Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal:'The Hudson's Bay Company'

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Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal:'The Hudson's Bay Company'

AssociatedAssociated with Lord Mountbatten of Burma (Frogmore House, Windsor, England, 1900 - 1979)

Medallist John Pinches, Medallists

DateMay 2004

Object NameMedal

MediumSterling Silver

ClassificationsMedals

Dimensions44mm

AcquisitionPresented in 2004 by Dr Joan M Burrell.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDMS072500.15

Keywords

About MeWhen Magellan crossed the Pacific in 1520 his men had to eat rats and leather on the three months passage. Europe had its first convincing demonstration of the real size of the world.

The Portuguese were already doing business with India and the East Indies by sailing south round Africa and across the Indian Ocean. After Magellan's voyage the Spanish had the Pacific route to the east. It was to be another century before the economies of Britain and France were ready for this kind of long range inter-national commerce. When that time came they tried to reach the Pacific through or round North America. Cartier had discovered the St Lawrence in 1534 and the French had opened up a great trade in beaver fur. By the late 1600s this was big business. The beaver hat had become a status symbol for any man or woman with social pretensions in London or Paris. The animals were caught by Indians in the great forests of northern Canada and the furs carried by canoe down the rivers and lakes to the St Lawrence. The furs changed hands on the journey and on arrival they were taxed to provide revenue for the colonial administration.

In the 1650s two Frenchmen, both settled in Canada, reached the lands of the Cree Indians which were the ultimate source of much of the fur. They returned with fortunes in furs and the entirely new idea that the most business-like way to run the fur trade would be by summer shipment direct from the south of Hudson Bay to Europe rather than by the laborious inland water route to the St Lawrence. Since this would have taken the fur trade out of French hands it is not surprising that they gained little support in Paris, but London was very receptive to the great idea of a direct sea approach to the fur grounds. The result was the voyage of the Non such, only ft long on the keel, which means that her hull was about 50 ft long overall, a tiny square-rigged merchant ship.

The Nonsuch sailed from the Thames on 3rdJune, i668 under the command of Captain Zacariah Gillam. His instructions were to sail to 'Hudson Bay by the Northward or Westward, according to your owne discretion.' She brought back perhaps £25,000 sterling worth of cargo, not enough to pay for the voyage, but the great theory was vindicated. Direct access by sea to the furs of the northern forests was a practical proposition. It was this voyage that led to the chartering of the Hudson's Bay Company.

For its first 200 years the Company was involved solely in the prosperous fur trade; then in 1870 its huge territories were transferred to Canada in exchange for land in the Prairy Provinces. Today the Company is still a vast and influential trading concern, the world's largest fur trading company, owners of mineral and oil resources and a vast retail business throughout Canada and the United States.

The Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea, John Pinches Medallists Ltd.