Rupert's Land

Rupert's Land was a territory consisting of most of modern Canada. It was originally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company, and was named after Prince Rupert, the first governor of the company.

The charter granted to the Company by King Charles II gave it a monopoly over the watershed consisting of all rivers and streams flowing into Hudson Bay, an area of 1.5 million square miles, over one-third the area of modern-day Canada.

In 1821, the North West Company of Montreal and the Hudson's Bay Company merged, with a combined territory that was further extended by a license to the watershed of the Arctic Ocean on the north and the Pacific Ocean on the west.

In 1870 the trade monopoly was abolished and trade in the region was opened to any entrepreneur. The company ceded Rupert's Land to the Dominion of Canada as the Northwest Territories.