On May 2,1670 King Charles II of England awarded a royal charter to “the Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson Bay”. The Hudson Bay is located in northern Canada.

This Charter made the King’s favorite cousin Prince Rupert and a group of other English gentlemen “true and absolute Lords and Proprietors “ over a vast expanse of North America. The participants and their successors were granted sole rights to trade and commerce in “all waters (seas, straits, bays, rivers, lakes, creeks and sounds) in all latitudes they explore- together with all lands, countries and territories both on the coast and in the confines of all waters within the area that are now possessed by any of England’s subjects and any other subjects of Christian Prince or State.”

The Royal Charter’s purpose was to find a new passage to the South Seas often referred to as the “Northwest Passage”, and to find trade for furs, minerals and other valuable commodities. King Charles had run up huge debts and he hoped the investors in the Charter would build a trading Empire which would be beneficial financially for his Kingdom.

This Charter was the most generous land grant ever awarded by any Monarch to his subjects. The Hudson Bay Company became the oldest continuously operating trading company.

The Hudson Bay Company was granted exclusive rights to trade with Native Peoples.

The Hudson Bay Company Charter still exists to this day, although it is no longer in effect. The charter is a document made up of five large pages of parchment, with calligraphy writing in a style once known as “court hand”. The first page has the side margins decorated with beautiful illustrations of lions, unicorns, shields and other images including one of King Charles. The document was not signed but rather had the Great Seal of King Charles, a green wax disk fixed to it, as being the king’s mark of authority. The Charter is preserved in a specially designed and sealed case, and is on display at the company headquarters in Toronto.

The Charter laid the rules of operation for the newly formed Company. At the head of the company would be a Governor and seven-member council. A Deputy Governor would act much as a present day company President would, handling daily business operations of the Company. These individuals were located in London England. Overseas, in North America, the Factors and Chief Traders managed the trading posts; directly below them were the bookkeepers and clerks who kept the accounts and records. Next in company hierarchy were the tradesmen such as cooks, carpenters, sailors, and seasonally employed professional Voyageurs or trappers, with common laborers holding the lowest position. Professionals such as physicians, clergy, teachers and sailing captains were viewed within the Company as ranking amongst the Factors and Chief Traders.

A Factor was not a “what” but rather a who: He was the person in charge of a Fort or outpost. Originally, in the beginning of the Company, outposts traded for goods using a “factory system”. Outposts were known as factories, and from this the chief person in charge became the “Factor”. One of the most famous of these factory outposts was the York Factory, located in northern Canada.

The first group of investors or Company of Adventurers were:

John Portman

Many of the Bay employees were from northern Scotland, usually signing up for 5 years, often as general laborers. Many however, remained company employees in the “New World” until they died, never returning home.