High finance, wilderness adventures, violence, and questionable legal tactics all played important roles in the history of the North West Company. William McGillivray, head of the company from 1804 until 1821, was arguably the most powerful businessman in Canada in the early nineteenth century.
William McGillivray emigrated from the Scottish Highlands to work for his uncle Simon McTavish when he was twenty years old and became head of the NWC in 1804 upon McTavish’s death. The period from 1805 to 1814 was a time of quick expansion and great prosperity for the company; however, its decline was even more rapid. It could be argued that the NWC did not merge with the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821 but rather was swallowed up by it. By the time William died in 1825, the McGillivray family had been forced into bankruptcy.
Set against the background of the history and legacy of the NWC, this engaging biography tells McGillivray’s complete story, from his early years in Scotland, immigration to Canada, and fur-trading successes to his eventual downfall.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-192) and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 971.03
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-cn---
- ISBN
- 192705172 9781927051740
- LCCN
- F1060.7.M12
- LCCN Item number
- G67 2013eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (197 pages)
- Published in
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)thg00910123 (OCoLC)865475003 (CaOOCEL)446695
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Title proper/short title
- William McGillvray and the North West Company
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Contents 7
- Map 9
- Preface 12
- Introduction 14
- 1: Family Ties: The McGillivrays and McTavishes, 1764–76 18
- 2: The Birth of the North West Company, 1774-84 23
- 3: A New Land, 1783–84 30
- 4: Heading for Le Pays D’en Haut, 1784 40
- 5: “Je Suis un Homme du Nord,” 1784–94 48
- 6: Montreal: Building the North West Company, 1784–94 59
- 7: Rocky Nor’wester Relations, 1793–97 66
- 8: Violence and the New North West Company, 1798–1806 77
- 9: Deaths and Other Changes, 1804–11 90
- 10: The North West Company, Lord Selkirk, and the War of 1812, 1811–14 100
- 11: The Arrival of the Red River Settlers, 1812–14 111
- 12: Crisis at the Red River, 1815–16 120
- 13: The Aftermath of Seven Oaks,1816–17 127
- 14: The North West Company and the Pacific Trade, 1795–1815 139
- 15: Athabasca Country and the Last Years of the North West Company, 1818–20 147
- 16: Amalgamation, 1820–21 156
- 17: Winding Down, 1822–25 167
- Epilogue: The Last Laird of the North West Company 175
- Notes 181
- Selected Bibliography 190
- Index 194
- Acknowledgements 198
- About the Author 200
