The Hudson's Bay Empire: A Look at the Company's Rise and Fall

Jacqueline Larocque: Really gives a good overview on how the fur trade opened up Canada. Well researched, written and respectful to aboriginals

Canada on Nov 19, 2023

Wyatt: Great read for lovers of history. I especially liked that the author often included several different perspectives from various peoples to better paint an entire un-biased story.

United States on Oct 03, 2023

Amazon Customer: Excellent comprehensive works on the history of the HBC and the fur trade in Canada

Canada on Sep 29, 2023

VEDANT DHARI SINHA: Loved reading every page of this book. A very informative book which sheds light on how British and French competed to exploit wealth of Canada, how indigenous population welcomed Europeans which was a fateful decision for them and how common people shed blood, sweat and tears to make what Canada is today.

Canada on Aug 27, 2023

aearlobe: I knew something of the company before reading this book, but I sure know a lot more now. I read this over about a year, as it can be a bit much. Indigenous peoples are at least appropriately central to the story,although I’d bet they would see it quite differently. Also sad, is the fate of the beaver populations of the US and Canada, subject to man’s “dominion “. May they not meet the fate so many others now face.

United States on Jul 27, 2023

Philomath: I feared that this book would be a tedious read with too much detail to sustain my interest. However, as soon as I started to read it I realized that my misgivings were entirely misplaced. Stephen Brown has written a delightful narrative that perfectly blends geographical, political and historical facts with compelling biographical stories detailing the adventures of the many colorful characters who forged the history of the Company. I particularly appreciated his perspectives on the roles, treatment and fates of the indigenous peoples on whose lands the story is built. I learned so much from reading this book, and thoroughly enjoyed every page.

United States on Jan 12, 2023

Sugawara Michizane: This book is too long by about half. You could summarize the content in five sentences, but the author drags the story out for 400+ pages.
There also should be an additional book for those of us who aren't well versed in Canadian history, because the author keeps name dropping people who we are supposed to know and be impressed by, which falls short entirely if this is the first time you heard of that person.
The tale itself is good. It's the telling that fails.

Germany on Dec 21, 2022

Brian Lewis: This is well researched attempt to document the effort to settle northern Canada, from the St. Lawrence to the Pacific Northwest, but I have to admit, sometimes it just became a long slog to press on to the end.

It did cover a lot of Canadian history that I did not know about. I found the vast distances, over space and time, and the multiple unfamiliar characters added up to a story I had trouble following.

I would only recommend it for people who are already pretty knowledgeable on Canadian history.

I picked up the book because I am interested in the combination of private enterprise and state action here that seems to have given birth to the modern corporation. I just feel there should be a really good historical volume on the Hudson Bay Company, or the East India Company and its implications for our current situation, and I can not seem to find one

United States on Sep 26, 2021

James W. DerryJames W. Derry: This is the extraordinary story of how a monopolistic royal charter gave half of modern Canada, and part of the USA to a handful of aristocratic investors in London. For almost 200 years. Based on the collection of beaver furs by the indigenous peoples around Hudson Bay for sale in Europe.
Much of what Stephen R. Bown's research reveals is mind boggling. And exciting, because reading his book makes you realize we have an incredible history of people's stories, of the HBC traders, the aboriginal leaders and negotiators, the voyageurs and couriers de bois from Quebec, and later, the mixed race that rose from their relationships.
The business plan of the HBC was simple. Its ships sailed into James and Hudson bays, set up crude forts, and waited for the native trappers to arrive by canoe up long river routes to trade beaver pelts for finished goods made in England and Scotland. The disgruntled explorers Radisson and Groseilliers basically told them how to do it because they were fed up with the dictatorial governors of New France.
As the Company began to feel the competition of the traders from Montreal, and later the North West Company, they were forced to penetrate the...

Canada on Mar 15, 2021

Bill Emblom: Author Stephen Bown must be congratulated for putting together this magnificent volume on the Canadian fur trading experiences of the Hudson's Bay empire. I can't help but give the book five stars even though I found parts of it near the end laborious. I have to admit to becoming tired and wanting the book to end so I could get on to something else.

One has to admire the punishment these individuals took in the one month crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to trade manufactured goods with indigenous people in the Hudson Bay area in exchange for beaver furs to bring back to Europe to be made into hats and other clothing. The articles the indigenous people received made their work easier in not having to use animal bones, etc. to serve their needs. I didn't realize forts had been built along the shores of Hudson Bay and what a miserable life it had to be to be spending winters in the Canadian wilderness. A map of Hudson Bay and the location of the forts was beneficial. I would have preferred if measurements were given in miles rather than kilometers.

Relations between the Europeans and indigenous people took the form of marriage of sorts in which men would often...

United States on Dec 30, 2020