters and within the first decade of settling the region it had already suffered renewed warfare, epidemics, prairie fires and a flood. Perhaps the most significant ecological disaster was the rapid depletion of the bison population. A vital food source, bison numbers had been dwindling sinc…
War between the companies
The Pemmican War that was initiated by Macdonell's proclamation was only the tail end of a much larger conflict between the Hudson's Bay Company and its fur trade rivals, both English and French, in Montreal. The conflict dates back to King Charles II's generous grant of Rupert's Land to emigrants who were members of the nobility in 1670. Cause for conflict arose from the inability of either the Montreal traders or the Hudson's Bay Company to gain a monopoly over the North Am…
Rising colony
The rivalling Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company were forced to merge in 1821 by the British government. With the end of the fur trade's inspired conflicts on the plains, the Red River settlement was able to grow. The agricultural products, primarily wheat, began to rise in yearly yields. Flour production rose from over 9,100 kilograms (20,000 lb) annually from 1823 to 1…
Women in the colony
The position of many women in the Red River Colony was determined within the Hudson Bay Company's 1670 Charter; this document gave legislative and judicial powers in Rupert's Land to the company. It is stated within the Charter that the legal status of women is as dependents of a male authority, which included fathers, husbands or brothers.
In an extremely rare example of a woman successfully challenging this status-quo, Maria Thom…
The Metis people of the Red River Colony
The mixed ethnicity of indigenous and European peoples at the Red River Colony, known as Metis, were not always referred to by that name in the beginning years of their existence. Augustus Chetlain, an author who lived in the colony, wrote in his book that they were often called "Brules, Metifs, or half-breeds, the bastard sons of Indian concubines".
The culture and lifestyle of the Metis community living in Red River were not only present at the …
Church Missionary Society
The Church Missionary Society (CMS) provided financial assistance in 1820 to Reverend John West, chaplain to the Hudson's Bay Company, towards the education of some First Nations children, including James Settee and Henry Budd of the Cree nation, both of whom were later ordained as priests. In 1822, the CMS appointed Revd West to head the mission in the Red River Colony. He was succeeded in 1823 by the Revd David Jones who was joined by the Revd W and Mrs Cockra…
The People of Red River Settlement Before Confederation.
Arrival of Fur Trade
- In 1670, the Hudson’s Bay Company and its English and Scottish fur traders arrived on the coast of James Bay in northern Ontario and Quebec, and later Hudson’s Bay in northern Manitoba. When King Charles II of England established the Hudson’s Bay Company, he claimed all lands that drained into Hudson and James Bay. He called his new territory Rupert’s Land.The territory he cl…
How Manitoba Became A Province
- Manitoba became a province and joined Confederation in 1870. However, in order to tell the story of how this came to be we need to go back a little further in history. 1. In 1670, the Hudson’s Bay Company claimed ownership of Rupert’s Land and ruled over it for 200 hundreds. 2. By the mid 1860s, Hudson’s Bay Company officials agreed to transfer the land to the newly formed country …
What Does The Name Manitoba Mean?
- Steeped in ancient lore and legend, First Nations ancestors described the region of Manitoba as a place of Spirit, especially so in the narrows of Lake Manitoba northwest of the city of Winnipeg. There, strong winds send waves crashing against the limestone shore rocks creating a rhythmic surge like the powerful, steady beat of a drum, which the ancestors believed was the heartbeat o…
Peguis/St. Peter’s Band and Settlement
- Prior to the region becoming the province of Manitoba, the land between east/west Selkirk and Lake Winnipeg was reservation land. It had belonged to the Peguis/St. Peter’s Band for over fifty years. On 18 July 1817, Chief Peguis officially claimed it when he and four other indigenous leaders, Le Sonnant, Le Robe Noir, L’homme Noir, and Premier, signed the first treaty of the regio…
Treaty One
- After Manitoba became a province, the Canadian government began land negotiations with First Nations people in the region. Many First Nations peoples did not understand the concept of owning land or Confederation. Nor did they speak or write the English language. This put them at a great disadvantage in negotiations with the new Canadian Government. However, the governm…
Residents of East/West Selkirk
- During the time of Confederation, residents of the east/west Selkirk region were a multi-cultural group of First Nations, Métis/half-breed peoples, and European immigrants.
Did You Know?
- Winnipeg was once called Red River Settlement.
- East and west Selkirk were the northern extension of Red River Settlement.
- Manitoba became a province on 12 May 1870.
- Louis Riel fought for the rights of the Métis people.