William Mactavish

William Mactavish or Mctavish ( born March 29, 1815 in Edinburgh, † July 23, 1870 in Liverpool) was a Scottish fur trader and representative of the Hudson 's Bay Company. He was governor of the territory Rupert's land and Assiniboia, before handing over to Canada and the establishment of the province of Manitoba in 1870.

Biography

Mactavish came in 1833 in the service of the Hudson 's Bay Company ( HBC) and was first in the trading post north of Lake Winnipeg Norway House operates. In 1834 he was transferred to the more northerly York Factory on Hudson Bay, where he was trained as an accountant and storekeeper. There followed several promotions until he finally 1857 Chief Trader (chief factor) was appointed by Fort Garry in the Red River colony. There he married Sarah McDermot, a Catholic Métis.

1858 appointed the HBC Mactavish governor of Assiniboia, a task that he took under protest, because in his opinion, politics and business should not be united in one hand. In 1860, he had to take over the country after the death of George Simpson, the office of the Governor of Rupert's. 1861/62, he was also president of the court in the Red River Colony and in Rupert's Land, because the HBC could not find a suitable successor for the late incumbent over prolonged periods.

His largely passive attitude favored 1869, the Red River Rebellion. Cited by Louis Riel provisional government of Métis, he was largely grant, even against the agitation of the Canadian Party by John Christian Schultz, he appeared a little determination. Main reason for this may have been his severe tuberculosis disease. In May 1870, he left the Red River colony to return to his homeland. He met on July 21 in Liverpool, where he died two days later.