Remember that time you tried to be a leader in the face of much greater opponents. Maybe you were coordinating a project, or possibly leading a group of chimpanzees against another circus act. Regardless the odd situation, we have all been in that position of peril against an enemy we hate, fear, and most likely envy. During the industrial revolution, and leading up to Canadian Confederation, the Hudson’s Bay Company was that enemy. In fact, the HBC was the alpha male of the era.
Today however ill-informed people are everywhere. Many would probably be puzzled on the mere concept of placing the HBC name anywhere near words or images of Canadian pride, and rightly so. Because today we recognize the Hudson’s Bay Company as the dreary department store with a nauseating voice framing their ad campaigns. Besides Bonny Brooks, there are many other problems that segregate the contemporary HBC, from it previous grandeur. Consequently many of the achievements they pioneered during the industrial revolution have been lost to all but specialized historians, or tour guide slaves. And although many of these were invented in order to greedily profit from a native populous, it is still a shame that this once powerful empire has succumb to stagnation. So my question is to what the HBC contributed to forming industry and technology, because at one time this corporation was running the show and inventing greater ways of manufacturing and innovating.
At the forefront of this (as you all know) was the fur trade. For a set of pelts scraped off the backs of deceased animals you would receive fantastic HBC products such as overly strong perfume, clothing made in China, and other forms of HBC swag decked out in those trademark stripes. Jokes aside, the items up for trade were much more practical, however, not any greater in the quality or value than their modern merchandise. While you could get fabulous point blankets, thunder sticks, and firewater, there had to be room for profit.
Notably the HBC also dealt ceinture fléchées, which was a sort of colourful arrow designed scarf. These became popular after the North West Company Voyageurs began wearing them as a practical fashion statement. When trapped in the wild all you had to do was find a settlement or native group, and trade your valuable hand sewn scarf for supplies or passage to civilization. Voyageurs and their Courier du bois counterparts were unfortunately hardy men and superb navigators, resulting in native civilizations becoming rabid for their own epic scarves. The HBC of course was ready to meet their demands, but at a much lower price point. You see, these scarves took months to make by hand, and the wealthy white men of the HBC didn’t have time for that kind of production. Instead they industrialised special looms to create these scarves in mere days. Of course they weren’t as pretty as the genuine versions, but Metis didn’t care, and the HBC was ahead of the slim competition once again.
This became a trend for the HBC as they consolidated with the NWC and crushed unlicensed Coureurs du bois, thanks to their loyal clientele. In fact the idea of the Hudson’s Bay Company as a national department store wasn’t a long shot from their current operations. They had their voyageurs advertising the merchandise, an established chain of trading posts, and a vast line of efficiently made products.
Unfortunately this once great empire sits far and away from its name related modern brethren. While the original HBC innovated, the modern HBC decided to coast on terribly un-renovated storefronts. While some will say competition drives innovation, I will say that fear does too. The Hudson’s Bay Company was afraid to lose it all, and in doing so they made a catalogue of products and inventions that I am going to investigate during these coming weeks. It’s weird to think that in this market, the new HBC wouldn’t be more competitive with the likes of Nordstroms on the horizon. Maybe their definition of being competitive and innovative is Bonny Brooks’ bragging on the radio. For now R.I.P. HBC and hello to your vibrant legacy (before 1881). 
