In 1821 the North West Company had to admit defeat, and joined
with HBC. HBC then became the most powerful organization in
North America. The company controlled most of the land in modern
day Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Not only was
HBC in charge of the land, they also made and enforced many of
the laws. This continued until 1870, when HBC gave up its
control under the Deed Hudson's Bay Company territory 1821 to
1870 The fur trade was also beginning to change. In 1821, HBC
began trading furs from other counties. More importantly, new
ways of treating other furs to make them better for felt-making
made beaver less necessary. Then an animal called the nutria (or
coypu) was discovered in South America. It was just as good as
beaver fur, and much cheaper. To make things worse, everybody
fashionable had started wearing silk hats: the top hat. George
Simpson can be seen wearing a top hat in the picture above. fur
trade had a very bad history of conservation. Hunters and
trappers often moved from