The Deed of Surrender or Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory Order is an 1870

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

order in council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

that transferred ownership of

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (), or Prince Rupert's Land (), 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 (HBC), based a ...

and the North-Western Territory from the United Kingdom to the newly created Dominion of Canada. The Deed ended just over 200 years of

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

(HBC) control over Rupert's Land and began western Canadian expansion. Often confused with the Rupert's Land Act 1868, the deed is different as the act only expressed that the United Kingdom and Canada permitted the transfer, but did not settle on the details of exchange with HBC, which were outlined in the Deed of Surrender.

History

On May 2, 1670, King Charles II of England granted the HBC a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

for "the sole Trade and Commerce of all those Seas, Streights, Bays, Rivers, Lakes, Creeks, and Sounds, in whatsoever Latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the Streights commonly called Hudson's Streights... which are not now actually possessed by any of our Subjects, or by the Subjects of any other Christian Prince or State... and that the said Land be from henceforth... called ''Rupert's Land.''" In addition to the grant of commercial rights, the Charter also stated that the grant was "together with all the Lands and Territories upon the Countries, Coasts and Confines of the Seas, Bays, Lakes, Rivers, Creeks, and Sounds aforesaid, that are not already actually possessed," and including "all mines Royal." The basis of this claim and the charter was under the principle of the doctrine of discovery, whereby the lands were considered free to claim if they were not owned already by other European nations. The

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

has held that the grant also gave the Company ownership of the resources within Rupert's Land.

Expansion

Using the doctrine of discovery, the British Parliament further extended the company's domain in 1821 to the North-Western Territory as well 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 1867, with

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, the new Dominion of Canada sought to expand westward. In that same year, Canada's Parliament expressed this desire to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and soon after entered into talks with the HBC to arrange for the transfer of the territory. These talks resulted in the Deed of Surrender, which was part of an order-in-council by the United Kingdom titled "Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory - Enactment No. 3: Order of Her Majesty in Council admitting Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory into the union, dated the 23rd day of June 1870". The Deed was approved and issued on June 23, 1870, and took effect on July 15, 1870. The Province of

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, the first new province to join Confederation, was created on the same day.

References

{{Hudson's Bay Company 1870 in British law 1870 in Canadian law Annexation Hudson's Bay Company Land law Orders in Council Constitution of Canada