Sir George Simpson ( – 7 September 1860) was a Scottish explorer businessman. He was the colonial governor of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) during the period of its greatest power. From 1820 to 1860, he was in practice, if not in law, the British viceroy for the whole of Rupert's Land, an enormous territory of corresponding to nearly forty per cent of modern-day Canada.
His efficient administration of the west was a precondition for the confederation of western and eastern Canada, which later created the Dominion of Canada. He was noted for his grasp of administrative detail and his physical stamina in traveling through the wilderness. Excepting voyageurs and their Siberian equivalents, few men have spent as much time travelling in the wilderness.
Simpson was also the first person known to have "circumnavigated" the world by land, and became the most powerful man of the North American fur trade during his lifetime.
Born out of wedlock to a solicitor in Dingwall, Scotland, Simpson was raised primarily by an aunt, and received a basic education at the local parish school. As a teenager, he was sent to apprentice as a clerk at an uncle's sugar brokerage in London, where he learned the intricacies of international trade, and demonstrated his clerical and managerial proficiency. He first came to the attention of the Hudson's Bay Company's management when his uncle's firm merged with that of Andrew Colvile-Wedderburn, a member of the Hudson Bay Company's board of directors.
In 1820, despite his lack of experience in the North American fur trade, Simpson was appointed as the company's North American governor-in-chief . He was chosen as an outsider to replace the existing North American governor, William Williams, should he be arrested by the North West Company (NWC), with whom the HBC was in conflict. Simpson emigrated to North America that year, where he was placed in charge of the Athabasca Department. In 1821, upon the amalgamation of the HBC and NWC, he was appointed as the governor of the newly established Northern Department of the HBC, whose territory extended from Fort Albany to the Pacific coast. In 1826 he assumed authority over the Southern Department, making him the sole governor of the entirety of the Hudson's Bay Company's territory in North America.
His governorship was defined by the reorganization of the fur trade, a new focus on the Pacific coast, and his frequent cross-continental trips during which he would visit the forts within his domain. He made two trips to the Columbia River, in 1824 and 1827, and in 1841 made an overland journey around the world. He held the role of governor until his death in 1860.
Early life George Simpson was born in Dingwall, Ross-Shire, Scotland. He was the illegitimate son of George Simpson Sr., a solicitor from the nearby village of Avoch, and was related by marriage to Sir Alexander Mackenzie. Simpson Jr.'s great-grandfather was the 2nd Scottish Lord of Gruinard, George Mackenzie, grandson of George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth of Clan Mackenzie,History of the Mackenzies, with genealogies of the principal families of the name, Alexander Mackenzie, Inverness, 1894 and descendant of Lord Duncan Forbes of Culloden. Having originally been sent to Dingwall for his legal apprenticeship, Simpson Sr. eventually served as a solicitor for the Sheriff's Court. In 1786, when his father Thomas Simpson died, Simpson Sr. was joined in Dingwall by his mother Isobel, and his younger siblings Jean, Mary, Geddes and Duncan.
Simpson was primarily raised by his aunt Mary, who served as his foster mother particularly after his father left to work in the nearby town of Ullapool. He received about eight or nine years of education at the parish school, where he was taught reading, writing, arithmetic and geography. He studied alongside Æmelius Simpson, the illegitimate son of the schoolmaster Alexander Simpson, who would later also work for the Hudson's Bay Company. Towards the end of his education, he tutored Duncan Finlayson, who would remain a close friend. In 1807, the schoolmaster Alexander Simpson married George's aunt Mary, and a year later she gave birth to Thomas Simpson, George's first cousin, who he would later employ for the HBC.
London years (1808–1820)
Unlike much of his family, George did not continue his education beyond the parochial level. Rather than proceeding to a university education, he instead entered into the workforce. In about 1808, with the help of "assiduous entreaty" on behalf of his aunt Mary, George was given an apprenticeship in his uncle Geddes Mackenzie Simpson's sugar brokerage in London, which imported sugar from the West Indies. He spent a dozen years at his uncle's brokerage, during which time gained experience with business administration and the intricacies of international trade. During his time as a clerk, his work ethic and aptitude for the sugar trade won him the "favourable attention of the partners in his firm." The exact nature of his work as a clerk is unknown, though as his biographer John S. Galbraith argued, he had clearly "risen to a position in the firm much more responsible than that of a mere book keeper" based on the attention he received by the partners.
In 1812, his uncle's firm merged with that of Andrew Colvile-Wedderburn, a fellow Scottish businessman who had inherited a sugar plantation in Jamaica. This partnership connected Simpson to the Hudson's Bay Company, as Wedderburn was on the company's Board of Governors alongside his brother-in-law, Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk.
Career
This was at the time of conflict between the HBC and the North West Company. Governor William Williams, who had been sent out in 1818, had arrested or captured several North West Company men. The Nor'Westers replied with a Quebec warrant for Williams' arrest. The London governors were unhappy with Williams' clumsy management and both companies were under British pressure to settle their differences. The in Simpson's title meant that if Williams had been arrested, Simpson would take his place. In 1820, he joined the prominent Beaver Club.
He went by ship to New York, by boat and cart to Montreal and left by the usual route for York Factory on Hudson Bay. He met Williams at Rock Depot on the Hayes River. Since Williams had not been arrested he was William's subordinate and was sent west to Fort Wedderburn on Lake Athabaska. There he spent the winter learning about, and reorganizing, the fur trade. On his return journey in 1821, he learned that the two companies had merged. This put an end to a ruinous and sometimes violent competition and converted the HBC monopoly into an informal government for western Canada. He escorted that year's furs to Rock Depot and returned upriver to Norway House for the first meeting of the merged companies. There he learned that he had been made governor of the Northern—that is, western—Department and Williams had been made his equal in the Southern Department south of Hudson Bay. In December 1821, the HBC monopoly was extended to the Pacific coast.
After the meeting he returned downstream to take up his duties at York Factory. In December 1821, he set out on snowshoes for Cumberland House and then the Red River Colony. By July 1822, he was back at York Factory for the second meeting of the Northern Council, the first that he chaired. After the meeting he went by water to Lac Île-à-la-Crosse and then by dog sled to Fort Chipewyan and Fort Resolution on the Tıdeè Lake. He then went south to Fort Dunvegan on the Peace River and then Fort Edmonton and after the thaw, back to York Factory.
Second trip to the Columbia (1824–25) In August 1824, he left York Factory for the Pacific, taking the unorthodox Nelson–Burntwood River route, and ascended the Churchill River and Athabasca Rivers to Jasper House at the east side of Athabasca Pass. He crossed the pass on horseback to Boat Encampment and then down the Columbia River, reaching its mouth on November 8 at Fort George, previously named Fort Astoria. This 80-day journey was 20 days faster than the previous record. He moved the headquarters of the Columbia District to Fort Vancouver, guessing that the south side of the river might fall to the Americans.
He left in March 1825, and crossed the snow-covered Athabasca Pass. From Fort Assiniboine he went on horseback south to Fort Edmonton on the North Saskatchewan River. He had ordered this new road laid out on his outward voyage. It was a major saving over the old Methye Portage route. He went on horseback from Fort Carlton to the Red River settlements, and then by boat to York Factory. During this trip his servant, Tom Taylor, became separated on a hunting trip. After searching for half a day, Simpson left Taylor to his fate. Taylor reached the Swan River post after 14 days in the wilderness with no proper equipment.
Third trip to the Columbia (1828–29) In 1825, he returned to Britain and learned that William Williams had retired, thereby adding the eastern area to his domain. Returning to Montreal, he went to the Red River settlements, Rock Depot for the annual meeting, the posts on James Bay to inspect his new domain, and back to Montreal. In May 1828, he started his second trip to the Pacific along with his dog, mistress and personal piper, going first to York Factory and then using the Peace River route. This trip remains the longest North American canoe journey ever made in one season.
Marriage and knighthood (1830–41) He returned via Athabasca Pass to Moose Factory and Montreal and immediately went south to New York and took ship to Liverpool. After a brief courtship he married his first cousin, Frances Ramsay Simpson, in February 1830, and returned with his new wife to New York, Montreal, Michipicoten, Ontario, for the annual meeting, York Factory, and Red River. Here his wife gave birth to his first legitimate child, who soon died. In 1832, John Jacob Astor approached Gov. Simpson for talks to restrain liquor from the fur trade, and the two met in New York, but a binding agreement never ensued.
In May 1833, he suffered a mild stroke. He and his wife returned to Scotland, where she remained for the next five years and gave birth to a baby girl. In the spring of 1834, he returned to Canada and attended the Southern Council at Moose Factory in May and the Northern Council at York Factory in June, inspected posts on the Saint Lawrence, and arrived back in England in October 1835.
In the summer of 1838, he went to Saint Petersburg to negotiate with Baron Ferdinand von Wrangel of the Russian-American Company. The Russians recognized the HBC posts and the HBC agreed to supply the Russian posts. He then went to Montreal, Red River, Moose Factory, the Saint Lawrence posts, and down the Hudson to New York, where he took ship to England. Simpson received the title of Knight Bachelor from Queen Victoria, giving him the non-hereditary title of Sir on 25 January 1841.
Circumnavigation (1841–42)
He left London in March 1841, and went by canoe to Fort Garry (now the site of Winnipeg). On this part of the trip he was accompanied by James Alexander, 3rd Earl of Caledon, who left to hunt on the prairie and later published a journal. Travelling on horseback to Fort Edmonton, Simpson caught up with James Sinclair's wagon train of over 100 settlers heading for the Oregon Country, a sign of what would soon destroy his fur trade empire. Instead of taking the usual route, he went to what is now Banff, Alberta, made the first recorded passage of the pass named after him in August, and went down the Kootenay River to Fort Vancouver.