Selkirk’s Ulterior Motives – Part 2
by Elizabeth Campbell
The second in Ross’ list of reasons Selkirk had for establishing the Red River Settlement fits hand in glove with the first. Considered together, these motives set an image in the mind’s eye of a greedy British aristocrat, sitting in his counting house, rubbing his hands in glee as the gold pours in. And a lot of people still see the Fifth Earl of Selkirk in that light. But I will get to that later…
2nd. Another strong reason for establishing Red River Colony has been stated; for with reference to these matters, we must regard Lord Selkirk and the Hudson’s Bay Company as one, their interests being blended together. It is not, perhaps, generally known, that all dormant or retiring partners, and others leaving the service from time to time, carry off to other countries large sums of money, over which the Company could no longer have any control: with the view, therefore, of preventing this money from going out of the country, the Company, by means of their sub-monopolist, Lord Selkirk, founded the colony in question; that by means of it, all, or the greater part of such retiring partners and others, especially those having Indian families, – and they are many [Ross himself is an example from this group], — might be induced to settle there in preference to going home to their own countries, as being more congenial to their past habits of life. The Company well knew that a colony planted in the bosom of their own trade, must in the nature of things be more or less dependant on them for its supplies…
~ Alexander Ross, The Red River Settlement, p. 17.
Ross explains that their were advantages to the company in this arrangement. All the money that was currently leaving the country with retiring servants would now be recirculated through the HBC. The HBC would also have access to all the surplus produce from the farms of the colonists to supply their outposts – with more reliability and a great savings from having to ship the like over from England or Canada! Colonists would also have a ready market for their surplus despite their remote location.
If we think about the advantages for a minute, we see that, even if this is Selkirk’s main reason for creating the colony, the situation at Red River is very much what we today would call win-win.
Some retirees did take their families back to Scotland or Orkney with them, but often they went home alone, or with select children to educate, perhaps to keep in Scotland, perhaps not. For some this would be very difficult – starting a new life in a world they had been long removed from. Their native wives may not have wanted to leave their families and homeland forever, so refused to leave for Britain with their husbands. They may not have understood that their men were leaving for good. They often were not given a choice. The men would certainly understand that removing their native families to Britain could give rise to some very difficult situations. Some of the HBC servants might even have had families back home already!
For those men who had come to love the rugged life they’d lived during their employment in North America, though, the Red River Colony would offer them the opportunity to remain at least somewhat immersed in it, to keep the families they’d begun, and to live comfortably on their own land – something they might not have been able to do back home. All they needed to do was talk to some of the newly arrived employees to know that life in the highlands of Scotland (and elsewhere) was rapidly changing, and not to the advantage of the common folk. Remaining in Rupert’s Land opened a whole new realm of opportunity to them and their families.
We need to consider, also, what the colonists themselves had in Scotland. Yes, they were given the option of relocating to small plots to eek their livings, or to fish…. But they were tenant farmers, not fishermen. And those plots of land? Well, at Badbea, for example, the livestock and children had to be tethered often to keep them from blowing over the cliffs and into the sea. There was little if any soil for gardening there. Life was extremely bleak. Come to Red River, and they would eventually own their own land, have a ready market for their produce and a fresh start. I know which option I would choose!
So, certainly, the HBC and Selkirk had something to gain if things went as anticipated with the colony. But in a way, the colonists gained much more.
Tags: First Nations, First Nations HBC relations, HBC & RRS relations, Lord Selkirk, RRS Origins, RRS Politics, Thomas Douglas Fifth Earl of Selkirk
