The early eighteenth century fur trade was part of the emerging world economic system. Hudson Bay's Company Governor, Captain James Knight, played a crucial role in the English fur trade during this formative period. He had joined the company as a skilled labourer in 1676, just six years after it was founded, and worked his way through the ranks in James Bay. There, during the late seventeenth century, he served as post commander, deputy governor and governor before joining the governing committee in London in 1700.
During his three-year term at the post, Knight wrote voluminous journals in which he freely expressed his views about how the fur trade ought to be managed, often sharply rebuking the governing committee in London. This talk will explore what his criticisms and daily commentaries tell us about the logistical and market issues that informed Knight's policies and management decisions as he relaid the foundation of the HBC in Rupertsland.
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