A royal charter from King Charles II incorporated "The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay" on 2 May 1670.[6] The charter granted the company a monopoly over the region drained by all rivers and streams flowing into Hudson Bay in northern parts of present-day Canada.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 0 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

And the HBC did nothing to induce the state to act in such a way? The King just decided, hey, I like these HBC folks, I'm going to give them an entire nation, because I'm swell.

[–] poVoq@slrpnk.net 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

They had some prominent backers as the article explains, but regardless of that the fact remains that HBC was created by a state with the clear goal to establish a another client state through it (hence the monopoly rights). Britain's rivalries with France probably also played a role as France was the dominant colonial power in that area at the time.