153-626: Lt.-Colonel The Hon. William McGillivray (1764 – 16 October 1825), of Chateau St. Antoine, Montreal , was a Scottish-born fur trader who succeeded his uncle Simon McTavish as the last chief partner of the North West Company until a merger between the NWC and her chief rival - the Hudson Bay Company . He was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada and afterwards
306-557: A Metis woman named Susan. In 1791, he was given charge of the westernmost department on the Athabasca River , which had been extended even further to the Pacific Ocean by Alexander Mackenzie in 1793. All these postings were crucial to the experience he needed to one day step into his uncle's shoes, who was becoming increasingly dominant within the NWC . During this winter at Snake Lake,
459-482: A fur trading post on the Island of Montreal on a site initially named La Place Royale . At the confluence of Petite Riviere and St. Lawrence River , it is where present-day Pointe-à-Callière stands. On his 1616 map, Champlain named the island Lille de Villemenon in honour of the sieur de Villemenon, a French dignitary who was seeking the viceroyship of New France. In 1639, Jérôme Le Royer de La Dauversière obtained
612-402: A 2001 study deemed it as Canada's most creative neighbourhood because artists comprise 8% of its labour force. The neighbourhood of Mile End in the northwestern part of the borough has been a very multicultural area of the city, and features two of Montreal's well-known bagel establishments , St-Viateur Bagel and Fairmount Bagel . The McGill Ghetto is in the extreme southwestern portion of
765-537: A December 27th, 1825 letter that from 1810 onwards, the richest and most talented partners of the NWC (notably those connected to the XY Company ) had withdrawn and been replaced by men with less capital and less work ethic, and given to extravagant spending. Nepotism was also a problem: 14 members of the McTavish and McGillivray families (not including relatives by marriage) had been given partnerships since 1800, undermining
918-472: A brigade of canoes. Interpreters and guides could earn up to three times as much as a middleman. The social dynamics of the company was rooted in kinship and descent or ethnic origin. The company was formed by a closed network of persons of Scots descent related through blood or marriage. Several important Montreal agents were related to Simon McTavish; and his successors, brothers William and Duncan McGillivray, were his nephews. Of 128 leading figures in
1071-513: A coalition between them. He surrendered 25% of the NWC's shares to the XY, but left his close friend, Alexander Mackenzie , out of the new co-partnership because of his reputation as a trouble-maker in the fur trade. He reorganized the managing firm of McTavish, Frobisher and Co., which after John Gregory's retirement in December of 1806, he both announced a new management structure for the company and renamed
1224-473: A daily average ranging from −10.5 to −9 °C (13.1 to 15.8 °F) in January. However, some winter days rise above freezing, allowing for rain on an average of 4 days in January and February each. Usually, snow covering some or all bare ground lasts on average from the first or second week of December until the last week of March. While the air temperature does not fall below −30 °C (−22 °F) every year,
1377-733: A garrison of 390 men 40 miles upriver in a garrison at Les Cèdres, Quebec , to defend Montreal against the British army. In the Battle of the Cedars , Bedel's lieutenant Isaac Butterfield surrendered to George Forster. Forster advanced to Fort Senneville on May 23. By May 24, Arnold was entrenched in Montreal's borough of Lachine . Forster initially approached Lachine, then withdrew to Quinze-Chênes . Arnold's forces then abandoned Lachine to chase Forster. The Americans burned Senneville on May 26. After Arnold crossed
1530-663: A handful of elementary schools in Ontario, Quebec, or British Columbia. In 1764, McGillivray was born at Dunlichity, near Daviot in the Scottish Highlands . He was the eldest son of Donald Roy McGillivray (1741–1803), tacksman of Achnalodan in Dunmaglass and later of Dalscoilt in Strathnairn . His mother, Anne (1740–1807), was the daughter of Lieutenant John McTavish (1701–1774), of Garthbeg. The McGillivrays had traditionally held
1683-454: A man named John Ross (a member of Gregory, MacLeod and Company, and former partner in the NWC) would be murdered - William and Roderick McKenzie Sr. at this time (but near Grand Portage after a hasty voyage - not at Snake Lake) apparently played a role in the 1787 merger of the NWC and Gregory, MacLeod and Company, whose acquisition would be "to the benefit of Simon McTavish " (William's uncle and
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#17328514998131836-511: A new life in England. He died during a trip to London in 1825 and was buried at St James's Church, Piccadilly , where there is a memorial to him and his wife in the church. Their graves were destroyed by enemy bombs during the Second World War . McGillivray's home, Chateau St. Antoine, stood within 200 acres of parkland on Cote St. Antoine, roughly at the end of Dorchester Street. Built in 1803,
1989-493: A rival organization, Gregory, McLeod and Co., which brought several more able partners in, including John Gregory, Alexander Mackenzie , and his cousin Roderick Mackenzie. The 1787 company consisted of 20 shares, some held by the agents at Montreal (see below), and others by wintering partners, who spent the trading season in the fur country and oversaw the trade with the aboriginal peoples there. The wintering partners and
2142-511: A shareholding partner, although many remained clerks. The engagés or servants did not constitute a uniform group with equal status. The lowest level of the status pyramid was formed by the voyageurs , who paddled between Montreal and the posts around the Great Lakes. Seasonally employed, they were known by their diet and referred to as mangeurs du lard ('pork-eaters'). Hivernants , or wintering servants, who paddled canoes from
2295-438: A trip to Scotland and England. He was now a partner in McTavish, Frobisher & Co., who controlled the NWC . With John Gregory, he was sent to manage the company's huge depot at Grand Portage , stirring jealousy among some of the other partners, with others speaking of straight up nepotism . As a particularly telling example of this potential nepotism: the extremely effective explorer Alexander Mackenzie joined MFC in 1795 -
2448-699: A university student in the QS World University Rankings . In 2018, Montreal was ranked as a global city . Montreal has hosted numerous important international events, including the 1967 International and Universal Exposition , and is the only Canadian city to have hosted the Summer Olympics, having done so in 1976 . The city hosts the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One ; the Montreal International Jazz Festival ,
2601-419: Is around 1,000 mm (39 in), including an average of about 210 cm (83 in) of snowfall, which occurs from November through March. Thunderstorms are common from late spring through summer to early fall; additionally, tropical storms or their remnants can cause heavy rains and gales. Montreal averages 2,050 hours of sunshine annually, with summer being the sunniest season, though slightly wetter than
2754-509: Is bordered by the city of Laval to the north; Longueuil , Saint-Lambert , Brossard , and other municipalities to the south; Repentigny to the east and the West Island municipalities to the west. The anglophone enclaves of Westmount , Montreal West , Hampstead , Côte Saint-Luc , the Town of Mount Royal and the francophone enclave Montreal East are all surrounded by Montreal. Montreal
2907-494: Is classified as a warm-summer humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification : Dfb). Summers are warm to hot and humid with a daily maximum average of 26 to 27 °C (79 to 81 °F) in July; temperatures in excess of 30 °C (86 °F) are common. Conversely, cold fronts can bring crisp, drier and windy weather in the early and later parts of summer. Winter brings cold, snowy, windy, and, at times, icy weather, with
3060-528: Is complex, but it is necessary to keep track of who was competing with whom. Note that the definition of partner is not completely clear. For example, after Duncan McDougall surrendered Fort Astoria , he became a NWC partner with one one-hundredth of a share. XY Company or formally the New North West Company, and sometimes Alexander MacKenzie & Co. In 1798 Forsyth, Richardson & Co, Parker, Gerrand & Ogilvy and John Mure of Quebec formed
3213-400: Is extremely fine, too rich and fair, I foolishly thought, to be out of my native England. Close beneath you are scattered elegant country retreats embowered in plantations, succeeded by a crowd of orchards of delicious apples, spreading far to the right and left, and hedging in the glittering churches, hotels, and house-roofs of Montreal , Quebec... Mr McGillivray was accustomed to entertain
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#17328514998133366-652: Is now Nunavut Territory, the Eddystone , a ship that Fraser acquired. At Charlton Island, they laid claim to the region inhabited by the Inuit , in the name of the North West Company, and were able to capitalize on the rich furs of the area. Their expansion northwestward cut into the profits of the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1800, HBC profited £38,000 in trade compared to the North West Company's £144,000 in 1800. This bold move caught
3519-410: Is said that Simon McTavish made a personal petition to Prime Minister William Pitt , but all requests were refused. A few years later, with no relief to the Hudson's Bay Company's stranglehold, McTavish and his group decided to gamble. They organized an overland expedition from Montreal to James Bay and a second expedition by sea. In September 1803, the overland party met at Charlton Island , in what
3672-676: Is the oldest complete building in the city, built between 1669 and 1671. In Point St. Charles , visitors can see the Maison Saint-Gabriel , which can trace its history back to 1698. There are many historic buildings in Old Montreal in their original form: Notre-Dame Basilica, Bonsecours Market , and the 19th‑century headquarters of all major Canadian banks on St. James Street (French: Rue Saint Jacques ). Montreal's earliest buildings are characterized by their uniquely French influence and grey stone construction. A few notable examples of
3825-626: The Allied forces , was furious over Houde's stand and held him in a prison camp until 1944. That year, the government decided to institute conscription to expand the armed forces and fight the Axis powers . (See Conscription Crisis of 1944 .) Montreal was the official residence of the Luxembourg royal family in exile during World War II. By 1951, Montreal's population had surpassed one million. However, Toronto's growth had begun challenging Montreal's status as
3978-432: The Battle of Seven Oaks , in which Semple and some 20 settlers were killed by the NWC men, led by Cuthbert Grant . Lord Selkirk arrested McGillivray and a number of NWC proprietors on the 13th of August in 1816 while on his way to Red River with a small force of regulars and some 90 mercenaries, holding the NWC responsible for the "massacre". He seized Fort William and confiscated their furs for his own benefit. McGillivray
4131-669: The Dunmaglass estate since the fourteenth century, and William's grandfather was a first cousin of the Chief of Clan McGillivray , Captain William McGillivray of Dunmaglass. However, on his side of the family the land had dissipated so that William's father was a small tenant on what had become part of the Lovat estate, and he was unable to provide secondary schooling for William and his brothers Duncan and Simon . When William's uncle, Simon McTavish , visited from Montreal in 1776, he paid for
4284-587: The East India Company 's monopoly enabling them to trade with China. When Simon McTavish died in July of 1804, McGillivray was well experienced and became the head of the NWC, and the executor of his uncle's will. He took over at a period of intense competition in the North American fur trade . His first action was to strike a deal ending the NWC's half-decade of rivalry with the XY Company, later serving as
4437-471: The East India Company 's monopoly, and they shared some of the same trade routes to China. This cooperation was only essential for a small amount of time, only lasted for small amount of time, or both. Nonetheless, Astor was involved with further trade that also followed the same commercial trade circuits as the NWC. There was also some brief cooperation with John Ogilvy's Michilimackinac Company. Over time, American pressure at their shared Pacific trading post on
4590-695: The Great Lakes to the Atlantic. Montreal is defined by its location between the Saint Lawrence river to its south and the Rivière des Prairies to its north. The city is named after the most prominent geographical feature on the island, a three-head mountain called Mount Royal, topped at 232 m (761 ft) above sea level . Montreal is at the centre of the Montreal Metropolitan Community , and
4743-524: The Montreal Biosphere , and Moshe Safdie 's striking Habitat 67 apartment complex. The Montreal Metro has public artwork by some of the biggest names in Quebec culture . In 2006, Montreal was named a UNESCO City of Design , one of only three design capitals in the world (the others being Berlin and Buenos Aires ). This distinguished title recognizes Montreal's design community. Since 2005,
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4896-701: The North American beaver in particular. The destruction of the North West Company post at Sault Ste. Marie by the Americans during the War of 1812 was a serious blow during an already difficult time. In addition, the company was hurt by the refusal after the war with the United States to let Canadian traders freely cross its northern border. This reduced much of the border trade, which had previously been profitable for them, and artificially divided traders' relations with those several Native American tribes whose territories spanned
5049-413: The North West Company of fur-traders (including David Thompson ). Our dinner and wines were perfect. The conversation was fluent and sensible... It is hardly necessary to say that I passed a very agreeable evening. Our host was a large, handsome man, with the pleasant, successful look of the men of his habits and mode of life. William McGillivray had four brothers and four sisters: In the tradition of
5202-547: The Ottawa River in pursuit of Forster, Forster's cannons repelled Arnold's forces. Forster negotiated a prisoner exchange with Henry Sherburne and Isaac Butterfield, resulting in a May 27 boating of their deputy Lieutenant Park being returned to the Americans. Arnold and Forster negotiated further and more American prisoners were returned to Arnold at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec , ("Fort Anne") on May 30 (delayed two days by wind). Arnold eventually withdrew his forces back to
5355-536: The Seigneurial title to the Island of Montreal in the name of the Notre Dame Society of Montreal to establish a Roman Catholic mission to evangelize natives. Dauversière hired Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve , then age 30, to lead a group of colonists to build a mission on his new seigneury. The colonists left France in 1641 for Quebec and arrived on the island the following year. On May 17, 1642, Ville-Marie
5508-543: The Shaughnessy Village / Concordia U area home to thousands of students at Concordia University . The borough also comprises most of Mount Royal Park , Saint Helen's Island , and Notre-Dame Island . The Plateau Mount Royal borough was a working class francophone area. The largest neighbourhood is the Plateau (not to be confused with the whole borough), which was undergoing considerable gentrification as of 2009, and
5661-533: The Virgin Mary . The current form of the name, Montréal , is generally thought to be derived from Mount Royal ( Mont Royal in French), the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. There are multiple explanations for how Mont Royal became Montréal . In 16th century French, the forms réal and royal were used interchangeably, so Montréal could simply be a variant of Mont Royal . In
5814-516: The War of 1812 led to its sale to the North West Company in 1813. When HMS Racoon and its Captain Black arrived, he went through a ceremony of possession, even though the fort was already ostensibly under British control. Due to treaty complications of the Treaty of Ghent requiring the return of seized assets, putative ownership of the site was returned to the United States in 1817. Renamed as Fort George by
5967-653: The War of 1812 , the Americans destroyed the NWC's trading post at Sault Ste. Marie , giving them a net loss of over £8,000 (at least 8330 Pound) for that year. Also in 1812, Lord Selkirk (a shareholder in the HBC) established the Red River Colony which directly served the interests of the HBC and affected the NWC's free transport of goods between Fort William and the fur-bearing Lake Athabasca region. Attempting to gain control over
6120-659: The fur traders , McGillivray had first taken a 'country wife' while in Manitoba , a Cree lady named Susan. They were the parents of three sons and a daughter, though one son did not survive to adulthood. In 1800, at St. Mary's, Marylebone in London, McGillivray married Magdalen (d.1811), daughter of Captain John McDonald of Garth, Perthshire , by his wife Magdalen, daughter of James Small . Sir Alexander Mackenzie described Mrs. Magdalen McGillivray as, "an agreeable, lively brunette of
6273-763: The invasion of Quebec resulted after Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga in present-day upstate New York in May 1775 as a launching point to Arnold's invasion of Quebec in September . While Arnold approached the Plains of Abraham , Montreal fell to American forces led by Richard Montgomery on November 13, 1775, after it was abandoned by Guy Carleton . After Arnold withdrew from Quebec City to Pointe-aux-Trembles on November 19, Montgomery's forces left Montreal on December 1 and arrived there on December 3 to plot to attack Quebec City , with Montgomery leaving David Wooster in charge of
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6426-573: The prohibition movement in the United States led to Montreal becoming a destination for Americans looking for alcohol . Unemployment remained high in the city and was exacerbated by the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression . During World War II , Mayor Camillien Houde protested against conscription and urged Montrealers to disobey the federal government's registry of all men and women. The federal government, part of
6579-587: The second-largest metropolitan area in Canada. French is the city's official language. In 2021, 85.7% of the population of the city of Montreal considered themselves fluent in French while 90.2% could speak it in the metropolitan area. Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada, with 58.5% of the population able to speak both French and English. Historically the commercial capital of Canada, Montreal
6732-436: The village of Hochelaga at the foot of Mount Royal two centuries before the French arrived. Archeologists have found evidence of their habitation there and at other locations in the valley since at least the 14th century. The French explorer Jacques Cartier visited Hochelaga on October 2, 1535, and estimated the population of the native people at Hochelaga to be "over a thousand people". Evidence of earlier occupation of
6885-721: The wind chill often makes the temperature feel this low to exposed skin. Spring and fall are pleasantly mild but prone to drastic temperature changes; spring even more so than fall. Late season heat waves as well as " Indian summers " are possible. Early and late season snow storms can occur in November and March, and more rarely in April. Montreal is generally snow free from late April to late October. However, snow can fall in early to mid-October as well as early to mid-May on rare occasions. The lowest temperature in Environment Canada's books
7038-410: The 1980s and early 1990s, Montreal experienced a slower rate of economic growth than many other major Canadian cities. Montreal was the site of the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre , one of Canada's worst mass shootings , where 25-year-old Marc Lépine shot and killed 14 people, all of them women, and wounded 14 other people before shooting himself at École Polytechnique . Montreal was merged with
7191-487: The 27 surrounding municipalities on the Island of Montreal on January 1, 2002, creating a unified city encompassing the entire island. There was substantial resistance from the suburbs to the merger, with the perception being that it was forced on the mostly English suburbs by the Parti Québécois. As expected, this move proved unpopular and several mergers were later rescinded. Several former municipalities, totalling 13% of
7344-548: The British East India Company's monopoly, but little profit was made there. The company also expanded into the United States' Northwest Territory (today's Midwest of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin). In 1796, to better position themselves in the increasingly global market, where politics played a major role, the North West Company briefly established an agency in New York City . Despite its efforts,
7497-624: The Canadians to get around the British East India Company 's monopoly and ship furs to the Chinese market. Cargo ships owned by the North West Company conveniently sailed under the American flag, and doing so meant continued collaboration with John Jacob Astor . However, Astor was as aggressive as Simon McTavish had been. An intense rivalry soon developed between him and William McGillivray over
7650-647: The Caribbean. Its headquarters are across the street from the Forts Rouge, Garry, and Gibraltar National Historic Site of Canada, the site of an old North West Company fort. Further information on the North West Company can be found in Marjorie Wilkins Campbell 's 1957 book The North West Company , as well as her 1962 biography of William McGillivray, McGillivray, Lord of the North West . Campbell served as
7803-801: The Corps under their own volition, and using employees as soldiers. He owned substantial estates in Scotland (Bhein Ghael Estate), Lower (12000 acres in Inverness Township) and Upper Canada (Plantagenet Township). His home in Montreal was one of the early estates of the Golden Square Mile (like many other members of the Beaver Club). McGillivray Ridge in British Columbia is named for him, as well as
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#17328514998137956-409: The English in Hudson Bay (1670). Unlike the French who traveled into the northern interior and traded with First Nations in their camps and villages, the English made bases at trading posts on Hudson Bay, inviting the indigenous people to trade. After 1731, La Vérendrye pushed trade west beyond Lake Winnipeg . After the British conquest of New France in 1763 (and the defeat of France in Europe),
8109-453: The Great Lakes to the interior trading posts, and worked at them during the winter, formed the next higher band of employees. Status and pay differed depending on a man's role in the canoe . The milieu or middleman was the drudge of canoe travel, while the responsibilities of the bowsman or devant and the steersman or gouvernail were rewarded with up to five times as high pay as a common middleman, especially if serving as leader of
8262-419: The HBC, but only a few months after his death both McTavish, McGillivrays & Co., of London and McGillivrays, Thain & Co., of Montreal were declared bankrupt; William, full of exorbitant pride, proclaimed to the Family Compact 's John Strachan that "It would have been worse than folly, to have continued the contest further. We have made no submission – we met & negotiated on equal terms." However,
8415-459: The Hudson's Bay Company off guard. In succeeding years it retaliated rather than reaching a compromise, which McTavish had hoped might be negotiated. Simon McTavish brought several members of his family into the company, but nepotism took a back seat to ability. His brother-in-law, Charles Chaboillez , oversaw the Lower Red River trading post. McTavish also hired several cousins and his nephews William McGillivray and Duncan McGillivray to learn
8568-530: The Montreal agents met each July at the company's depot at Grand Portage on Lake Superior , later moved to Fort William . Also under the auspices of the company, Alexander Mackenzie conducted two important expeditions of exploration. In 1789, he descended the Grand River (now called the Mackenzie River ) to the Arctic Ocean, and in 1793 he went overland from Peace River to the Pacific Ocean. Further explorations were performed by David Thompson , starting in 1797, and later by Simon Fraser . These men pushed into
8721-413: The NWC since around 1787. McTavish, Fraser & Co. was the London agent of Simon McTavish, from about 1790. John Fraser was his cousin. Simon McGillivray worked there and became a partner in 1805. Edward Ellice , a man of great influence, was involved. Todd & McGill was formed in 1776, was in the NWC by 1779, separated in 1784 and rejoined in 1792. They apparently wanted to concentrate on
8874-424: The NWC, having 25% interest in the combined company. The South West Company: was an 1811 attempted partnership between two North West Company firms (McTavish, McGillivrays & Co and Forsyth, Richardson & Co) and John Jacob Astor to import goods through New York and deal with the Great Lakes trade. It was mostly blocked by the War of 1812 but remnants existed until at least 1820. Astor had been dealing with
9027-433: The New York fort of Ticonderoga by the summer. On June 15, Arnold's messenger approaching Sorel spotted Carleton returning with a fleet of ships and notified him. Arnold's forces abandoned Montreal (attempting to burn it down in the process) prior to the June 17 arrival of Carleton's fleet. The Americans did not return British prisoners in exchange, as previously agreed, due to accusations of abuse, with Congress repudiating
9180-410: The North West Company and 76 that belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company. When the competition between both companies came to an end, new board of directors wanted two field governors to oversee the newly defined territory, and George Simpson was appointed to the Northern Department. George Simpson (1787–1860), the Hudson's Bay Company Governor-in-Chief of Rupert's Land , who became the Canadian head of
9333-401: The North West Company was at a distinct disadvantage in competing for furs with the Hudson's Bay Company, whose charter gave it a virtual monopoly in Rupert's Land , where the best furs were trapped. The company tried to persuade the British Parliament to change arrangements, at least so the North West Company could obtain transit rights to ship goods to the west needed for trading for furs. It
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#17328514998139486-424: The North West Company, continued to operate until the Hudson's Bay Company's takeover and the replacement of Fort Astoria by Fort Vancouver . The Canadian fur trade began to change in 1806, after Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the blockade of the Baltic Sea as part of the ongoing struggle between France and Britain for world dominance. Britain was dependent for almost all of her timber on the Baltic countries and on
9639-405: The Oriental market and westerly expansion to unclaimed territory in what is now the Columbia River basin , in the present-day states of Washington and Oregon . Astor's Pacific Fur Company beat the North West Company in an effort to found a post near the mouth of the Columbia, Fort Astoria . A collapse in the sea otter population and the imminent possibility of British seizure of Astoria during
9792-463: The U.S. states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts (which at that time included the large territory of Maine). By then, however, tensions had also begun to escalate again between Britain and the United States. In 1809 the American Government passed the Non-Intercourse Act , which effectively brought about an almost complete cessation of trade between the two countries. Britain became totally dependent on her Canadian colony for her timber needs, especially
9945-417: The XY Company. In 1799 MacKenzie left the NWC and went to England. Next year he bought shares in XY and soon became the effective head of the firm. Alexander Henry the younger was an XY winterer. They built a number of posts close to NWC and HBC posts. The murder of an HBC man by an XY man at Fort de l'Isle led to the Canada Jurisdiction Act which extended Quebec law to western Canada. In 1804 it merged with
10098-414: The agreement at the protest of George Washington. Arnold blamed Colonel Timothy Bedel for the defeat, removing him and Lieutenant Butterfield from command and sending them to Sorel for court-martial. The retreat of the American army delayed their court martial until August 1, 1776, when they were convicted and cashiered at Ticonderoga. Bedel was given a new commission by Congress in October 1777 after Arnold
10251-439: The avowed rival of the North-West Company in the trade which they themselves have carried on for upwards of thirty years with credit to themselves. In a fair commercial competition, we have no objection to enter the lists with his Lordship, but we cannot remain passive spectators to the violence used to plunder or destroy our property". The struggle was continued by Macdonell's successors, Robertson and then Semple , culminating in
10404-493: The border between French and English Canada, Ottawa was seen as a compromise between Montreal, Toronto, Kingston and Quebec City, which were all vying to become the young nation's official capital. Ottawa retained the status as capital of Canada when the Province of Canada joined with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to form the Dominion of Canada in 1867. An internment camp was set up at Immigration Hall in Montreal from August 1914 to November 1918. After World War I ,
10557-498: The border. All these events intensified competition between the companies. When Thomas Douglas convinced his fellow shareholders in the Hudson's Bay Company to grant him the Selkirk Concession , it marked another in a series of events that would lead to the demise of the North West Company. The Pemmican Proclamation , the ensuing Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816, and its violence, resulted in Lord Selkirk arresting William McGillivray and several North West Company proprietors. He ordered
10710-423: The borough, its name being derived from the fact that it is home to thousands of McGill University students and faculty members. The Southwest borough was home to much of the city's industry during the late 19th and early-to-mid 20th century. The borough included Goose Village and was historically home to the traditionally working-class Irish neighbourhoods of Griffintown and Point Saint Charles as well as
10863-414: The business arena. The October Crisis and the 1976 election of the Parti Québécois , which supported sovereign status for Quebec, resulted in the departure of many businesses and people from the city. In 1976, Montreal hosted the Summer Olympics . While the event brought the city international prestige and attention, the Olympic Stadium built for the event resulted in massive debt for the city. During
11016-502: The business. William McGillivray was groomed by his uncle to succeed him as Director of the North West Company, and by 1796 he had effectively done so, acting as Montreal agents' representative at the annual meetings at Grand Portage, and later at Fort William. Simon McTavish was an aggressive businessman who understood that powerful forces in the business world were always ready to pounce on any weakness. As such, his ambition and forceful positions caused disagreements between him and some of
11169-401: The chief principal of the NWC). It is important to note that information on this particular Roderick McKenzie Sr. is rather difficult to find as his namesake was only "one of several fur traders bearing this name", so the degree to which one has to sift through detail (and potential detail) is immense, hence the "apparently" moniker. McGillivray returned to Montreal in 1793 and then took
11322-610: The city has been home to the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda) and the International Design Alliance (IDA). The Underground City (officially RÉSO), an important tourist attraction, is an underground network connecting shopping centres, pedestrian thoroughfares, universities, hotels, restaurants, bistros, subway stations and more, in and around downtown with 32 km (20 mi) of tunnels over 12 km (4.6 sq mi) in
11475-582: The city's 20th-century architecture include Saint Joseph's Oratory , completed in 1967, Ernest Cormier 's Art Deco Université de Montréal main building, the landmark Place Ville Marie office tower, and the controversial Olympic Stadium and surrounding structures. Pavilions designed for the 1967 International and Universal Exposition, popularly known as Expo 67 , featured a wide range of architectural designs. Though most pavilions were temporary structures, several have become landmarks, including Buckminster Fuller 's geodesic dome U.S. Pavilion, now
11628-644: The city's earliest still-standing buildings date back to the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Although most are clustered around the Old Montreal area, such as the Sulpician Seminary adjacent to Notre-Dame Basilica that dates back to 1687, and Château Ramezay , which was built in 1705, examples of early colonial architecture are dotted throughout the city. Situated in Lachine, the Le Ber-Le Moyne House
11781-485: The city's history. Montreal annexed 27 other cities, towns and villages beginning with Hochelaga in 1883, with the last prior to 2002 being Pointe-aux-Trembles in 1982. The 21st century has brought with it a revival of the city's economic and cultural landscape. The construction of new residential skyscrapers, two super-hospitals (the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal and McGill University Health Centre ),
11934-507: The city. As they lacked modern plumbing systems it was impossible to connect all buildings at once and it also acted as a conservation method. However, the population was not finished rising — it rose from 58,000 in 1852 to 267,000 by 1901. Montreal was the capital of the Province of Canada from 1844 to 1849, but lost its status when a Tory mob burnt down the Parliament building to protest
12087-486: The city. Montgomery was killed in the failed attack and Arnold, who had taken command, sent Brigadier General Moses Hazen to inform Wooster of the defeat. Wooster left Hazen in command on March 20, 1776, as he left to replace Arnold in leading further attacks on Quebec City. On April 19, Arnold arrived in Montreal to take over command from Hazen, who remained as his second-in-command. Hazen sent Colonel Timothy Bedel to form
12240-456: The coasts of Ontario, Quebec, and Nunavut. These trips were "very costly actions" and by 1806 had racked up the cost of some 45000 Pound Sterling , with the expeditions "not bringing the desired results". William saw two other options: either obtain an Imperial Charter from the Crown or to attempt to purchase majority shares in the HBC - a method used previously which had never yet succeeded. During
12393-493: The companies to cease hostilities. In July 1821, under more pressure from the British government, which passed new regulations governing the fur trade in British North America, a merger agreement was signed with the Hudson's Bay Company. By this, the North West Company name disappeared after more than 40 years of operations. At the time of the merger, the amalgamated company consisted of 97 trading posts that had belonged to
12546-412: The company's twenty outstanding shares. At the time the company consisted of 23 partners, but "its staff of Agents, factors, clerks, guides, interpreters, more commonly known today as voyageurs amounted to 2000 people." In addition to Alexander Mackenzie, this group included Americans Peter Pond and Alexander Henry the elder . Further reorganizations of the partnership occurred in 1795 and 1802,
12699-399: The company, 77 were of Scots descent. Due to the prevalent kinship structures, it was all but impossible for unrelated men to advance from engagé to bourgeois . Beyond the non-operating investors, these were some of the post proprietors, clerks, interpreters, explorers and others of the nearly 2,500 persons employed by the North West Company in 1799: The history of the partnership
12852-732: The company, owning one or two shares each. They were not salaried, but received their income from the company's profits through their shares. Trading goods were advanced to them on credit by the agents of Montreal. They wintered in the interior, managing a district with several trading posts, and were in charge of the actual trade with the Indians. During the summer, the agents and the associates met at Fort William. The wintering partners normally began their career path as clerks. The clerks or commiss were salaried employees. They began their career as apprentices serving five to seven years, before advancing to clerks and bookkeepers. Each hoped to become
13005-463: The company. Montreal merchants , or agents de Montréal were owners of trading companies and shareholders in the North West Company. They were responsible for hiring staff, exporting furs, acquiring supplies, merchandise and provisions, and organizing their shipment to the inland trading posts. For this, they received commissions, in addition to the profits they made as shareholders. Wintering partners or associés were also shareholders in
13158-401: The countryside around Montréal . Many Métis sons followed in their fathers' footstep, whether as bourgeois or engagés . Through descent and education, the bourgeois laid claim to the status of gentlemen , while the engagés did the physical labour. The bourgeois or masters of the North West Company belonged to three different levels, depending on the role performed in
13311-574: The creation of the Quartier des Spectacles , reconstruction of the Turcot Interchange , reconfiguration of the Decarie and Dorval interchanges, construction of the new Réseau express métropolitain , gentrification of Griffintown , subway line extensions and the purchase of new subway cars, the complete revitalization and expansion of Trudeau International Airport , the completion of Quebec Autoroute 30 ,
13464-415: The drive and morale of those hoping for promotion. Eventually, William McGillivray accepted the inevitability of a merger between the NWC and the HBC, and his brother Simon McGillivray set about bringing it to pass. An agreement was signed in 1821 and the once great Montreal company disappeared under the trading banner of the HBC. McGillivray was content that he had settled on equal terms (more below) with
13617-794: The early 18th century, the Sulpician Order was established there. To encourage French settlement, it wanted the Mohawk to move away from the fur trading post at Ville-Marie. It had a mission village, known as Kahnewake , south of the St Lawrence River. The fathers persuaded some Mohawk to make a new settlement at their former hunting grounds north of the Ottawa River. This became Kanesatake . In 1745, several Mohawk families moved upriver to create another settlement, known as Akwesasne . All three are now Mohawk reserves in Canada. The Canadian territory
13770-600: The economic capital of Canada. Indeed, the volume of stocks traded at the Toronto Stock Exchange had already surpassed that traded at the Montreal Stock Exchange in the 1940s. The Saint Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959, allowing vessels to bypass Montreal. In time, this development led to the end of the city's economic dominance as businesses moved to other areas. During the 1960s, there was continued growth as Canada's tallest skyscrapers, new expressways and
13923-606: The education of the McGillivray boys and in 1784 brought William out to Canada to work for him in the North West Company , with an annual salary of £100. As a clerk, after a year between Montreal and Rainy River , he was accompanied by proprietor Patrick Small to Île-à-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan . He spent the winter of 1786–87 at Snake Lake, setting up a trading post to compete with Gregory, McLeod & Co. He and Roderick McKenzie served their respective companies on good terms with each other. McGillivray played an important part in
14076-466: The fall of 1653, the population of Montreal was barely 50 people. By 1685, Ville-Marie was home to some 600 colonists, most of them living in modest wooden houses. Ville-Marie became a centre for the fur trade and a base for further exploration . In 1689, the English-allied Iroquois attacked Lachine on the Island of Montreal, committing the worst massacre in the history of New France. By
14229-666: The fate of the two companies would argue the opposite. McGillivray enjoyed a leading role in Quebec society, particularly at Montreal. He had been elected a member of the Beaver Club in 1795 and in 1804 he was made a Justice of the Peace in the Indian Territories, and for the District of Quebec in 1815, plus Montreal and Three Rivers in 1821. In 1808, he replaced John Richardson in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada and in 1814 he
14382-461: The firm McTavish, McGillivrays and Co. The partners were himself, his brother Duncan , their brother-in-law Angus Shaw , and the two Hallowell brothers, James and William. The London firm of McTavish, Fraser & Co., remained unchanged except for McGillivray bringing in another brother, Simon . Due to rising costs within the NWC (the rivalry with the XY Company had essentially fueled the "rise in salaries and number of salaried employees" - however it
14535-420: The great white pine used for ships' masts. Almost overnight, timber and wood products replaced fur as Canada's number one export. Fur remained profitable, however, as it had a high value-to-bulk ratio. In an economy short of ready money, fur was routinely used by Canadian merchants to remit value to their London creditors. By 1810, another crisis hit the fur industry, brought on by the over-harvesting of animals,
14688-479: The house enjoyed "a magnificent view of the city and river". The McGillivrays were well known for their hospitality and kept open house at St. Antoine, as they had done before in their townhouse on St. Gabriel Street. Even his old rival John Jacob Astor came to dine there once a year on his annual trips to Montreal. The ballroom was said to be "an enchanting sight". In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby ,
14841-477: The island, such as those uncovered in 1642 during the construction of Fort Ville-Marie, have effectively been removed. In 1603, French explorer Samuel de Champlain reported that the St ;Lawrence Iroquoians and their settlements had disappeared altogether from the St Lawrence valley. This is believed to be due to outmigration, epidemics of European diseases, or intertribal wars. In 1611, Champlain established
14994-646: The land is called Mooniyaang or Moon’yaang which was "the first stopping place" in the Ojibwe migration story as related in the seven fires prophecy . In the Mohawk language , the land is called Tiohtià:ke . This is an abbreviation of Teionihtiohtiá:kon , which loosely translates as "where the group divided/parted ways." French settlers from La Flèche in the Loire valley first named their new town, founded in 1642, Ville Marie ("City of Mary"), named for
15147-662: The largest jazz festival in the world; the Just for Laughs festival, the largest comedy festival in the world; and Les Francos de Montréal , the largest French-language music festival in the world. In sports , it is home to multiple professional teams, most notably the Canadiens of the National Hockey League , who have won the Stanley Cup a record 24 times. In the Ojibwe language ,
15300-468: The low-income neighbourhoods of Saint Henri and Little Burgundy . North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario . With great wealth at stake, tensions between the companies increased to
15453-612: The man had essentially discovered the Northwest Passage - and was made an underling to William in that Alexander was made nothing more than "an assistant (to William) at Grand Portage , despite all of his meretricious success in exploration and expansion particularly for the North West Company belonging to William and his uncle Simon . When Joseph Frobisher retired in 1798, McGillivray took his place, and William thenceforth became "involved in all important matters" upon historical evaluation, and steadily grew further and further into
15606-524: The management of the fur trading posts was taken over by English speakers. These so-called " pedlars " began to merge because competition cost them money and because of the high costs of outfitting canoes to the far west. There are historical references to a North West Company as early as 1770, including the Montreal-based traders Benjamin Frobisher , Isaac Todd , Alexander Henry the elder and others, but
15759-484: The masters of the NWC - the bourgeois - whom were majority Canadien ) of the company and their knack for personal fur-trading on the side of fur-trading for the company proper (like John Jacob Astor being the NWC agent to China , selling those NWC pelts, and then selling his own American pelts to the Russian-American Company , the various Russian Creole settlements in and around Alaska , and possibly
15912-586: The mid-1840s, the City of Montreal installed a water system that would pump water from the St. Lawrence and into cisterns . The cisterns would then be transported to the desired location. This was not the first water system of its type in Montreal, as there had been one in private ownership since 1801. In the middle of the 19th century, water distribution was carried out by "fontainiers". The fountainiers would open and close water valves outside of buildings, as directed, all over
16065-493: The most densely populated part of Montreal. The city is composed of 19 large boroughs , subdivided into neighbourhoods. The boroughs are: Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce , Le Plateau-Mont-Royal ( The Plateau Mount Royal ) , Outremont and Ville-Marie in the centre; Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve , Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie and Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension in the east; Anjou , Montréal-Nord , Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles and Saint-Léonard in
16218-531: The most expressive countenance". Mrs. McGillivray's brothers were John MacDonald of Garth and The Hon. Archibald Macdonald , and their sister, Helen, was married to General Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet , Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in the First Anglo-Burmese War . Mrs. McGillivray's mother was a niece of Major-General John Small and Alexander Small , two of the first cousins of General John Robertson Reid . The McGillivrays were
16371-531: The most neighbourhoods is Ville-Marie, which includes downtown, the historic district of Old Montreal, Chinatown , the Gay Village , the Latin Quarter , the gentrified Quartier international and Cité Multimédia as well as the Quartier des spectacles which is under development. Other neighbourhoods of interest in the borough include the affluent Golden Square Mile neighbourhood at the foot of Mount Royal and
16524-630: The mouth of the Columbia River was applied to the NWC in a subtle but systematic fashion, and to retain his freedom, McGillivray contemplated negotiating with the East India Company, and establishing a trading post on the Canadian Pacific Coast. David Thompson had attempted to "gain a direct line of communication with the Orient " through his western explorations of 1810-1811, however, by
16677-481: The movement of Pemmican in the region, Miles Macdonell , governor of the new Red River Colony, declared war with the established NWC men. This led to the " Pemmican War " and would conclude in violence with the Battle of Seven Oaks (aka the Battle of Winnipeg). McGillivray had no illusions about Lord Selkirk's actions nor about the conduct of Miles Macdonell , remarking that Selkirk, "has thought proper lately to become
16830-406: The northeast; Ahuntsic-Cartierville , L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève , Pierrefonds-Roxboro and Saint-Laurent in the northwest; and Lachine , LaSalle , Le Sud-Ouest ( The Southwest ) and Verdun in the south. Many of these boroughs were independent cities that were forced to merge with Montreal in January 2002 following the 2002 municipal reorganization of Montreal . The borough with
16983-568: The northern division of the greatly enlarged business, made his headquarters in the Montreal suburb of Lachine . The trading posts were soon reduced in number to avoid redundancy. The masters or the bourgeois of the North West Company were most often of Scottish descent, whether born in Canada or Scotland , and brought capital to the enterprise. Over time, many were related, since sons and nephews were recruited. The servants or engagés were most often Canadiens , mostly peasants' sons from
17136-591: The old North West Company partners held 75 per cent of the shares, and the former XY Company partners the remaining 25 per cent. Alexander Mackenzie was excluded from the new joint partnership. Under William McGillivray, the Company continued to expand, and apparently to profit, during the first decade of the 19th century. Competition with the Hudson's Bay Company was intense, however, and profit margins were squeezed. The North West Company branch in New York City had allowed
17289-501: The operations both in the building, management, and shareholding of the various trading posts scattered throughout the country, as well numbering among the voyageurs involved in the actual trading with natives. In the northwest, the Company expanded its operations as far north as Great Bear Lake, and westwards beyond the Rocky Mountains. For several years, they tried to sell furs directly to China , using American ships to avoid
17442-616: The other Russian Colonial possessions at the time present until October of 1867). The rising costs and fall in profits were largely attributed to the intensified competition with John Jacob Astor and the HBC and the disruptions in the European market caused by the French Revolution . At first the NWC had collaborated with Astor in that McTavish had established a branch in New York in 1796 to avoid
17595-541: The others in terms of total precipitation—mostly from thunderstorms. For over a century and a half, Montreal was the industrial and financial centre of Canada. This legacy has left a variety of buildings including factories, elevators , warehouses , mills, and refineries , that today provide an invaluable insight into the city's history, especially in the downtown area and the Old Port area. There are 50 National Historic Sites of Canada , more than any other city. Some of
17748-467: The parents of five daughters and one son, but only two of their daughters reached adulthood. Montreal Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec , the second-largest in Canada , and the ninth-largest in North America . Founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie , or "City of Mary", it is now named after Mount Royal , the triple-peaked mountain around which the early settlement
17901-544: The passage of the Rebellion Losses Bill . Thereafter, the capital rotated between Quebec City and Toronto until in 1857, Queen Victoria herself established Ottawa as the capital due to strategic reasons. The reasons were twofold. First, because it was located more in the interior of the Province of Canada, it was less susceptible to attack from the United States. Second, and perhaps more importantly, because it lay on
18054-545: The point where several minor armed skirmishes broke out, and the two companies were forced by the British government to merge. After the French landed in Quebec in 1608, independent French-Canadian traders commonly known as coureurs des bois spread out and built a fur trade empire in the St. Lawrence basin. The French competed with the Dutch (from 1614) and English (1664) in New York and
18207-449: The population of the island, voted to leave the unified city in separate referendums in June 2004. The demerger took place on January 1, 2006, leaving 15 municipalities on the island, including Montreal. Demerged municipalities remain affiliated with the city through an agglomeration council that collects taxes from them to pay for numerous shared services. The 2002 mergers were not the first in
18360-526: The reconstruction of the Champlain Bridge and the construction of a new toll bridge to Laval are helping Montreal continue to grow. Montreal is in the southwest of the province of Quebec. The city covers most of the Island of Montreal at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. The port of Montreal lies at one end of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the river gateway that stretches from
18513-527: The region indicates that First Nations native people occupied the island of Montreal as early as 4,000 years ago. By the year AD 1000, they had started to cultivate maize . Within a few hundred years, they had built fortified villages. The Saint Lawrence Iroquoians , an ethnically and culturally distinct group from the Iroquois nations of the Haudenosaunee (then based in present-day New York), established
18666-431: The request of the NWC to simply bring in goods via "their" bay . As they obviously rejected, Simon McTavish had sent out two expeditions, one by land and one by sea: the land expedition "gained a foothold on Hayes Island (in Ontario, close to Nâmowan and Moose Factory ) in 1800" and the sea expedition "landed on Charlton Island (Nunavut) in 1803" in the mouth of James Bay , the drainage outlet for Hudson Bay bordering
18819-445: The scarcity of beaver began to be a problem and only served to heighten tensions between the two companies. The NWC was stronger on the ground, but it was not as financially strong as the HBC. The HBC had begun to break the traditional practice of waiting for "the Indians" to come to the bay, and were seeking to establish posts anywhere the NWC was located. The HBC did not help to relieve these tensions though, going so far as to reject
18972-493: The second explanation, the name came from an Italian translation. Venetian geographer Giovanni Battista Ramusio used the name Monte Real to designate Mount Royal in his 1556 map of the region. However, the Commission de toponymie du Québec disputes this explanation. Historiographer François de Belleforest was the first to use the form Montréal with reference to the entire region in 1575. Archaeological evidence in
19125-497: The seizure of their outpost property in Fort William and charged them with the deaths of 21 people at Seven Oaks. Although this matter was resolved by the authorities in Montreal, over the next few years some of the wealthiest and most capable partners began to leave the North West Company, fearful of its future viability. The form of nepotism within the company too had changed, from the strict values of Simon McTavish to something that
19278-417: The shareholders, several of whom eventually left the North West Company during the 1790s.Some of these dissidents formed their own company, known unofficially as the XY Company , allegedly because of the mark they used on their bales of furs. Their cause was greatly strengthened in 1799, when the North West Company's hero explorer, Alexander Mackenzie, quit his old partnership and soon after joined them. There
19431-491: The shares being subdivided each time to provide for more and more wintering partners. Vertical integration of the business was completed in 1792, when Simon McTavish and John Fraser formed a London house to supply trade goods and market the furs, McTavish, Fraser and Company. While the organization and capitalization of the North West Company came from Anglo-Quebecers , both Simon McTavish and Joseph Frobisher married French Canadians . Numerous French Canadians played key roles in
19584-543: The southern Great Lakes. Gregory & McLeod joined in 1787. They employed Alexander Mackenzie , Peter Pangman and John Ross. In 1987, the northern trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company were sold to an employee consortium that revived the name The North West Company in 1990. The new company is a grocery and merchandise store chain based in Winnipeg , with stores in Northern Canada, Alaska, US Pacific territories and
19737-404: The standard histories trace the company to a 16-share organization formed in 1779, which included Todd, Simon McTavish and James McGill . Seeking to break the Hudson's Bay Company monopoly over the North American fur trade , in 1780, the organization was joined by Peter Pond and Alexander Ellice, with his brothers, Robert and James, (and, later, his sons, including Edward Ellice ). In
19890-593: The substantial lands at Plantagenet . In 1817, at a cost of £20,000, he purchased 'Bhein Ghael', a comparatively small but beautifully located Scottish estate on the Isle of Mull , overlooking Ghael Bay. In 1808, David Thompson had given what is now called the Kootenay River the name McGillivray's River, in honour of William and his brother Duncan . After losing the NWC to the HBC, McGillivray had made ready to leave Montreal for
20043-643: The subway system known as the Montreal Metro were finished during this time. Montreal also held the World's Fair of 1967, better known as Expo67 . The 1970s ushered in a period of wide-ranging social and political changes, stemming largely from the concerns of the French-speaking majority about the conservation of their culture and language, given the traditional predominance of the English Canadian minority in
20196-492: The successive governors in their progresses, and was well entitled to such honour, not only from his princely fortune, but from his popularity, honesty of purpose, and intimate acquaintance with the true interests of the colony... My host was then a widower with two well-educated daughters. The company was various and consisted of a judge or two, some members of the Legislative Council and three or four retired partners of
20349-542: The time he arrived in July of 1811, Astor's men coming by sea were already present on the mouth of the Columbia River . For some years many American and Canadian vessels made profitable runs on this trading circuit, but (as mentioned above) the American's applied systemic pressure. The rivalry between the NWC of Montreal and the English-controlled HBC gradually degenerated into a bitter and violent struggle, first under McTavish and then McGillivray. From 1810,
20502-690: The time) in 1803, the relations and relationship with the Hudson Bay Company , and finally the struggle with a tenacious offshoot splinter company which would eventually snag some 25% of the NWC shares called the New North West Company - better known as the " XY Company ". led by one John Richardson . In 1814, William and his brother Simon McGillivray met in Fort William (Thunder Bay), on Lake Superior , and planned to sell pelts in China. Subsequently, William set up an agency at New York City to get around
20655-406: The two companies merging in 1787. The following year he returned to Île-à-la-Crosse and started trading at Rat River . This enabled him to purchase the share left open by Peter Pond in the North West Company , for £800 in 1790. Promoted to the rank of proprietor, he was given responsibility at Churchill River , where about 80 men and 40 Métis lived. At about this time he took his 'country wife',
20808-671: The upper echelons of the NWC's management firm, the MFC: William was involved with the establishment of a New York agency, all of the activities within the MFC across the pond in London , the founding of a firm in 1788 which was created by his uncle Simon and his cousin John Fraser, involvement in trading with China (see below), the massive relocation from Grand Portage to Kaministiquia (close to Thunder Bay, Ontario , referred to as Fort William at
20961-572: The wilderness territories of the Rocky Mountains and Interior Plateau and all the way to the Strait of Georgia on the Pacific Coast . The death of Benjamin Frobisher opened the door to a takeover of the North West Company by Simon McTavish, who made a deal with Frobisher's surviving brother Joseph. The firm of McTavish, Frobisher and Company, founded in November 1787, effectively controlled eleven of
21114-472: The winter of 1783–1784, the North West Company was officially created on a long-term basis, with its corporate offices on Vaudreuil Street in Montreal. It was led by businessmen Benjamin Frobisher, his brother, Joseph , and McTavish, along with investor-partners who included the Ellices, Robert Grant, Nicholas Montour , Patrick Small, William Holmes, and George McBeath . In 1787 the North West Company merged with
21267-422: Was actually "chiefly linked to the intensified competition with the Americans and the HBC") he reduced manpower and curtailed the various costly habits of the living and travelling arrangements of the proprietors, such as the mode in which they travelled, if and how many servants were kept, and the maintenance of their wives and children. Additionally, "stricter control" was imposed upon the engagés (the servants of
21420-504: Was appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada . In 1795, he was inducted as a member into the Beaver Club . During the War of 1812 he was given the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Corps of Canadian Voyageurs (the ultimate rank in the Corps) as he was the highest up in the NWC's business hierarchy; the ranks of the Corps reflected one's position within the NWC as the Company had created
21573-580: Was assigned to defend Rhode Island in July 1777 . Montreal was incorporated as a city in 1832. The opening of the Lachine Canal permitted ships to bypass the unnavigable Lachine Rapids , while the construction of the Victoria Bridge established Montreal as a major railway hub. The leaders of Montreal's business community had started to build their homes in the Golden Square Mile from about 1850. By 1860, it
21726-417: Was built. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal and a few, much smaller, peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard . The city is 196 km (122 mi) east of the national capital, Ottawa , and 258 km (160 mi) southwest of the provincial capital, Quebec City . As of 2021, the city had a population of 1,762,949, and a metropolitan population of 4,291,732, making it
21879-425: Was elected to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada . He also became a significant landowner, purchasing 12,000 acres at Inverness, Quebec in 1802, which he later sold to Joseph Frobisher . During the War of 1812 , McGillivray obtained the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Corps of Canadian Voyageurs, who succeeded in capturing Detroit. In gratitude for this service, the government of Upper Canada granted him
22032-472: Was founded on the southern shore of Montreal island, with Maisonneuve as its first governor. The settlement included a chapel and a hospital, under the command of Jeanne Mance . By 1643, Ville-Marie had come under Iroquois raids. In 1652, Maisonneuve returned to France to raise 100 volunteers to bolster the colonial population. If the effort had failed, Montreal was to be abandoned and the survivors re-located downriver to Quebec City . Before these 100 arrived in
22185-411: Was harming the business in both its costs and morale of others. By 1820, the company was issuing coinage, each copper token representing the value of one beaver pelt. But the continued operations of the North West Company were in great doubt, and shareholders had no choice but to agree to a merger with their hated rival after Henry Bathurst , the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies , ordered
22338-430: Was intense competition between the rivals. When Simon McTavish died on 6 July 1804, the new head William McGillivray set out to put an end to the four years' rivalry. It had escalated to a point where the master of the North West Company post at Great Bear Lake had been shot by an XY Company employee during a quarrel. McGillivray was successful in putting together an agreement with the XY Company in 1804. It stipulated that
22491-405: Was invited to a dinner at St. Antoine, which he described at great length in his entertaining book, The Shoe and Canoe : I had the pleasure of dining with the then great Amphictyon of Montreal at his seat , on a high terrace under the mountain, looking southwards and laid out in pleasure-grounds in the English style. The view from the drawing room windows of this large and beautiful mansion
22644-407: Was named a UNESCO City of Design in 2006. In 2017, Montreal was ranked the 12th-most livable city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit in its annual Global Liveability Ranking , although its ranking slipped to 40th in the 2021 index, primarily due to stress on the healthcare system from the COVID-19 pandemic . It is regularly ranked as one of the ten best cities in the world to be
22797-421: Was released and cleared at Montreal . The strength held by the NWC had been in a steady decline since 1810 and Selkirk's actions helped tip the balance in the power struggle towards the HBC, even with its massive 100,000 Pound debt to the Bank of England . Nevertheless, "the decline of the NWC had...begun well before Selkirk's intervention and was linked to many other factors". William's brother Simon conceded in
22950-415: Was ruled as a French colony until 1760, when Montreal fell to a British offensive during the Seven Years' War . The colony then surrendered to Great Britain. Ville-Marie was the name for the settlement that appeared in all official documents until 1705, when Montreal appeared for the first time, although people referred to the "Island of Montreal" long before then. As part of the American Revolution ,
23103-432: Was surpassed in population and economic strength by Toronto in the 1970s. It remains an important centre of art, culture , literature, film and television, music, commerce, aerospace, transport , finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, education , tourism , food, fashion, video game development, and world affairs. Montreal is the location of the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization , and
23256-418: Was the largest municipality in British North America and the undisputed economic and cultural centre of Canada. In the 19th century, maintaining Montreal's drinking water became increasingly difficult with the rapid increase in population. A majority of the drinking water was still coming from the city's harbour, which was busy and heavily trafficked, leading to the deterioration of the water within. In
23409-414: Was −37.8 °C (−36 °F) on January 15, 1957, and the highest temperature was 37.6 °C (99.7 °F) on August 1, 1975, both at Dorval International Airport . Before modern weather record keeping (which dates back to 1871 for McGill), a minimum temperature almost 5 degrees lower was recorded at 7 a.m. on January 10, 1859, where it registered at −42 °C (−44 °F). Annual precipitation
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