Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in
British North America, consisting mostly of the Hudson Bay
drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay
Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous
aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the
sovereignty of the area. The area once known as Rupert's Land is
now mainly a part of Canada, but a small portion is now in the
United States of America. It was named after Prince Rupert of
the Rhine, a nephew of Charles I and the first Governor of the
Hudson's Bay Company. In December 1821 the HBC monopoly was
extended from Rupert's Land to the Pacific coast. Areas once
belonging to Rupert's Land include all of Manitoba, most of
Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, southern Nunavut, and northern
parts of Ontario and Quebec, as well as parts of Minnesota and
North Dakota and very small parts of Montana and South Dakota.
Fur trade  In 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) was granted a
charter by King Charles II, giving i