Eden Colvile (12 February 1819 – 2 April 1893) was a businessman primarily notable as the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, a huge organisation set up for the

North American fur trade The North American fur trade is the (typically) historical Fur trade, commercial trade of furs and other goods in North America, beginning in the eastern provinces of French Canada and the northeastern Thirteen Colonies, American colonies (soon- ...

but also instrumental in the early

history of Canada The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. The lands encompassing present-day Canada have been inhabited for millennia by Indigenous peoples, with d ...

Family background

Colvile was born at Langley Farm, part of the Langley Park Estate, near

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England, son of Andrew Colvile and Mary Louisa Eden. His father was a merchant and member of board of the Hudson's Bay Company. His mother was fifth daughter of

William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland, Privy Council of Ireland, PC (Ire), Royal Society, FRS (3 April 174528 May 1814) was a British diplomat and politician who sat in the British House of Commons, House of Commons from 1774 to 1793. Early life A m ...

, and thus connected to an influential family of politicians and diplomats. Eden Colville was one of four brothers and 12 sisters: #Eleanor Colvile (1808–1824) # James William Colvile (1810–1880) was a lawyer, civil servant and then judge in India, and a judge on the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

, the

court of last resort In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

for the British colonies. #John Colvile (1811–1830) #Isabella Colvile (1812–1896) married a clergyman in rural England and was the mother of Francis Marindin, a key figure in early football. #George Colvile (1813–1814) #Louisa Colvile (1815–1836) #Emily Colvile (1817–1889) #Eden Colvile (1819–1893) was appointed Governor 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 also governor of the HBC. #Jean Colville (1820–1895) #Georgiana Mary Colvile (1822–1889) married

Frederic Rogers, 1st Baron Blachford Frederic Rogers, 1st Baron Blachford (31 January 1811 – 21 November 1889) was a British civil servant, styled as Sir Frederick Rogers, 8th Baronet from 1851 to 1871. Biography He was born on 31 January 1811, in London. He taught at Eton Colle ...

, a

mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

. #Charlotte Colvile (1823–) #Isalen Mary Colvile (1825–) #Caroline Colvile (1827–1846) # Margaret Agnes Colvile (1829–) in 1858 married the writer and publisher Charles Kegan Paul. #Alice Douglas Colvile (1830–1845) #Katharine Colvile (July 1834 – November 1834) The son of his sister Margaret was named after him;

Eden Paul Maurice Eden Paul (27 September 1865, in Sturminster Marshall – 1 December 1944) was a British socialist activist, physician, writer and translator.'Paul, Maurice Eden' in ''Who Was Who'' Early life Paul was the younger son of the publisher ...

became a socialist physician and translator.

Education and early career

Colvile was educated at Eton and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. After graduating from Cambridge in 1841, he travelled to

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

(Quebec) to manage the

seigneury A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal system, feudal title in Ancien Régime, France before the French Revolution, Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owne ...

of Beauharnois for the North American Colonial Association of Ireland, of which his father was deputy governor. He served one year in the Legislative Assembly in 1844.

Canada

His relationship with the

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 ...

, North America's oldest company (established by English

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 ...

in 1670), began in 1848 when he accompanied George Simpson to

, travelling as far as the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assiniboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay ...

. After his return to England, he was soon appointed Governor of Rupert's Land, relieving Simpson of his obligations inland. After seeing the troubles which rocked the Red River Colony in the late 1840s with the Guilleume Sayer trial, the Foss-Pelly slander trial and the difficulties between the Presbyterian Scots and the Anglicans, the Company needed someone like Colvile who would wield a firm hand in the Settlement. However, he spent his first winter on the Pacific coast, sorting out the affairs of the troubled Pugets Sound Agricultural Company. In August 1850, he arrived in the Red River Colony with his wife, Anne Maxwell. They took up residence in the "Big House" at Lower Fort Garry. He quickly took charge of the affairs of the colony. He took over as president of the Council of Assiniboia, removed Adam Thom from his position of power, and arranged a compromise between the Presbyterians and Anglicans. Solving the difficulties which arose from the Foss-Pelly slander trial took more delicate maneuvering, but he succeeded by removing the major players in the trial from the Settlement. After accomplishing the tasks he was sent to fix, he and his wife returned to England in 1852.

Later life

He took on many of his father's directorships which included the chairmanship of the board of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. He joined the London committee of the HBC in 1854. After a reorganization of the HBC in the mid-1860s where he was only one of two to remain, he became deputy governor in 1871, governor in 1880 and retired in 1889. He died in Lustleigh,''Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec''

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, on Easter Sunday 1893.

References

Notes Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Colvile, Eden 1819 births 1893 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Canadian fur traders Colville, Eden Governors of the Hudson's Bay Company Immigrants to the Province of Canada Colville, Eden People educated at Eton College Colville, Eden People from Rupert's Land