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The Selkirk Settlement

The Selkirk Settlement. Earl of Selkirk Red River Valley Pemmican Proclamation Cuthbert Grant Battle of Seven Oaks. Scottish Farmers 1700s. Landowners in Scotland began to evict their tenant farmers Wanted to convert land into sheep pasture as wool made more money than renting

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The Selkirk Settlement

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  1. The Selkirk Settlement Earl of Selkirk Red River Valley Pemmican Proclamation Cuthbert Grant Battle of Seven Oaks

  2. Scottish Farmers 1700s • Landowners in Scotland began to evict their tenant farmers • Wanted to convert land into sheep pasture as wool made more money than renting • 2 choices for evicted Scottish Farmers • Become factory workers in the cities (Glasgow) • Emigrate to British North America and become farmers

  3. The 5th Earl of Selkirk: Thomas Douglas • A Liberal Democrat- fought for the rights of the poor and underprivileged • Wanted to help poor farmers in his native Scotland • Wanted to help settle them as farmers in Canada

  4. Choosing Red River Valley • The Earl of Selkirk chose Red River Valley to create his Selkirk settlement for Scottish Farmers • Red River has especially fertile soil • Farm colony would provide a food source for HBC workers

  5. HBC Land Grant • HBC gave Selkirk a land grant to start his colony • 30000 square kilometers of modern day Manitoba • HBC felt it had a legal right to give away land as it was a part of Rupert’s Land • No care for the Métis who already lived there

  6. Living Conditions of Early Colonists • Initially unable to settle in Red River area due to harsh winter • Some took 2 years to reach the colony • Had to clear the land for framing but the first harvest failed • Survived on Pemmican

  7. The Pemmican Proclamation • 1814 banned the sale of Pemmican from the Red River Valley for one year • Done out of fear that crops would fail and colonists would need all the pemmican to survive • Yet Métis made a living by selling pemmican • Métis and NWC saw the settlement and the proclamation as ploys by the HBC to drive Métis and NWC from the area

  8. The NWC Strikes Back! • NWC appointed Cuthbert Grant as leader of the Métis to drive the British Colonists away • Together the NWC and the Métis harassed the colonists of Selkirk Settlement • Burned buildings • Destroyed crops • Fired rifles at night

  9. Result of Harassment ****Métis were inspired to recognize and fight for their rights • Right to the land and settlement • Right to control their own affairs • More than 100 colonists fled the area of Red River • Some NWC employees arrested

  10. Battle of Seven Oaks- Context • New Governor of the colony Robert Semple unwilling to cooperate with NWC or Métis • burned down NWC trade post • Métis saw this as a threat of war • Métis under Grant raided several HBC York Boats • Took a large supply of Pemmican

  11. Battle of Seven Oaks June 19 1816 Robert Semple and 28 men vs Cuthbert Grant and the Métis at Fort Douglas • Grant attempted to Parley but battle erupted when a colonist fired on the Métis • Battle lasted 15 Minutes • Semple and 20 of his men killed

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