The Hudson’s Bay Company, Canada’s last department store, and  Canada and North America’s oldest corporation, closed its doors in June, after 350 years in business.  There’s something sad about that. So how did we get from beaver fur hats, which apparently were all the rage in 17^th century London and Europe, to a bankrupt high-end fashion chain?

HBC, otherwise known as The Bay, started as a fur trading company in 1670 and received a royal charter from King Charles of England to operate in what was known then as Rupert’s Land, a huge territory which extended from northern Quebec and Ontario to the Prairie Provinces and part of the Northwest Territories.  I remember hearing about the fur traders and the Hudson’s Bay Company in grade school as its history is intricately linked to the development of Canada.  Americans may have been taught about the pilgrims and Christopher Columbus, but we learned about Jacques Cartier and the French settlers in Quebec in 1534, which is why Quebecers still speak French today, although the French later ceded all their rights to England, and Canada became a British colony until 1867 when we underwent our own Confederation.  The two French fur traders who initially formed the HBC had initially approached the French king, but after he declined, they took their proposal to Prince Rupert, a cousin of Charles the Second, the King of England, who knew a good real estate deal when he saw one, as the HBC initially had extensive governing authority over the district lands in which it operated.

The charter granted the company a monopoly on trade and commerce over the region drained by all the rivers and streams flowing into Hudson’s Bay.  This area had been of interest to the fur traders as being the best for high quality premium fur pelts, (probably due to the cold weather and the frozen sea to the north) and wanting to avoid the cost of transporting the furs overland, two ships were commissioned to undertake the northwest passage, landing in James Bay at the south of Hudson’s Bay, where they established their first trading post.   

But about those hats….in no period drama have I ever seen a hat made from beaver fur….

…..except maybe I have and just didn’t know it?  They were popular across Europe during the period 1550 to 1850 because the soft yet resilient fur pelts could be made into a felted material which was easily shaped into a variety of styles, including the top hat of Dicken’s day.  (you can google the preparation of the felt if you want more detail, I didn’t – the whole idea makes me feel sorry for the poor beaver, our national symbol). And with the European beaver almost extinct all eyes turned to North America as a reliable source.  It was big business for Britain to the tune of L263,000 pounds shipped to Spain and Portugal alone, in an era where the type of hat you wore denoted your rank and social status.

The HBC set up many such posts to trade with the Indigenous people who traveled long distances by canoe to barter the furs they had caught for knives, tools, kettles, beads and textiles such as the popular woollen striped point blanket, (see photo below)  but eventually someone had the bright idea to take the trading posts closer to the people.  Initially they had competition from the North West Company, but eventually in 1821 those two companies amalgamated and then in 1870 HBC sold Rupert’s Land to Canada and focused extensively on setting up retail stores in the more populated areas as by then most of their customers were the early settlers.  In 1913 they began to construct department stores, the first in Calgary.  By the time they filed for creditor protection this past spring, they owned 80 large scale department stores, mostly in big city malls, and 16 Saks stores, and employed over 9000 people, many of whom had worked there for decades.

One of the more popular items of the early days was their iconic striped blanket, and Canadian Tire (another Canadian retail chain like a Home Depo plus automotive), has bought the rights to the blanket, the logos, and the historical artifacts for $34 million, a high price tag to preserve a part of Canadian history.  I always thought the blankets were ugly myself, but they’re going for crazy prices on eBay now….  

I guess it’s a sign of the times, but I will miss The Bay, as even though I seldom visited as the nearest store was two hours away, I did order online – mostly PJ’s, socks, bathrobes.  The quality was good, and the sale prices during the biannual Bay Days were great.  And where else can you go to buy sheets and towels, kitchen wares, or to try on bathing suits.  (and don’t say Walmart or Amazon, as I boycott both unless I absolutely cannot find something anywhere else).  I miss having everything in one place, and checking out the fit and quality before I buy, and I can’t help but think that all those trucks delivering (and picking up) items every single day in every single neighbourhood must be contributing greatly to the ozone layer depletion. 

Of final note, with the melting of the polar ice cap, there has been renewed interest in the Canadian Artic as a shipping lane, as a way to get our western oil and potash to new European markets.  Running a pipeline from the oil sands across the northern Prairie provinces, (which are mostly all trees anyway), to a port on Hudson’s Bay, might be a viable alternative, assuming the agreement of the aboriginal peoples. (Not likely as they protest everything, even projects which would be good economically for their communities.)  It seems things may eventually come full circle again….

PS. A Chinese billionaire who relocated to British Columbia and owns a retail investment company there, has since bought 28 of the Bay leases with plans to open a new type of department store, so there may be hope yet…I just wish she had stepped in sooner.

PS. I apologize for being so far behind in Reader, but the garden is taking too much of my time. A yard neglected for four years is not a happy place! At least we had some decent rain. Next week when the heat wave hits I plan on staying inside and catching up.