Gentlemen - Write to the bourgeois |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
| The
gentlemen soon developed a unique tri-level managerial system. Occupying the top of the
ladder at the North West Co. were the Montreal Agents, who served as the
company financiers, wholesalers and suppliers. Their end of the business took them some
6000 miles from Grand Portage to London. Next on the ladder were the Wintering Partners. They were part owners in the North West Co. and lived year round in the interior. As field managers, they were responsible for supervising trading districts from the St. Lawrence River to the Pacific Ocean. While in the interior, they served as ambassadors to the Indian nations and as generals who waged wars against rival companies. They were also explorers who opened up the remotest regions of the continent to European commerce. On the bottom of the ladder were the Company Clerks. The rank of clerk was second in prestige and power only to that of the shareholders of the North West Co. Clerks served as writers, accountants, and warehousemen. They served apprenticeships for a period of 5 to 7 years. After suffering the hardships of the trade, the superior Clerks were elevated to the positions of Wintering Partners. |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
| If you would like to ask a question or hear back from a
White Oak Fur Post bourgeois, send your question or comment to us. We will do our best to
respond promptly. To use the form, you need a java enabled browser. If your browser
doesn't support java, send us a regular email
instead. When you use this form, you will get a confirmation email message back that your message was sent. If you don't get a confirmation email, it probably means the email address you entered had an error. Try sending your message again. |
|||||||||||||||||
|
The gentlemen of the North West Co.
were the second wave of peddlers to launch a trading invasion of the interior from
Montreal after the French. With the fall of New France in 1763, the French were quickly
displaced by aggressive British merchants many of whom were self-exiled Scots. They left a
troubled homeland with little in their pockets, but in spite of persecution at home,
possessed an intense ambition and ingenuity. The 