Selkirk Concession
Encyclopedia
The Selkirk Concession was a land grant issued by the Hudson's Bay Company
to Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
in 1811. The land grant included the portions of Rupert's Land
or the watershed of Hudson Bay
bounded to the north-east by the Rainy River, Lake of the Woods
, Winnipeg River
and Lake Winnipeg
, to the north between Lake Winnipeg
and Lake Winnipegosis
by a line of 52°30′N latitude, to the north west by the 52°N parallel between Lake Winnipegosis
and the Assiniboine River
, and to the west by a line from the intersection of the Assiniboine River
and the 52°N parallel running south to southern boundary of Rupert's Land
. This covered portions of present day southern Manitoba
, north-eastern North Dakota
, north-western Minnesota
, in addition to small parts of eastern Saskatchewan
, north-western Ontario
, and north-eastern South Dakota
.
Douglas planned to create an agricultural colony in the area, and to do so he would populate the territory with impoverished people from Scotland and Ireland. In return he was to provide the Hudson's Bay Company with 200 employees per year, allow for the company to set up trading posts in the colony and to give land for company employees when they retired. In 1812 the first settlers arrived when Miles MacDonell
brought a small group of Scots to the colony.
From the onset the colony met resistance from fur traders of the North West Company
as well as from the local Métis
population, culminating in the Battle of Seven Oaks
in 1816. This confrontation involved Cuthbert Grant
of the Métis and Governor Robert Semple
. This battle claimed the lives of 23 men, including that of Robert Semple.
As an agricultural project, the colony, commonly known as the Red River Colony
but also referred to as the District of Assiniboia, had limited success, but with the promise of free land there was no shortage of settlers to the area. By the 1850s the Hudson's Bay Company lost interest in providing financial aid to the colony, which was followed by a second spate of troubles with the Métis. These troubles resulted in the Red River Rebellion
of 1869-70, which eventually led to the creation of the province of Manitoba.
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
to Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk was a Scottish peer. He was born at Saint Mary's Isle, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He was noteworthy as a Scottish philanthropist who sponsored immigrant settlements in Canada at the Red River Colony.- Early background :Douglas was the seventh son of Dunbar...
in 1811. The land grant included the portions of Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
or the watershed of Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...
bounded to the north-east by the Rainy River, Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. It separates a small land area of Minnesota from the rest of the United States. The Northwest Angle and the town of Angle Township can only be reached from the rest of...
, Winnipeg River
Winnipeg River
The Winnipeg River is a Canadian river which flows from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. This river is long from the Norman Dam in Kenora to its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. Its watershed is in area, mainly in Canada. About of this area is in northern...
and Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg is a large, lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, with its southern tip about north of the city of Winnipeg...
, to the north between Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg is a large, lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, with its southern tip about north of the city of Winnipeg...
and Lake Winnipegosis
Lake Winnipegosis
Lake Winnipegosis is a large lake in central North America, in Manitoba, Canada, some 300 km northwest of Winnipeg. It is Canada's eleventh-largest lake...
by a line of 52°30′N latitude, to the north west by the 52°N parallel between Lake Winnipegosis
Lake Winnipegosis
Lake Winnipegosis is a large lake in central North America, in Manitoba, Canada, some 300 km northwest of Winnipeg. It is Canada's eleventh-largest lake...
and the Assiniboine River
Assiniboine River
The Assiniboine River is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in...
, and to the west by a line from the intersection of the Assiniboine River
Assiniboine River
The Assiniboine River is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in...
and the 52°N parallel running south to southern boundary of Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
. This covered portions of present day southern Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, north-eastern North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, north-western Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, in addition to small parts of eastern Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, north-western Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and north-eastern South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
.
Douglas planned to create an agricultural colony in the area, and to do so he would populate the territory with impoverished people from Scotland and Ireland. In return he was to provide the Hudson's Bay Company with 200 employees per year, allow for the company to set up trading posts in the colony and to give land for company employees when they retired. In 1812 the first settlers arrived when Miles MacDonell
Miles Macdonell
Miles MacDonell was the first governor of the Red River Colony , a 19th-century Scottish settlement located in present-day Manitoba and North Dakota.He was born in Inverness, Scotland, around 1767...
brought a small group of Scots to the colony.
From the onset the colony met resistance from fur traders of the North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
as well as from the local Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
population, culminating in the Battle of Seven Oaks
Battle of Seven Oaks (1816)
The Battle of Seven Oaks took place on June 19, 1816, during the long dispute between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company, rival fur-trading companies in western Canada.-Background:Miles Macdonell had issued the Pemmican Proclamation...
in 1816. This confrontation involved Cuthbert Grant
Cuthbert Grant
Cuthbert Grant was a prominent Métis leader of the early nineteenth century.-Life:Grant was the son of a Scottish father and Métis mother. He was born in 1793 at Fort Tremblant, a North West Company trading post located near the present-day town of Togo, Saskatchewan, where his father was a manager...
of the Métis and Governor Robert Semple
Robert Semple (Canada)
Robert Semple was Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company from autumn 1815 until his death at the Battle of Seven Oaks. In May 1816, the Métis led by Cuthbert Grant thought Semple and his men were going to declare war, so they got ready. Semple and some men went to confront the Métis, and a fight...
. This battle claimed the lives of 23 men, including that of Robert Semple.
As an agricultural project, the colony, commonly known as the Red River Colony
Red River Colony
The Red River Colony was a colonization project set up by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1811 on of land granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company under what is referred to as the Selkirk Concession. The colony along the Red River of the North was never very successful...
but also referred to as the District of Assiniboia, had limited success, but with the promise of free land there was no shortage of settlers to the area. By the 1850s the Hudson's Bay Company lost interest in providing financial aid to the colony, which was followed by a second spate of troubles with the Métis. These troubles resulted in the Red River Rebellion
Red River Rebellion
The Red River Rebellion or Red River Resistance was the sequence of events related to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by the Métis leader Louis Riel and his followers at the Red River Settlement, in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba.The Rebellion was the first crisis...
of 1869-70, which eventually led to the creation of the province of Manitoba.