George Simpson (1786–1860)

Sir George Simpson
The Emperor of the Plains
Born	c. 1786 Lochbroom, Scotland
Died	1860-09-07 Lachine, Lower Canada
Occupation	Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company
Father	George Simpson

Sir George Simpson (c. 1786 – 7 September 1860) was the overseas governor of the Hudson's Bay Company and one of the dominant figures in the North American fur trade during the nineteenth century. He directed the company's vast territorial operations for nearly four decades, making Fort William a key waypoint in his first continental journey, and presided over the HBC's expansion from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Early life

Simpson was born, probably in 1786 or 1787, in the parish of Lochbroom in the Highlands of Scotland, the illegitimate son of George Simpson. He was raised by his aunt Mary Simpson after his parents separated. Around 1800 he moved to London, where his uncle Geddes Mackenzie Simpson employed him in the sugar brokerage firm Graham and Simpson. His entry into the fur trade came through Andrew Colvile (born Andrew Wedderburn), who arranged Simpson's connection to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1814.

Rise to HBC leadership

In 1820 Simpson was appointed governor-in-chief *locum tenens* of the HBC and sailed for North America on 4 March of that year. He arrived at Fort William on 28 May 1820, taking command of the Athabasca campaign following the capture of John Robertson by the rival North West Company. Recognizing that the contest would be decided by commercial endurance rather than confrontation, he pursued a strategy of systematic economy and sustained effort.

Following the merger of the HBC and the North West Company in March 1821, Simpson was appointed governor of the Northern Department — the more lucrative territory extending from Rainy Lake westward to the Pacific. In February 1826 he was elevated to governor of both the Northern and Southern Departments when William Williams was recalled to England.

Pacific expansion

In August 1824 Simpson undertook his first transcontinental journey, accompanied by James McMillan. Travelling by north canoe with eight men and an Indian guide, he reached Fort George (present-day Astoria, Oregon) on 8 November — 84 days from York Factory and 20 days faster than the previous record. Working with Chief Factor John McLoughlin, he developed a strategy to counter Russian and American competition on the Pacific coast. Fort Langley, established in 1827 by McMillan, was among the posts that resulted from this planning.

Simpson relocated the company's administrative headquarters from York Factory to Lachine, Lower Canada, placing himself close to Montreal and to England. This decision reflected his conviction that the company's commercial and political interests were best managed from a metropolitan centre.

Marriage and family

Simpson had maintained relationships with mixed-blood women in the country, fathering several illegitimate children — including George Stewart, John McKenzie, and James Keith — and making financial provision for all of them. He married his eighteen-year-old cousin Frances Ramsay Simpson on 24 February 1830 at the parish of Bromley St Leonard in London. The couple resided at Red River from 1830 to 1833; Frances's health suffered in the interior and she remained in England from 1833 to 1838. They had five children together, four of whom survived infancy, including their son John Henry Pelly Simpson.

World journey and knighthood

In March 1841 Simpson departed London on a journey around the world, accompanied by his secretary Edward Martin Hopkins. He crossed North America in 47 days, reorganized Pacific operations with Chief Factor James Douglas aboard the HBC steamship Beaver, and then traversed Siberia before returning to London on 21 October 1842 — a round trip of nineteen months and nineteen days.

During the 1841–1842 journey Simpson also intervened in Hawaiian affairs, providing King Kamehameha III with a £10,000 letter of credit for a diplomatic mission seeking international recognition of Hawaiian independence. He subsequently accompanied Hawaiian delegates to Brussels and Paris in 1843, securing British, French, and Belgian recognition.

Simpson was knighted in 1841 in recognition of his support for Arctic exploration by Thomas Simpson and Peter Warren Dease, as well as his broader advisory role on foreign affairs.

In 1838, he and HBC governor John Henry Pelly had travelled to St Petersburg to negotiate with Baron von Wrangel, resulting in an 1839 contract leasing the Alaskan panhandle to the HBC in exchange for provisions to Sitka. During the Crimean War of 1854–55, Simpson's counsel led Britain and Russia to exclude the northwest coast from hostilities.

Montreal business interests

From 1834 Simpson maintained his permanent residence at Lachine and became a prominent figure in Montreal's Anglo-Scottish business community. He served as a director of the Bank of British North America and, in the final months of his life, transferred his allegiance to the Bank of Montreal. He was a founding shareholder and director of the Montreal and Lachine Rail-road (chartered 1846), a director of the Montreal and New York Railroad (1850), and president of the North Shore Railway Company (elected 1857). He also held shares in the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company.

Simpson worked through agents to secure government contracts and railway charters, using gifts and financial incentives to influence politicians including Francis Hincks and John Ross in 1854.

Later years

The 1849 acquittal of free trader Pierre-Guillaume Sayer in Rupert's Land effectively ended the HBC's monopoly on the fur trade. Simpson responded by reducing the company's engagement at Red River and having Eden Colvile appointed governor of Rupert's Land in 1849.

In 1857 Simpson testified before a British parliamentary select committee investigating the HBC's territorial claims; his arguments against the agricultural potential of Rupert's Land proved unpersuasive. The committee recommended annexing the Red River and Saskatchewan districts to Canada, a transfer accomplished after his death.

Death

In February 1860 Simpson suffered a severe apoplectic attack. He attempted a final interior journey, departing Lachine on 14 May 1860, but turned back at St Paul, Minnesota, recognizing that he could not continue. On 29 August 1860 he hosted the Prince of Wales at his Île Dorval estate, staging an exhibition featuring Iroquois in traditional dress. Nine days later he suffered another stroke and died quietly on 7 September 1860 at Lachine. He was buried in Mount Royal Cemetery beside his wife Frances, who had died in 1853.

Simpson died leaving an estate valued at over £100,000 sterling. His son John Henry Pelly Simpson received the bulk of the estate; each of his three legitimate daughters received £15,000 conditional on the executors' consent to their marriages. His Scottish-born illegitimate daughter Maria Mactavish was the only illegitimate child named in his will, receiving a £100 annuity.

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography