Below is a brief timeline covering the history of the province of Alberta and its history pre-1905. __TOC__

Pre-history DateEventReferencec. 8000 BCIndigenous hunters killing bison at Head-Smashed-in-Buffalo-Jump, archaeology indicates. Continues in use until 1800s.

Pre-Confederation

DateEventReferenceMay 2, 1670King Charles II of England grants the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) a royal charter for "the sole Trade and Commerce of all those Seas, Streights, Bays, Rivers, Lakes, Creeks, and Sounds, in whatsoever Latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the Streights commonly called Hudson's Streights... which are not now actually possessed by any of our Subjects, or by the Subjects of any other Christian Prince or State... and that the said Land be from henceforth... called Rupert's Land". Rupert's Land included part of today's Alberta. (The Milk river valley in the extreme south of the province and the north half of the province were not part of the Hudsons Bay watershed, draining into the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic Ocean respectively.)"Text of HBC's Royal Charter". HBC Heritage. Retrieved Feb 14, 2020.1715Cree leader Swan ("Captain Swan"), visiting York Fort, reports the existence of "gum or pitch" in the region now known as the Athabasca oil sands. His report, noted in the papers of the fort, is the first known mention of the oil sands.1730Horses first appear in Alberta, coming in from present-day U.S. Horse stealing joins taking of a scalp and counting coup as way to gain honor. The use of horses in hunting, alongside the adoption of firearms about the same time, shifts the age-old balance between human hunters/predators and prey animals such as buffalo.MacGregor, Blankets and Beads, p. 37-38September 11, 1754?Anthony Henday, believed to be the first European to explore the area, enters present day Alberta. Although the route of his journey is uncertain, his trip was significant as he ruled out the possibility of the existence of a great Inland sea west of Winnipeg that would serve as a Northwest Passage to the Orient.Belyea, A Year Inland, p. 40 He also reported the presence of friendly self-governing horse-riding Natives and huge herds of bison, and opened the way for others. 1778Peter Pond and Alexander Mackenzie establish the first fur trading post in Alberta, Pond House near Lake Athabasca. They are working for a group that forms the North West Company a short time later. Pond submits a map of the area to the United States Congress and Lt. Governor of Quebec in 1785. Mackenzie records the presence of "bituminous" substances along the Athabasca River. Hein, Francis J. (2000). "Historical Overview of the Fort McMurray Area and Oil Sands Industry in Northeast Alberta" (PDF). Earth Sciences Report 2000–05. Alberta Geological Survey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-17July 3, 1789Alexander Mackenzie embarks from Fort Chipewyan on his 1789 expedition to the Arctic Ocean .1793 JulyAlexander Mackenzie embarks from Fort Chipewyan, crosses present-day Alberta and BC, and achieves the first transcontinental journey across Canada (and of North America) by arriving at tidewater at Dean Channel.Map of Mackenzie's track... 1793 https://www.loc.gov/item/2002625188/Canadian Encyclopedia "Explorations of Alexander Mackenzie" https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/alexander-mackenzie-explorer-featureFebruary 12, 1793Peter Fidler reports coal deposits on the banks of Kneehills Creek, near the Red Deer River, north of present-day Drumheller. Fidler is the first known to mention coal deposits on the Prairies.1795HBC establishes Fort Edmonton as a fur trading post at the present site of Fort Saskatchewan, at mouth of Sturgeon River on the North Saskatchewan River, as part of the Saskatchewan River fur trade. (Prior to 1812, it moves to what is now Rossdale and to a location near Smoky Lake.)1799HBC establishes Rocky Mountain House as a trading post; the North West Company establishes Acton House nearby. David Thompson uses Acton House as base for explorations of the Rocky Mountains. It is also used as transshipment point for supplies to new NWC forts in BC.Brink and Bown, Forgotten Highways, p. 24-25December 20, 1803Mississippi drainage lands lying within present day Alberta are transferred from France to the United States when the Louisiana Purchase, which was signed on April 30, 1803, comes into effect.1810Yellowhead Pass is explored by fur-trading companies, assisted by local Natives. 1813 NWC Jasper House is established on Brule Lake. The route becomes well used to access furs in interior BC.Esther Fraser, Canadian Rockies, p. 27-29 The lowest of the passes through the Canadian Rockies, it is used as the route of the CNR and the Yellowhead Highway today.1811Peigan imposes a blockade on the North Saskatchewan preventing NWCo canoe brigade from using Howse Pass to deliver to NWCo forts in BC. David Thompson discovers another way through mountains - Athabasca Pass. Athabasca Pass becomes well used by the NWCo and the HBC's York Factory Express.October 10, 1812 HBC factor Jame Bird marks out the layout of Fort Edmonton IV. This marks the start of recorded permanent human occupancy on the site of present-day City of Edmonton.Edmonton House Journals, Correspondence and Reports, 1806-1821 (published by the Historical Society of Alberta), p. 1821821HBC and North-West Company amalgamate. Many forts in Alberta are put out of operation."Early Trading Networks". Canadian Geographic magazine1823HBC establishes Fort Assiniboine as a trans-shipment point on the Athabasca River, part of the Mackenzie River watershed flowing to the Arctic. Starting in 1824–25, it serves as the north end of a 130-kilometre (80 mi) horse track from Fort Edmonton. (see 1898)1830Flood of North Saskatchewan River causes Fort Edmonton to be rebuilt up the hill near the present site of the Legislative Building. This fort contains the head office of the entire Saskatchewan district, as well as gateway to the Columbia district across the Rockies and the Arctic district to the North.October 18, 1840Methodist missionary Robert Rundle arrives at Fort Edmonton as the first permanent cleric to the area.1862Methodist missionary George McDougall and his missionary family settle on the north bank of North Saskatchewan at a place they call Victoria Settlement. HBC fur trading post Fort Victoria is built there in 1864. (Later the settlement of Pakan develops there.)December 4/5, 1865Cree, Stoney and Ojibway fighters attack a Blackfoot tipi camp at Battle River. About a hundred Blackfoot dead or wounded, two children taken captive; the Cree side suffered about 60 dead or wounded.1866George McDougall, missionary at Victoria Settlement, organizes theft of the Manitou Stone, or Manitou Asinîy ('Creator's Stone') from its ancient site near Hardisty. (see 2022)

Post-Confederation, in North-West Territories