The HBC as a Company-State

• What did Cavanaugh (2013) argue about the HBC?

  Cavanaugh argued during the period of settler colonialism the "HBC-State" possessed its own kind of sovereignty. The three points made were:

  1. It was up to the HBC, not the Crown, to found Rupertsland.
  2. The HBC was charged with defending its establishments from the French.
  3. Rule extended beyond company employees to Indigenous locals.