What it was
Granted a royal monopoly over the lands draining into Hudson Bay, the company ran a network of trading posts across the north. It exchanged European goods for furs with Indigenous nations, who were central to the trade.
Role
The company administered Rupert’s Land and shaped the exploration and settlement of the Canadian interior. Its rivalry with the North West Company drove westward expansion until the two merged in 1821.
Fate
In 1870 it sold Rupert’s Land to the new Dominion of Canada, ending its territorial rule. It survives today as a retail business, one of the oldest continuously operating companies in the world.