North-Western Territory

This article is about an early territory of British North America. For the 18th-century U.S. territory, seeNorthwest Territory.For the extant Canadian territory, seeNorthwest Territories.For other geographical names that use the termNorthwestern,seeNorthwestern (disambiguation).

TheNorth-Western Territorywas a region ofBritish North Americaextant until 1870 and named for where it lay in relation toRupert's Land.

North-Western Territory
Territory ofBritish North America
1670–1870
The generic red British colonial ensign
Map of North-Western Territory, including more of Rupert's Land
Map of North-Western Territory, including less of Rupert's Land
• Type	Colony under de facto company rule
Historical era	Age of Discovery
• Established	1670
• Disestablished	15 July 1870
Succeeded by Canada Stickeen Territories Russian America
Today part of	the Canadian provinces / territories of: Alberta British Columbia Northwest Territories Nunavut Saskatchewan Yukon the U.S. state of: Alaska

Due to the lack of development, exploration, andcartographiclimits 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-dayBritish Columbia,thecontinental dividewithRupert's Land,Russian America(laterAlaska), and theArctic Ocean.The territory covered what is now theYukon,mainlandNorthwest Territories,northwestern mainlandNunavut,northwesternSaskatchewan,and northernAlberta.Northern modern-dayBritish Columbiais 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.However, theHudson's Bay Company(HBC) was still the de facto administrator of the region and the territory was included in the sameprocess of transferring Rupert's LandtoCanadafrom the HBC, effective on July 15, 1870.

History

See also:History of the Northwest Territories

It is obscure when exactlyGreat Britainfirst asserted sovereignty over the territory; however, after France accepted British sovereignty over theHudson Baycoast by theTreaty of Utrecht (1713),Britain was the only European power with practical access to that part of the continent. TheHudson's Bay Company,despite the royal charter assigning onlyRupert's Landto the company, had long used the region as part of its trading area.The North West Companyalso hunted and trapped on the land and this led to frequent conflicts between the companies.To ease tensions, the British 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.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 theaboriginal peoplesof the area. In accordance with theRoyal Proclamation of 1763,large-scale settlement by non-aboriginal people was prohibited until the lands were surrendered bytreaty.

Canada provinces 1870–1871, showing the succeeding divisions of the North-Western Territory. TheNorthwest Territoriesis stylized as the North-West Territories during this period.

In 1862 during theStikine Gold Rush,part of the North-Western Territory became theStickeen (Stikine) Territorywhen the Stikine became inundated by American miners and, to prevent any resulting American claims to or agitation for the region,Governor James Douglasof theVancouver IslandandBritish Columbiacolonies declared the area a British territory. The coastal area at the mouth of the Stikine was part ofRussian Americaat 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 theAlaska Boundary Settlementof 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 theTreaty 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 the60th parallel north,a measure which also brought into British Columbia its portion of thePeace River Block,which had not been part of the Stikine Territory. In 1868, shortly afterCanadian Confederation,the Hudson's Bay Company agreed to surrender its vast territories to the newdominion.However, it was not until July 15, 1870, that the transfer toCanadawas made. On that date the North-Western Territory became part of the newly createdNorthwest Territories(often stylized as the North-West Territories). In 1880, theBritish Arctic Territorieswere claimed by Canada and later formed the Northwest Territories andNunavut.In 1898 theYukon Territorywas formed when the areas west of theMackenzie Mountainswere removed from the Northwest Territories during theKlondike Gold Rush,again as with the Stickeen Territory to prevent efforts at American takeover and also to enable easier governance.

See also

• Former colonies and territories in Canada
• Territorial evolution of Canadaafter 1867
• Stikine Territory
• History of Canada
• Alaska boundary dispute

Further reading

• Lingard, Charles Cecil (1946).Territorial government in Canada: the autonomy question in the old North-West Territories.Toronto: University of Toronto Press.OCLC577721800.
• 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)."North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876–1905"(PDF).Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 28 September 2007.Retrieved30 March2023.

External links

• Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory Order