This article is about an early territory of British North America. For the 18th-century U.S. territory, see Northwest Territory. For the extant Canadian territory, see Northwest Territories. For other geographical names that use the term Northwestern, see Northwestern (disambiguation).
The North-Western Territory was a region of British North America extant until 1870 and named for where it lay in relation to Rupert's Land.
Due to the lack of development, exploration, and cartographic limits of the time, the exact boundaries, ownership, and administration of the region were not precisely defined when the territory was extant. There is also not a definitive date when the British first asserted sovereignty over the territory. Maps vary in defining the boundaries of the territory; however, in modern usage, the region is generally accepted to be the region bounded by modern-day British Columbia, the continental divide with Rupert's Land, Russian America (later Alaska), and the Arctic Ocean. The territory covered what is now the Yukon, mainland Northwest Territories, northwestern mainland Nunavut, northwestern Saskatchewan, and northern Alberta. Northern modern-day British Columbia is sometimes also considered to have been part of the territory as well.
The North-Western Territory was not technically within the area of land granted to the Hudson's Bay Company in May 1670, as the region did not drain into Hudson's Bay.[1] However, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) was still the de facto administrator of the region and the territory was included in the same process of transferring Rupert's Land to Canada from the HBC, effective on July 15, 1870.
It is obscure when exactly the United Kingdom first asserted sovereignty over the territory; however, after France accepted British sovereignty over the Hudson Bay coast by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), the UK was the only European power with practical access to that part of the continent. The Hudson's Bay Company, despite the royal charter assigning only Rupert's Land to the company, had long used the region as part of its trading area. The North West Company also hunted and trapped on the land and this led to frequent conflicts between the companies.[2] To ease tensions, the UK government assigned administrative duties to the HBC, while still allowing The North West Company to hunt on the lands with the passage of "An act for regulating the fur trade, and establishing a criminal and civil jurisdiction within certain parts of North America", in 1821.[3][4] As well, large areas of Rupert's Land were not accurately mapped then to know the precise boundaries. The British made almost no effort to assert sovereignty over the aboriginal peoples of the area. In accordance with the Royal Proclamation of 1763, large-scale settlement by non-aboriginal people was prohibited until the lands were surrendered by treaty.[5]
Canada provinces 1870–1871, showing the succeeding divisions of the North-Western Territory. The Northwest Territories is stylized as the North-West Territories during this period.
In 1862 during the Stikine Gold Rush, part of the North-Western Territory became the Stickeen (Stikine) Territory when the Stikine became inundated by American miners and, to prevent any resulting American claims to or agitation for the region, Governor James Douglas of the Vancouver Island and British Columbia colonies declared the area a British territory. The coastal area at the mouth of the Stikine was part of Russian America at the time, but the British had rights of free navigation to the Stikine by treaties in 1825 and 1839 as well as a lease of coastal lands to the south of it. The boundary of the North-Western Territory in this region, and likewise the Stickeen Territories created from it, south of and northwards from the Stikine, had been set as "ten marine leagues" from the sea, but this remained undefined until the Alaska Boundary Settlement of 1903. The North-Western Territory's boundary with Russian America north of the 60th Parallel had been set at the 141st line of longitude by the Treaty of St. Petersburg in 1825. The year following the creation of the Stickeen Territories, part of the Stikine returned to the North-Western Territory when boundaries were adjusted and the Colony of British Columbia was extended to the 60th parallel north, a measure which also brought into British Columbia its portion of the Peace River Block, which had not been part of the Stikine Territory. In 1868, shortly after Canadian Confederation, the Hudson's Bay Company agreed to surrender its vast territories to the new dominion. However, it was not until July 15, 1870, that the transfer to Canada was made. On that date the North-Western Territory became part of the newly created Northwest Territories (often stylized as the North-West Territories). In 1880, the British Arctic Territories were claimed by Canada and later formed the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. In 1898 the Yukon Territory was formed when the areas west of the Mackenzie Mountains were removed from the Northwest Territories during the Klondike Gold Rush, again as with the Stickeen Territory to prevent efforts at American takeover and also to enable easier governance.[6][citation needed]
^"The Royal Charter of the Hudson's Bay Company". HBC Heritage. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
^NATIVE CLAIMS IN RUPERT'S LAND AND THE NORTH-WESTERN TERRITORY: CANADA'S CONSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATIONS(PDF). 1982.
^"Territorial Evolution, 1670–2001". Historical Atlas of Canada. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
^An act for regulating the fur trade, and establishing a criminal and civil jurisdiction within certain parts of North America. London, England. 1821.
^Hall, Anthony (2 July 2006). "Royal Proclamation of 1763". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
^Tattrie, Jon (19 December 2014). "Yukon and Confederation". The Canada Encyclopedia.
Further readingEdit
Lingard, Charles Cecil (1946). Territorial government in Canada: the autonomy question in the old North-West Territories. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. OCLC 577721800.
Thomas, Lewis H. (1978). The struggle for responsible government in the North-West Territories, 1870–97 (2nd ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN978-0-8020-2287-5.
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan (2009). (PDF). Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
External linksEdit
Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory Order
October 17, 2023
north, western, territory, this, article, about, early, territory, british, north, america, 18th, century, territory, northwest, territory, extant, canadian, territory, northwest, territories, other, geographical, names, that, term, northwestern, northwestern,. This article is about an early territory of British North America For the 18th century U S territory see Northwest Territory For the extant Canadian territory see Northwest Territories For other geographical names that use the term Northwestern see Northwestern disambiguation The North Western Territory was a region of British North America extant until 1870 and named for where it lay in relation to Rupert s Land North Western TerritoryTerritory of British North America1670 1870The generic red British colonial ensignMap of North Western Territory including more of Rupert s LandMap of North Western Territory including less of Rupert s LandHistory TypeColony under de facto company ruleHistorical eraAge of Discovery Established1670 DisestablishedJuly 15 1870Succeeded byCanadaStickeen TerritoriesRussian AmericaToday part ofthe Canadian provinces territories of AlbertaBritish ColumbiaNorthwest TerritoriesNunavutSaskatchewanYukonthe U S state of AlaskaDue to the lack of development exploration and cartographic limits of the time the exact boundaries ownership and administration of the region were not precisely defined when the territory was extant There is also not a definitive date when the British first asserted sovereignty over the territory Maps vary in defining the boundaries of the territory however in modern usage the region is generally accepted to be the region bounded by modern day British Columbia the continental divide with Rupert s Land Russian America later Alaska and the Arctic Ocean The territory covered what is now the Yukon mainland Northwest Territories northwestern mainland Nunavut northwestern Saskatchewan and northern Alberta Northern modern day British Columbia is sometimes also considered to have been part of the territory as well The North Western Territory was not technically within the area of land granted to the Hudson s Bay Company in May 1670 as the region did not drain into Hudson s Bay 1 However the Hudson s Bay Company HBC was still the de facto administrator of the region and the territory was included in the same process of transferring Rupert s Land to Canada from the HBC effective on July 15 1870 Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksHistory EditSee also History of the Northwest TerritoriesIt is obscure when exactly the United Kingdom first asserted sovereignty over the territory however after France accepted British sovereignty over the Hudson Bay coast by the Treaty of Utrecht 1713 the UK was the only European power with practical access to that part of the continent The Hudson s Bay Company despite the royal charter assigning only Rupert s Land to the company had long used the region as part of its trading area The North West Company also hunted and trapped on the land and this led to frequent conflicts between the companies 2 To ease tensions the UK government assigned administrative duties to the HBC while still allowing The North West Company to hunt on the lands with the passage of An act for regulating the fur trade and establishing a criminal and civil jurisdiction within certain parts of North America in 1821 3 4 As well large areas of Rupert s Land were not accurately mapped then to know the precise boundaries The British made almost no effort to assert sovereignty over the aboriginal peoples of the area In accordance with the Royal Proclamation of 1763 large scale settlement by non aboriginal people was prohibited until the lands were surrendered by treaty 5 nbsp Canada provinces 1870 1871 showing the succeeding divisions of the North Western Territory The Northwest Territories is stylized as the North West Territories during this period In 1862 during the Stikine Gold Rush part of the North Western Territory became the Stickeen Stikine Territory when the Stikine became inundated by American miners and to prevent any resulting American claims to or agitation for the region Governor James Douglas of the Vancouver Island and British Columbia colonies declared the area a British territory The coastal area at the mouth of the Stikine was part of Russian America at the time but the British had rights of free navigation to the Stikine by treaties in 1825 and 1839 as well as a lease of coastal lands to the south of it The boundary of the North Western Territory in this region and likewise the Stickeen Territories created from it south of and northwards from the Stikine had been set as ten marine leagues from the sea but this remained undefined until the Alaska Boundary Settlement of 1903 The North Western Territory s boundary with Russian America north of the 60th Parallel had been set at the 141st line of longitude by the Treaty of St Petersburg in 1825 The year following the creation of the Stickeen Territories part of the Stikine returned to the North Western Territory when boundaries were adjusted and the Colony of British Columbia was extended to the 60th parallel north a measure which also brought into British Columbia its portion of the Peace River Block which had not been part of the Stikine Territory In 1868 shortly after Canadian Confederation the Hudson s Bay Company agreed to surrender its vast territories to the new dominion However it was not until July 15 1870 that the transfer to Canada was made On that date the North Western Territory became part of the newly created Northwest Territories often stylized as the North West Territories In 1880 the British Arctic Territories were claimed by Canada and later formed the Northwest Territories and Nunavut In 1898 the Yukon Territory was formed when the areas west of the Mackenzie Mountains were removed from the Northwest Territories during the Klondike Gold Rush again as with the Stickeen Territory to prevent efforts at American takeover and also to enable easier governance 6 citation needed See also Edit nbsp History portal nbsp Canada portalFormer colonies and territories in Canada Territorial evolution of Canada after 1867 Stikine Territory History of Canada Alaska boundary disputeReferences Edit The Royal Charter of the Hudson s Bay Company HBC Heritage Archived from the original on 7 October 2015 Retrieved 5 October 2015 NATIVE CLAIMS IN RUPERT S LAND AND THE NORTH WESTERN TERRITORY CANADA S CONSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATIONS PDF 1982 Territorial Evolution 1670 2001 Historical Atlas of Canada Retrieved 15 February 2020 An act for regulating the fur trade and establishing a criminal and civil jurisdiction within certain parts of North America London England 1821 Hall Anthony 2 July 2006 Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Canadian Encyclopedia Tattrie Jon 19 December 2014 Yukon and Confederation The Canada Encyclopedia Further reading EditLingard Charles Cecil 1946 Territorial government in Canada the autonomy question in the old North West Territories Toronto University of Toronto Press OCLC 577721800 Thomas Lewis H 1978 The struggle for responsible government in the North West Territories 1870 97 2nd ed Toronto University of Toronto Press ISBN 978 0 8020 2287 5 Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan 2009 North West Territories Council and Legislative Assembly 1876 1905 PDF Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan Archived from the original PDF on 28 September 2007 Retrieved 30 March 2023 External links EditRupert s Land and North Western Territory Order Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title North Western Territory amp oldid 1175288773, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
