The Prince of Wales Fort is a historic

bastion fort A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

across the Churchill River from Churchill,

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, Canada.

History

The European history of this area starts with

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

sailing into

in 1610. The area was recognized as important in the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mo ...

and of potential importance for other discoveries. The fort is built in a star shape.

Original (wood) fort

This fort began as a log fort built in 1717 by James Knight of the

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 trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...

(HBC) and was originally called the Churchill River Post. In 1719, the post was renamed Prince of Wales Fort. It was located on the west bank of the Churchill River to protect and control the HBC's interests in the fur trade.

Construction of the present stone fort

The original wooden fort was replaced by a massive stone fort, probably to abide by the

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

which required that

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (french: Terre de Rupert), or Prince Rupert's Land (french: Terre du Prince Rupert, link=no), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin; this was further extended from Rupert's Land t ...

should be fortified. Construction of this fort was started in 1731 near what was then called Eskimo Point. It was in the form of a square, with sides long and walls tall and thick at the base. It had forty-two cannon mounted on the walls. There was also a battery across the river on Cape Merry meant to hold six more cannon.

In battle

In the 1780s, the French government launched a Hudson Bay expedition to damage HBC activities in that bay. Three French warships of the expedition, led by Jean-François de La Pérouse, captured the Prince of Wales Fort in 1782. The fort was manned by only 39 (non-military) men at the time, and the fort's governor,

Samuel Hearne Samuel Hearne (February 1745 – November 1792) was an English explorer, fur-trader, author, and naturalist. He was the first European to make an overland excursion across northern Canada to the Arctic Ocean, actually Coronation Gulf, via the C ...

, recognised the numerical and military imbalance and surrendered without a single shot being fired. The French partially destroyed the fort, but its mostly-intact ruins survive to this day. The fort returned to the HBC in 1783. Thereafter, its importance waned with the decline in the fur trade although the post was refounded a little way up the river. Native Map Seventeen Rivers beyond Churchill 1719 (1969)

Native Map Seventeen Rivers beyond Churchill 1719 (1969)

Structures

The remains of these buildings still stand in the Fort, although none of them are intact, with roofs long since deteroriated. * Rough Stone Dwelling House * Governor's Quarters * Storehouse * Men's Quarters and Barracks * Stonemason's Workshop * Cooper and Carpenter Workshops * Tailor's Room * Blacksmith Shop The courtyard is intact and all other exposed areas covered by grass.

Cape Merry Battery

Opposite the fort across the mouth of the Churchill River is Cape Merry Battery. The battery was named for former HBC Deputy Governor (1712-1718) Captain John Merry (1656-1729). The fixed battery was built three times. The first was built sometime after 1718 and featured a wall protected by cannon(s) and powder magazine. Only remaining parts are the ruins of the door of the magazine and parts of the wall. A second battery was built in 1747 further south and away from the river due to concerns that the first battery could be used to attack the fort. A third was rebuilt in 1959-1960 from second as a restoration process. The battery today has a single cannon.

Restoration

After the construction of the Hudson Bay Railway to Churchill was completed in 1929, railway labour and railway construction equipment was used to restore the fort. Restoration work was also performed in the late 1950s. Archaeological investigations at and around the fort began in 1958. Since 2005,

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...

archaeologists have been working in and around the fort in conjunction with a large-scale wall stabilization work and a fort interpretation program.

Legacy

In 1920, the site was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as bein ...

. A series of journals written by explorer Samuel Hearne on a journey from Prince of Wales Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean was published by the

Champlain Society The Champlain Society seeks to advance knowledge of Canadian history through the publication of scholarly books (both digital and print) of primary records of voyages, travels, correspondence, diaries and governmental documents and memoranda. Th ...

in 1911. On 28 June 1985,

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

issued 'Fort Prince of Wales, Man.', one of the 20 stamps in the "Forts Across Canada Series". The fort is also the subject of one of the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

's Canada Vignettes.

References

External links

Manitoba Historical Society

Prince of Wales Fort National Historic Site of Canada

YouTube video of the NFB vignette.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince Of Wales Fort

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 was ...

Forts or trading posts on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Hudson's Bay Company forts National Historic Sites in Manitoba Forts in Manitoba Fur trade National Historic Sites of Canada 1717 establishments in the British Empire 1717 establishments in North America