Sir George Simpson (1787 – 7 September 1860) was a
Scots-QuebecerThe Scot-Quebecers , were pioneer settlers who emigrated from their native Scotland to Quebec, migration that began when the province was a colony of British North America.-Overview:...
and employee of the
Hudson's Bay CompanyThe Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world...
(HBC). His title was Governor-in-Chief of
Rupert's LandRupert's Land, also sometimes called "Prince Rupert's Land", was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin, that was owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870. The area once known as Rupert's Land is now mainly a part of Canada, but a...
and administrator over the Northwestern Territory and Columbia Department in
British North AmericaBritish North America consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783....
(now
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) from 1821 to 1860.
Early years
George Simpson was born in
DingwallDingwall is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,026. It formerly functioned as an east-coast port, but now lies inland...
,
Ross-shireRoss-shire, or the County of Ross, is a former county of Scotland. The county bordered on Sutherland, Cromartyshire , Inverness-shire and an exclave of Nairnshire. It included most of Ross as well as Lewis in the Outer Hebrides...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, the only son of George Simpson, Sr., a writer in Dingwall. He was raised by his father, assisted by Sir George's grandmother Isobel Mackenzie and her two daughters Jean and Mary, in
DingwallDingwall is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,026. It formerly functioned as an east-coast port, but now lies inland...
in
Ross-shireRoss-shire, or the County of Ross, is a former county of Scotland. The county bordered on Sutherland, Cromartyshire , Inverness-shire and an exclave of Nairnshire. It included most of Ross as well as Lewis in the Outer Hebrides...
. He was most likely born in early 1792, as he was a schoolfellow of his "relative," Aemilius Simpson, also born in 1792.
Career
At age sixteen, in 1808, he went to
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and was trained in
businessA business is a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods and/or services to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, most being privately owned and formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners and grow the business itself...
at his uncle Geddes Mackenzie Simpson's
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many...
company, Graham and Simpson. His skills interested partner
Andrew ColvilleAndrew Wedderburn Colvile was a London governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. His son, Eden Colvile was appointed Governor of Rupert's Land.-External links:*...
(also known as Andrew Wedderburn Colvile), who was also a high ranking HBC executive. Colvile encouraged Simpson to join the London office of the HBC, and by 1821, Simpson became the Governor of the Northern Department of the Hudson's Bay Company. Simpson oversaw the merging of the HBC and the
North West CompanyThe North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
in 1821, and sought to streamline the company by closing competing
fur tradeThe fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur.-Russian fur trade:Before the colonization of the Americas, Russia was a major supplier of fur-pelts to Western Europe and parts of Asia. Fur was a major Russian export as trade developed in the early Middle...
posts. He was instrumental in establishing
Fort VancouverFort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
on the
Columbia RiverThe Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, the headquarters of HBC's
Columbia DistrictThe Columbia District was a fur trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of British North America in the 19th century. It was explored by the North West Company between 1793 and 1811, and established as an operating fur district around 1810...
. Not willing to remain in London to oversee operations, he maintained homes during his tenure in
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
and the Red River Settlement. He was an avid traveler and visited fur trade posts across
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
. A stern taskmaster, he pushed his traveling crewmen to extremes in order to travel as quickly as possible from post to post.
In recognition of his tireless work with the HBC, Simpson was knighted by
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
in 1841. The Simpson River in British Columbia and Simpson Pass in what is now the
Sunshine VillageSunshine Village is a major North American ski resort, located within the protected wilderness of Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.Famous for Canada's best snow, light dry Rocky Mountain "Champagne Powder"...
area of
Banff National ParkBanff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains. The park, located 110-180 kilometres west of Calgary in the province of Alberta, encompasses 6,641 square kilometres of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers and ice fields, dense...
were named in his honour as he was one of the first Europeans to travel through the region on his around the world journey in 1841.
He set off from
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
on May 3, 1841, and was traveling fifty miles a day on horseback and up to one hundred miles a day by canoe. Along the way, in the Red Deer Hills of present day
AlbertaAlberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south....
, Simpson caught up with the
SinclairJames Sinclair was a trader and explorer with the Hudson's Bay Company. He was the son of Hudson's Bay Company factor William Sinclair, from Eastaquoy in Harray, and his Cree wife, Nahovway. James was born in Rupert's Land and educated in Scotland at Edinburgh University...
expedition of settlers he had ordered to the
Columbia DistrictThe Columbia District was a fur trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of British North America in the 19th century. It was explored by the North West Company between 1793 and 1811, and established as an operating fur district around 1810...
. Simpson told Sinclair that instructions had been left at
Fort EdmontonFort Edmonton was the name of a series of trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1795 to 1891, all of which were located in central Alberta, Canada...
as to how he was to cross the Rockies. Simpson wrote in his diary, "Each family had two or three carts, together with bands of horses, cattle and dogs. As they marched in single file their cavalcade extended above a mile long. The emigrants were all healthy and happy; living with the greatest abundance and enjoying the journey with great relish."
From
Fort VancouverFort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
, his journey across the Pacific led him to the
Kingdom of HawaiiThe Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
. In 1842, Simpson served as an envoy of the
Kingdom of HawaiiThe Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
to Europe, to gain international recognition of the Kingdom. Along with Timoteo Haalilio and
William RichardsWilliam Henry Matthews 'Dicky' Richards was a South African cricketer who played in one Test in 1889....
were commissioned as joint Ministers Plenipotentiary on April 8, 1842. Simpson, shortly thereafter, left for
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, via
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and
SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
, while Mr. Ha'alilio and Mr. Richards departed for the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, via
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, on July 8, 1842. The Hawaiian delegation, while in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, secured the assurance of U.S. President
John TylerJohn Tyler, Jr. was the tenth President of the United States and the first to succeed to the office following the death of a predecessor....
on December 19, 1842 of its recognition of Hawaiian independence, and then proceeded to meet Simpson in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
and secure formal recognition by
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
and
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
. On March 17, 1843, King Louis-Philippe of France recognizes Hawaiian independence at the urging of
King Leopold I of BelgiumLeopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
, and on April 1, 1843, Lord Aberdeen on behalf of Her Britannic Majesty Queen Victoria, assured the Hawaiian delegation that:
- "Her Majesty's Government was willing and had determined to recognize the independence of the Sandwich Islands under their present sovereign."
Personal life
Simpson married Geddes Mackenzie Simpson's daughter. Frances Ramsay Simpson, in 1830, by whom he had five children: George Geddes 1832, Frances Webster 1833, Augusta D'Este 1841; Margaret Mackenzie 1843, and John Henry Pelly 1850 (named after his friend,
Sir John Henry PellySir John Henry Pelly, 1st Baronet, DL was an English businessman. During most of his career, he was an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company , serving as Governor of the HBC for three decades. He held other noteworthy offices, including Governor of the Bank of England...
). By other unions he had seven more children: Maria Louisa 1815, Isabella 1817, Maria 1822, James Keith 1823, George Stewart 1827, and John Mackenzie 1829. Descendants of these children have distinguished themselves in Canada in the fields of the fur trade, agriculture, medicine, politics, and the military.
Simpson died in Montreal in 1860 and is buried at
Mount Royal CemeteryOpened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a 165-acre terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont, Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
.