History of Manitoba

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The history of Manitoba covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago to the present day. When European fur traders first travelled to the area present-day Manitoba, they developed trade networks with several First Nations. European fur traders in the area during the late-17th century, with the French under Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye set up several trading post forts. In 1670, Britain declared sovereignty over the watershed of Hudson's Bay, known as Rupert's Land; with the Hudson's Bay Company granted a commercial monopoly over the territory.

At the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, the French colony of New France was ceded to the British, ending any competition between European claims to the North-West. Traders from the Hudson's Bay Company expanded their operations to areas formerly occupied by French fur trading forts. In 1811, Lord Selkirk established the first agricultural settler colony in Rupert's Land, the Red River Colony, around the Red River of the North. In 1817 Saulteaux Chief Peguis and four other Chiefs of the Sauteaux and Cree Nations agreed to share land with Lord Selkirk and his settlers in the Peguis Selkirk Treaty. As a result of the Treaty of 1818 between the United Kingdom and the United States the 49th parallel north was established as the border between Rupert's Land and the United States; with areas south of the parallel being transferred to the United States.

In 1870, the Deed of Surrender was enacted, transferring Rupert's Land from the United Kingdom to Government of Canada, forming the North-West Territories. In response to the Red River Rebellion, the province of Manitoba was established around the lands of the Red River Colony. Canada started a process of Numbered Treaties with the First Nations to settle aboriginal title in the North-West and clear land for settlers. Manitoba is the first province created from the North-West Territories, and was subsequently expanded in 1881 and 1912 to its present boundaries. The economy was long based on farming, grains, cattle, and hay. The economy is now diversified due to urbanization.