The Clever Science of Commerce

When we think of the eponymous and venerable Hudson’s Bay Company, the first thing that comes to mind might be beavers and their luxurious and valuable pelts, the daring exploits of explorers who pushed the boundaries of European geographical knowledge of North America, or perhaps the ruthless and somewhat unsavoury antics of its most famous figurehead and manager, Sir George Simpson, for good reason called the Little Emperor. What comes to mind certainly is not corporate sponsorship of the scientific study of the natural world, yet Ted Binnema shows beyond a doubt that scientific activities were very important to the HBC.

Binnema’s interest in the unlikely topic of science sponsored by Canada’s greatest monopoly grew from his interest in the particular scientific endeavours of one man, the enigmatic Peter Fidler, an English polymath of the late 18th and early 19th centuries...