Rupert’s Land

Rupert’s Land (French: Terre de Rupert), or Prince Rupert’s Land (French: Terre du Prince Rupert), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The right to “sole trade and commerce” over Rupert’s Land was granted to Hudson’s Bay Company, based at York Factory, effectively giving that company a commercial monopoly over the area. The territory operated for 200 years from 1670 to 1870. Its namesake was Prince Rupert of the Rhine, who was a nephew of King Charles I and the first governor of HBC.

In December 1821, the HBC monopoly was extended from Rupert’s Land to the Pacific coast.

Rupert’s Land included the drainage of the Saskatchewan River.

The Rupert’s Land Act 1868, which was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, authorized the sale of Rupert’s Land to Canada with the understanding that it included the whole of the lands and territories held or claimed to be held by the Hudson’s Bay Company