Duncan McGillivray
| Duncan McGillivray | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1772 Inverness-shire, Scotland |
| Died | 1808-04-09 Montreal, Lower Canada |
| Occupation | Fur trader, author |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| Siblings | |
Duncan McGillivray (c. early 1770s – 9 April 1808) was a Scottish-born fur trader and North West Company partner who contributed to the exploration of western Canada and the documentation of the fur trade in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.[1]
Early life
McGillivray was born probably in the early 1770s in Inverness-shire, Scotland, the son of Donald McGillivray and Anne McTavish. His mother was a sister of Simon McTavish, the dominant figure in the North West Company, making Duncan nephew to one of the most powerful men in the Canadian fur trade. Following his elder brother William McGillivray, Duncan left Scotland for Montreal in the early 1790s and entered the trade under NWC auspices.[1]
Career
McGillivray began his NWC career as a clerk stationed at Fort George on the North Saskatchewan River, near present-day Lindbergh, Alberta. Between 1794 and 1795 he kept a detailed journal there, recording the fur trade's daily operations, relations with Indigenous peoples, and the lives of the voyageurs. He served under NWC partner Angus Shaw and competed directly with Hudson's Bay Company officer William Tomison. McGillivray noted that plains nations would not trap beaver except to obtain rum, a tension that shaped trading strategy throughout his inland postings. By 1796–97, relations with the HBC officer George Sutherland had thawed to a degree of cautious cooperation.[1]
In 1799 McGillivray was elevated to partnership in McTavish, Frobisher and Company, the Montreal-based firm that directed the NWC, and was admitted to the Beaver Club. In his inland work during these years he collaborated with David Thompson near present-day High River, Alberta, in attempts to find a practicable crossing of the Rocky Mountains westward. Rheumatism curtailed his personal participation in the mountain crossings, though he remained a strong advocate for western expansion.[1]
From 1802 onward McGillivray based himself at the NWC's Montreal headquarters and traveled each summer to Kaministiquia (present-day Thunder Bay) for the company's annual rendezvous. These gatherings at the NWC's inland depot brought together partners and winterers to settle accounts and set strategy; McGillivray's regular attendance made him a central figure in the company's continental operations. During the period 1803 to 1806 he engaged in negotiations with the HBC aimed at securing NWC access to Hudson Bay shipping routes and HBC shore facilities, an alliance that ultimately was not concluded.[1]
McGillivray actively promoted the western explorations of both David Thompson and Simon Fraser, encouraging their efforts to extend the NWC's reach beyond the mountains to the Pacific.[1]
Writings
In the final months of his life McGillivray authored a memorandum titled "Some account of the trade carried on by the North West Company," a document advocating British government support for trans-Rocky Mountain commercial ventures. In it he also argued against liquor prohibition campaigns championed by William Wilberforce and Lord Selkirk, contending that a fur trade monopoly would be more effective than prohibition as a mechanism for controlling the liquor trade with Indigenous peoples.[1]
His 1794–95 Fort George journal, preserved in manuscript at the Royal Commonwealth Society in London, was edited and published posthumously by A. S. Morton as The journal of Duncan M'Gillivray of the North West Company at Fort George on the Saskatchewan, 1794–5 (Toronto, 1929).[2]
Personal life
McGillivray had a relationship with an Indigenous woman with whom he had at least one child: Magdalene, born in 1801 and baptized on 7 October 1804 in Montreal. A William McGillivray described as "half breed of the Cree Nation" may also have been his son, though this is uncertain.[1]
Death
McGillivray died on 9 April 1808 in Montreal, Lower Canada. He was buried in the family vault of his uncle Simon McTavish.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Sylvia Van Kirk and Jennifer S. H. Brown."Sylvia Van Kirk and Jennifer S. H. Brown, "McGillivray, Duncan," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5."[website].Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5 (University of Toronto/Université Laval).1983.University of Toronto/Université Laval.Link.(Rights: copyrighted | Access: open)
- ↑ A. S. Morton (ed.)."The journal of Duncan M'Gillivray of the North West Company at Fort George on the Saskatchewan, 1794–5."[book].1929.Toronto.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)