The Material Culture of Hudson’s Bay Company Servants at Edmonton House in the Early 19th Century

Abstract

Consumer markets were an important aspect of the westward expansion of European trading companies in North America in the early 19th century. This thesis is concerned with one particular consumer market, that of the servants of the Hudson’s Bay Company at Edmonton House. The servants at Edmonton House travelled across trade networks bringing with them a great variety of material culture. While living and working on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, the servants of the HBC bought many goods which originated from around the world. These goods ranged from consumables: such as sugar, tea, rum and tobacco, to tools, such as axes, guns and knives. They also purchased fashion items such as beads, ribbons, and textiles. In the early 19th century the patterns in which these goods were consumed were recorded in a series of account books. It is the focus of this thesis to examine how patterns of consumption changed after the merger of the Northwest Company and Hudson’s Bay company in 1821. Throughout the early 19th century a consumer society persistent within the compound of Edmonton House. Still broader changes in the context of the fur trade influenced the development of the consumption on the northwest plains. Before 1821, a large appetite for consumer goods existed at Edmonton House. That being said, following the merger the total amount of goods purchased decreased slightly. Later, by 1833 the number of goods servants purchased from the company store increased dramatically. As the relationship between servants and the HBC was reorganised after the monopolisation of the trade in 1821, so too was the relationship between servants and consumer goods. Although material consumption was important to the HBC and servants it is generally overshadowed by other topics of the fur trade. By examining the goods which were available to servants, and the quantities in which they were purchased, a greater understanding of the fur trade can be achieved. It is the position of this thesis that material culture was at the centre of relationships, such as the relationship between servants and their environment as well as the relationship between servants and the Hudson’s Bay Company.