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ca_077
Canada's History › Early History
What is the Hudson's Bay Company?
- One of the oldest companies in the world, granted exclusive trading rights over Hudson Bay watershed in 1670
- A company created after Confederation to develop the west
- A company founded by French fur traders in 1608
- A government trading company that still runs all northern stores
Why this is the correct answer
The Hudson's Bay Company was granted a royal charter in 1670 giving it exclusive trading rights over the vast watershed draining into Hudson Bay, a territory known as Rupert's Land. For nearly two centuries it controlled much of what is now Canada through the fur trade. In 1870 it transferred Rupert's Land to Canada, opening the way for western settlement.