Pemmican War

Pemmican War
Part of the British colonization of the Americas
An illustration of the Battle of Seven Oaks
Date 1812–1821 Location The Canadas Result NWC and HBC merge
Belligerents
North West Company	Hudson's Bay Company Red River Colony
Commanders and leaders
William McGillivray Cuthbert Grant	Lord Selkirk Robert Semple † Miles Macdonell

The Pemmican War was a series of violent confrontations between the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the North West Company (NWC) in the Canadas from 1812 to 1821. It started after the establishment of the Red River Colony by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1812, and ended in 1821 when the NWC was merged into the HBC. The conflict was sparked by the Pemmican Proclamation issued by Governor Miles Macdonell, which forbade any person from exporting pemmican, a key foodstuff for those involved in the North American fur trade, out of the Red River Colony. This was fiercely opposed by the Métis, who were mostly affiliated with the NWC and opposed to both the colony and the HBC's dominance in the region.