Battle of Seven Oaks

The Battle of Seven Oaks (known to the Métis people as la Victoire de la Grenouillière, or the Victory of Frog Plain; also known as the Seven Oaks Massacre) 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 prohibiting the export of pemmican because the Earl of Selkirk wished to set up a colony of settlers on Red River and all provisions were to be kept for the colony. Macdonell was the governor of the Red River Colony (the area around present-day Winnipeg, Manitoba), which had been established by the majority shareholder of the Hudson's Bay Company, Thomas Douglas. The local Métis, however, did not acknowledge the authority of the Red River Settlement, and this stand was probably consistent with the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The pemmican proclamation was a blow to both the Métis and North West Company. The North West Company accused the HBC of unfairly monopolizing the fur trade with this edict. As the North West Company foundered under these and other restrictions, the HBC attempted to take over the NWC, but with no success.

In 1815 after several nervous breakdowns and conflicts, Macdonell resigned as governor of the Red River Colony. He was replaced by Robert Semple, an American businessman with no previous experience in the fur trade.

Battle

In 1816 a band of mostly Métis but including some French-Canadians, English, and Native American employees, led by Cuthbert Grant and working for the North West Company, seized a supply of Hudson's Bay Company pemmican (that was stolen from the Métis)^[1] and were traveling to a meeting with traders of the North West Company to whom they intended to sell it. They were met by Semple and a group of HBC men and settlers south of Fort Douglas along the Red River at a location known to the English as Seven Oaks, or la Grenouillière (Frog Plain) by the Métis. The North West Company sent a French-Canadian, François-Firmin Boucher, to speak to Semple's men, and he and Semple argued, and a gunfight ensued when the English tried to arrest Boucher and seize his horse.^[2] Although early reports stated that the Métis fired the first shot and began the fray, Royal Commissioner W.B. Coltman determined that "next to certainty" that one of Semple's men fired first.^[3] Semple and his men did not have a chance against the Métis, who were skilled sharpshooters and outnumbered Semple's forces by nearly 3 to 1. The Métis repulsed the attack, killing 21 men, including Governor Semple, while the Métis themselves suffered only one fatality. A witness at the scene, unknown to most named Ian Inkster, a worker for the cno, also stated that the first gunshot was fired by a Métis. This was written in his diary, just found recently.

Aftermath

The Métis were later exonerated by a Royal Commissioner appointed to investigate the incident. Grant became an important figure in the Hudson's Bay Company after its merger with the North West Company.

A plaque commemorating the battle was erected at the intersection of Main Street and Rupertsland Boulevard in the Winnipeg district of West Kildonan, the approximate centre of the battle site. The surrounding neighbourhood is named Seven Oaks after the battle.

References

Further reading

• Barkwell, Lawrence J. The Battle of Seven Oaks : a Métis perspective / Lawrence J. Barkwell. Winnipeg : Louis Riel Institute, 2010. ISBN 978-0-9809912-9-1
• Metis Resource Centre article on Battle of Seven Oaks