The Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay were a series of conflicts in the 17th and 18th centuries between England and France for control over the area around the Hudson Bay.

Overview

Beginning in 1672, the French sought to drive out the English

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

(HBC) trading posts that were established on Hudson Bay in 1668. This continued during

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...

and mostly ended in 1713, when France recognized British sovereignty over the Bay in the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne ...

. The last instance would be in 1782, when the French captured Fort Churchill (

Prince of Wales Fort The Prince of Wales Fort is a historic bastion fort on Hudson Bay across the Churchill River from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. History The European history of this area starts with Henry Hudson sailing into Hudson Bay in 1610. The area wa ...

). Since the posts were held by, at most, a few dozen traders and labourers, they could easily be captured by a small group of soldiers; however, it was difficult to send soldiers to the Bay and impractical to keep them there over winter. The short ice-free season made it difficult to take all the posts in one year. Thus, the posts changed hands more or less at random whenever one side or the other sent a force into the Bay. Only in 1697 did significant British and French forces met on the bay when the

Battle of Hudson's Bay The Battle of Hudson's Bay, also known as the Battle of York Factory, was a naval battle fought during the War of the Grand Alliance (known in England's North American colonies as "King William's War"). The battle took place on 5 September 169 ...

was fought.

List of conflicts

Prior to 1670

*1658–68:

Pierre-Esprit Radisson Pierre-Esprit Radisson (1636/1640–1710) was a French fur trader and explorer in New France. He is often linked to his brother-in-law Médard des Groseilliers. The decision of Radisson and Groseilliers to enter the English service led to the fo ...

and

Médard des Groseilliers Médard Chouart des Groseilliers (1618–1696) was a French explorer and fur trader in Canada. He is often paired with his brother-in-law Pierre-Esprit Radisson, who was about 20 years younger. The pair worked together in fur trading and explor ...

learn that the best furs come from north of Lake Superior. When their plans are rejected at Quebec they turn to the English. *1668–69: Proto-HBC trades for one winter at Rupert House. (See:

1670s

*1670:

founded. *1670–79: English trading posts built on James Bay, including: **1668: Rupert House (southeast) **1673:

Moose Factory Moose Factory is a community in the Cochrane District, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Moose Factory Island, near the mouth of the Moose River, which is at the southern end of James Bay. It was the first English-speaking settlement in lands n ...

(south) and Fort Albany (west). *1672: Father Charles Albanel travels from Quebec to Rupert House, but finds it deserted. *1674: Albanel again reaches Rupert House. He and Groseillers are sent to England. Father Albanel and French money induce Groseillers to return to the French service. *1679: Radisson is in Paris.

1670-1688

*1682: Radisson and

Charles Aubert de La Chesnaye Charles Aubert de La Chesnaye (12 February 1632 - 20 September 1702) was a French businessman active in Canada. The richest financier and businessman in New France, he played an important part in the colony's economic life (such as its trade, fin ...

form the Compagnie du Nord. *1682: One French (which included

) and two English groups reach the mouth of the

Hayes River The Hayes River is a river in Northern Manitoba, Canada, that flows from Molson Lake to Hudson Bay at York Factory. It was historically an important river in the development of Canada and is now a Canadian Heritage River and the longest natura ...

. The French capture the English. *1686: Hudson Bay expedition (1686) — A large French force from Montreal captures the three HBC posts on James Bay. The HBC now has only

York Factory York Factory was a settlement and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) factory (trading post) located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately south-southeast of Churchill. ...

. *1688: Battle of Fort Albany —

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706) or Sieur d'Iberville was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of Louisiana in New France. He was born in Montreal to French ...

in the ''Soleil d'Afrique'' returns to James Bay to pick up the remaining furs. There, he defeats two English ships and returns to France.

King William's war (1688-97)

England's Glorious Revolution lead to a renewed war with France for nine years. Below is a list of incidents during the war: *1690: D'Iberville tries to capture York Factory but finds it guarded by a warship. He goes south and captures

Fort Severn Fort Severn, in present-day Annapolis, Maryland, was built in 1808 on the same site as an earlier American Revolutionary War fort of 1776. Although intended to guard Annapolis harbor from British attack during the War of 1812, it never saw ac ...

. *1693: James Knight captures Fort Albany and 30,000 pelts. *1694: Capture of York Factory — D'Iberville captures York Factory. *1695: Three Royal Navy frigates recapture York Factory. The French now hold no forts on the bay. *1697:

— A naval battle takes place, after which d'Iberville retakes York Factory and France retains it until 1713. *1698: The war ends and there seems to have been little action thereafter.

18th century

*1709:

Battle of Fort Albany (1709) The Battle of Fort Albany (about 26 June 1709) was an attack by French colonial volunteers and their native allies against the Canadian Hudson's Bay Company outpost of Fort Albany in the southern reaches of Hudson Bay. About 70 Frenchmen and 30 ...

— During

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...

, 100 French soldiers try to capture Fort Albany but are driven off. This seems to be the only case of a fort being successfully defended. *1713:

— British sovereignty over Hudson Bay recognized by France. **After 1713, military competition was replaced by an economic one as the French, and later other British traders, tried to divert trade from the HBC to Montreal. This lasted until 1821, when the HBC absorbed the Montreal traders. In the interior, there were scattered fights involving the traders and their Indian allies, but these have left few records. *1763:

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

— France cedes all of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to Britain. *1782:

Hudson Bay expedition The Hudson Bay expedition was a series of military raids on the fur trading outposts and fortifications of the British Hudson's Bay Company on the shores of Hudson Bay by a French Royal Navy squadron under the command of the Comte de Lapérous ...

— La Perouse successfully raids Prince of Wales Fort and York Factory.

References