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Thomas
Douglas Selkirk
(1771-1820): The Red River Settlement
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Selkirk was
born in Scotland. He inherited his title and his fortune on the
death of his father, which happened some years before his marriage.
He was the seventh son and only inherited the title because all
six of his older brothers died before his father did.
He wanted
to use his money for the good of others. Many people in Scotland
had no land and so it was difficult to make a living. Selkirk had
a plan. He decided to help these poor Scottish farmers settle
in Canada where there was plenty of land, which was offered
to them for free.
Selkirk bought
up Hudson's Bay Company stock until he controlled the company.
Once he had control, he asked the company to give him some land.
The company granted him 300 000 square kilometers of land along
the banks of the Red River in what is now Manitoba.
The Scottish
farmers began arriving in 1812. There was a problem, however.
The Red River settlement was in the middle of the route used by
the North West Company traders to ship fur to Montreal. The traders
were angry. They thought Hudson's Bay Company was starting a
settlement on purpose in order to interfere with their fur trade.
This started intense fighting and violence between the Baymen
and the Nor'westers.
Lord Selkirk
traveled to the Red River Valley to try and put an end to the fighting
between Baymen, Nor'westers and the Métis. He was not successful,
however, in his attempt to use his authority to take control.
The last years of his life were spent defending himself against
false charges of stealing land and supplies from the North West
Company. It was a sad end to a dream of helping others.
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What
do you think was the cause of Selkirk's failure?
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