Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
Encyclopedia
Kirkcudbrightshire
The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright or Kirkcudbrightshire was a county of south-western Scotland. It was also known as East Galloway, forming the larger Galloway region with Wigtownshire....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He was noteworthy as a Scottish philanthropist who sponsored immigrant settlements in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
at the Red River Colony
Red River Colony
The Red River Colony was a colonization project set up by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1811 on of land granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company under what is referred to as the Selkirk Concession. The colony along the Red River of the North was never very successful...
.
Early background
Douglas was the seventh son of Dunbar Douglas, 4th Earl of SelkirkDunbar Douglas, 4th Earl of Selkirk
Dunbar Douglas, 4th Earl of Selkirk was a Scottish peer. Born Dunbar Hamilton, he was the grandson of Lord Basil Hamilton, younger brother to John Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Selkirk....
, and Helen Hamilton. His early education was at the Palgrave Academy
Palgrave Academy
Palgrave Academy was an early dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by English Dissenters. It was run from 1774-1785 in Palgrave, Suffolk by the married couple Anna Laetitia Barbauld and her husband Rochemont Barbauld, a minister...
, Suffolk. As he had not expected to inherit the family estate, he went to the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
to study to become a lawyer. While there, he noticed poor Scottish crofters who were being displaced by their landlords
Highland Clearances
The Highland Clearances were forced displacements of the population of the Scottish Highlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. They led to mass emigration to the sea coast, the Scottish Lowlands, and the North American colonies...
. Seeing their plight, he investigated ways he could help them find new land in the then British colonies. After his father's death in 1799, Douglas, the last surviving son (two brothers died in infancy, two died of tuberculosis and two died of yellow fever), became the 5th Earl of Selkirk. He established the Red River Colony in 1811 and brought dozens of families from the highlands of Scotland to transform the land at Red River into a farming colony. He helped poor people.
Involvement in Canada
When Thomas unexpectedly inherited the estate, he used his money and political connections to purchase land and settle poor Scottish farmers in Belfast, Prince Edward IslandBelfast, Prince Edward Island
Belfast is a Canadian village located in southeastern Queens County, Prince Edward Island in the townships of Lot 57 and Lot 58.Situated on the island's south shore along the Northumberland Strait, Belfast is predominantly an agricultural area.-History:...
in 1803 and Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
in 1804. He traveled extensively in North America, and his approach and work gained him some fame; in 1807 he was named Lord-Lieutenant of Kirkcudbright District in Scotland, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
of London.
In order to continue his work re-settling Scottish farmers, Selkirk asked the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government for a land grant in the Red River Valley
Red River Valley
The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North. It is significant in the geography of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba for its relatively fertile lands and the population centers of Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Winnipeg...
, a part of Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting 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...
. The government refused, as the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
(HBC) had been granted a fur trading monopoly on that land. However Selkirk was very determined, and he and Sir Alexander Mackenzie bought enough shares in HBC to let them gain control of the land. This position of power, along with his marriage connections (his wife Jean was the sister of Andrew Wedderburn
Andrew Colville
Andrew Wedderburn Colvile was a London governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. His son, Eden Colvile was appointed Governor of Rupert's Land.-External links:*...
, a member of the HBC governing committee) allowed him to acquire a land grant called Assiniboia
Assiniboia
Assiniboia refers to a number of different locations and administrative jurisdictions in Canada. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation.- District of Assiniboia:...
to serve as an agricultural settlement for the company.
As part owner of HBC, Selkirk also wanted to stop the North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
(NWC) from competing with the HBC for furs in the region. By placing the Red River Colony with the trade routes used by the NWC coureurs des bois, Selkirk could cut off the easy flow of furs. However, the local Métis people who already inhabited the area had long-standing ties with the NWC, and refused to accept Selkirk's control over the area.
The first colonization attempt started in 1812, consisting of 128 men led by the new governor, Miles Macdonell. Arriving late in the season they had just arrived and built homes when the winter cut off any hope of planting, and the colony became reliant on the support of the Métis. Even with a full growing season the next year, the colony never thrived. Because of a shortage of food in 1814, Macdonell issued the Pemmican Proclamation, prohibiting the export of food from the entire area. The Métis, who made a living selling Pemmican to the NWC traders, responded by arresting Macdonell and burning the settlement
Robert Semple was appointed as governor of the Red River Colony. By 1816, the violence intensified between the Métis and the newcomers, which resulted in the Battle of Seven Oaks
Battle of Seven Oaks (1816)
The Battle of Seven Oaks took place on June 19, 1816, during the long dispute between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company, rival fur-trading companies in western Canada.-Background:Miles Macdonell had issued the Pemmican Proclamation...
, causing the deaths of 25 of Lord Selkirk's men, including the newly appointed governor. NWC partners were accused of having aided the Métis attackers.
Selkirk and his men responded to the Battle of Seven Oaks by seizing Fort William, a trading post that belonged to the North West Company. In the aftermath, Selkirk was ordered to appear in court in Montreal and was charged with four separate offenses, all of which related to the alleged unlawful occupation of Fort William. Selkirk reportedly spent most of his acquired fortune defending himself in court, shortly before his death.
Legacy
Selkirk's colonizing ambitions have been memorialized in the names of the City of SelkirkSelkirk, Manitoba
Selkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located about 22 km northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg on the Red River, near . As of the 2006 census, Selkirk had a population of 9,515....
and the Village of East Selkirk
East Selkirk, Manitoba
East Selkirk is a community in the Rural Municipality of St. Clements in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is directly across the Red River from Selkirk, Manitoba....
, as well as the Winnipeg neighborhood of Point Douglas
Point Douglas
Point Douglas is a part of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, surrounded by a bend in the Red River. It is the namesake of a larger city ward, represented by a member of Winnipeg City Council...
(where Fort Douglas
Fort Douglas (Canada)
Fort Douglas was a fort of the Hudson's Bay Company that was built by Scottish and Irish settlers in 1812 in what is today Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was in the immediate vicinity of the North West Company establishment, Fort Gibraltar...
once stood) and Winnipeg's Selkirk Avenue. The City of Selkirk is served by the Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School, which is administered by the Lord Selkirk School Division.
The Métis peoples cite Lord Selkirk's intrusion as the period in time their identity as a people came into existence. The Métis existed prior to the confrontations with Lord Selkirk's men but their armed resistance to foreign encroachment became a rallying point for their shared identity. A flag and a national anthem were born during this period in time. A Manitoba Historical Plaque was erected in Winnipeg, Manitoba by the province to commemorate Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk's role in Manitoba's heritage.
Selkirk and John Paul Jones
At the age of seven, Thomas, Master of Selkirk was almost kidnapped by John Paul JonesJohn Paul Jones
John Paul Jones was a Scottish sailor and the United States' first well-known naval fighter in the American Revolutionary War. Although he made enemies among America's political elites, his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to...
. Peter Newman tells the story as follows.
In 1778, John Paul Jones, in the sloop Ranger
USS Ranger (1777)
The first USS Ranger was a sloop-of-war in the Continental Navy, and received the second salute to an American fighting vessel by a foreign power The first USS Ranger was a sloop-of-war in the Continental Navy, and received the second salute to an American fighting vessel by a foreign power The...
was cruising between Scotland and Ireland looking for prizes. Benjamin Franklin had suggested that he might capture a British nobleman to exchange for American prisoners. Having been born near the Selkirk estates, Jones selected the elder Lord Selkirk.
At the last moment, Jones decided not to go himself, but to assign the duty to two lieutenants and a boatload of sailors. As the Americans approached the Selkirk mansion, a governess saw them coming and removed young Thomas to safety. The Americans knocked on the front door and were greeted by the butler. Lady Selkirk came from the breakfast room to see what the fuss was about. She invited the American officers into the drawing room, told the butler to make tea and to find some whiskey for the sailors who were waiting outside. When they explained that they has come to kidnap her husband, Lady Selkirk replied that unfortunately Lord Selkirk was not at home. When Lieutenant Wallingford suggested that instead they might take the young gentleman they saw on the way to the house, Lady Selkirk replied that they would have to kill her first. After more discussion Lady Selkirk suggested that, so that their mission would not be a complete failure, they might steal the family silver. The officers allowed as how that might be the best solution, so Lady Selkirk ordered the butler to provide the American gentlemen with what they needed. He filled a sack half full of coal, filled the top half with silverware and presented it to the officers. After drinking a toast to Lady Selkirk, they returned to their ship and presented their captain with his sack full of coal and silverware.
Jones wrote Lady Selkirk a flowery letter of apology, proposing himself to buy back the booty from the Navy and return it to the Selkirks. Lord Selkirk wrote back that he could not possibly countenance the return of his silver without the consent of the Continental Congress. The objects, which became the subject of protracted legal negotiations, were returned seven years later.
Works
- Observations on the present state of the Highlands of Scotland, with a view of the causes and probable consequences of emigration (London, 1805)
Further reading
- Bumsted, J. M.Lord Selkirk: A Life (University of Manitoba Press, 2008), 517pp, scholarly biography
External links
- Detailed biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, by George BryceGeorge BryceGeorge Bryce was a Presbyterian minister and a prolific author, writing on many topics including history of the Red River colony in what is now Manitoba, Canada....
1909 - Peerage of Thomas Douglas