Today in History – 12 September 1814
by Elizabeth CampbellPortras Demarey & Hamlin accompanied the Canadians as servants to Brandon House – they are giving every encouragement to every Freeman, not to assist the Settlement in any way whatever, and they express themselves openly that the Settlement was merely established to ruin their business, but that they would soon be the ruin of the Colony – and try whose loads were hardest such is the Language they hold forth.
- Journal of Peter Fidler
Fidler, in this entry, touches upon one of the crucial pieces of NWCo. propaganda against the RRS. This seed was so well sown that some still hold this understanding as the reason for the establishment of the Red River Colony.
There is no doubt that Lord Selkirk saw the Colony as a benefit to HBC operations. But Selkirk established it in the expectation that crops raised and goods produced in the colony would actually enhance the Fur Trade by shortening supply lines and providing a home for retired traders and their Native families. As they grew to manhood, he hoped that young men from the colony would also work for the HBC.
The NWCo. were correct in that the HBC hoped that the colony would strengthen the Charter claim to the territory and enhance its trade, giving it an advantage over the NWCo. There was no intent though, to oust inhabitants of the plains or to limit Freemen (Métis) or First Nations people’s ability to earn a living. In fact, every effort was made to hire such people to help provision the colonists’ store, and the HBC also hired these men on a regular basis. So, to say that the sole reason for establishing the Settlement was to ruin their business was definitely twisting the truth in a manner that ultimately cost the lives of innocent people.
(reference: pages 18445 of the Selkirk Papers, M187, Manitoba Archives)
Tags: First Nations, HBC & NWC relations, Métis, Peter Fidler, Peter Fidler's Journal, RRS Politics
