Lord Selkirk: a Life

545 Pages·2014·5.575 MB·English

by  Bumsted, J. M

Lord SeLkirk: A Life
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L o r d S e L k i r k
A L i f e

J.M. BUMSted
University of Manitoba Press
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© 2008 J.M. Bumsted
University of Manitoba Press
Winnipeg Manitoba R3T 2M5 Canada
www.umanitoba.ca/uofmpress
Printed in Canada.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means or stored in a database and retrieval system without
the prior written permission of University of Manitoba Press, or, in the case of
photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from ACCESS COPYRIGHT
(Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, 6 Adelaide Street East, Suite 900, Toronto,
Ontario M5C 1H6 www.accesscopyright.ca)
Interior design: Relish Design
Cover design: Doowah Design
Maps: Weldon Hiebert
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Bumsted, J. M., 1938-
Lord Selkirk : a life / J.M. Bumsted.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-88755-184-0

1. Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, Earl of, 1771-1820. 2. Red River Settlement.
3. Fur trade--Canada--History--19th century. 4. Enlightenment--Scotland.
5. Frontier and pioneer life--Manitoba. 6. Hudson’s Bay Company--History.
7. Métis--History--19th century. 8. Manitoba--Emigration and
History--19th century. 9. Great Britain--Emigration and immigration--
immigration--History--19th century. 10. Hudson’s Bay Company--
Biography. 11. Manitoba--Biography. I. Title.

FC3212.41.S44B84 2008 971.27’01092 C2008-902254-8
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

The University of Manitoba Press gratefully acknowledges the financial support for its
publication program provided by the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing
Industry Development Program (BPIDP), the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba
Arts Council, and the Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport.
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to my youngest grandchildren
oliver and Joenna
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contentS
preface ....................................................................................................xi
chapter one
Dunbar ......................................................................................................3
chapter two
Apprenticing ............................................................................................21
chapter three
Paris, The Continent, And The Shadow Of Daer .....................................39
chapter four
Finding A Role In Life .............................................................................57
chapter five
Towards Prince Edward Island ................................................................75
chapter six
Selkirk And The Island ............................................................................93
chapter seven
Touring North America .........................................................................109
chapter eight
Observations On The Present State Of The Highlands .........................131
chapter nine
Joining The Establishment .....................................................................151
chapter ten
Settling Down ........................................................................................167
chapter eleven
Taking Over The Hudson’s Bay Company ............................................181
chapter twelve
Starting Up Red River ...........................................................................203
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chapter thirteen
The Highland Regiment And The Kildonan Immigrants .......................219
chapter fourteen
The Pemmican Proclamation .................................................................235
chapter fifteen
The Settlement Dispersed ......................................................................255
chapter sixteen
Trying To Gain Control .........................................................................277
chapter seventeen
Seven Oaks And Fort William, 1816 .....................................................303
chapter eighteen
More Overstepping Of Legality ............................................................317
chapter ninteen
On The Defensive, 1817 ........................................................................331
chapter twenty
Campaigning At Law, January To June 1818 ........................................359
chapter twenty-one
Further Campaigning At Law, June To November 1818 .......................383
chapter twenty-two
Returning To Europe, 1818–1820 .........................................................399
chapter twenty-three
To The Death .........................................................................................421
chapter twenty-four
Coda ......................................................................................................431
notes .....................................................................................................439
bibliography .......................................................................................483
index .....................................................................................................501
illustrations follow page 254
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“the best-laid schemes o’ mice an ‘men
Gang aft aglay,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
for promis’d joy!”
—Robert Burns, “to a Mouse, on turning
Her Up in Her nest With the Plough,” 1785
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