Battle of Fort Albany (1693)

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The Battle of Fort Albany in 1693 was the successful recapture by English forces of the Hudson's Bay Company trading outpost at Fort Albany in the southern reaches of Hudson Bay. The fort, captured by a French expedition in 1686 and held by them in a battle the next year, was briefly defended by five [1] Frenchmen, who then abandoned the fort and its stockpile of furs to a four-ship English fleet commanded by James Knight.

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The Battle of Fort Albany was an attack by French colonial volunteers and their native allies against the Canadian Hudson's Bay Company outpost of Fort Albany in the southern reaches of Hudson Bay. About 70 Frenchmen and 30 Indians attacked the fort, which was under the command of John Fullartine. Fullartine repulsed the attack, killing eighteen men including the leaders. He lost two men to ambush on their way back to the fort shortly after the attack.

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Pedlar is a term used in Canadian history to refer to English-speaking independent fur traders from Montreal who competed with the Hudson's Bay Company in western Canada from about 1770 to 1803. After 1779 they were mostly absorbed by the North West Company. The name was first used by the Hudson's Bay Company to refer to French coureurs des bois, who travelled inland to trade with the Indians in their villages and camps. This was in contrast to the HBC policy of building posts on Hudson Bay, to where the Indians would bring furs to trade with them.

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References

  1. According to Arthur S Morton, "A History of Western Canada", page 115, there were 3 Frenchmen. They killed three English and then made their way overland to French Canada.

52°15′04″N81°30′04″W / 52.25111°N 81.50111°W / 52.25111; -81.50111