Hawaiians as Contracted Workers of HBC-1823

Map of HBC's Territory 1830

Eventually, in 1821 the Hudson Bay Company acquired The Northwest Company and all of it's Kanaka laborers. New employees were being signed on as workers for the company. In 1825, George Simpson, the head of the North American division of HBC raised the Kanaka's wages to those equal of the Canadians. He considered them a highly valuable asset to the company's success.

In 1828, Simpson attributed the success of the new Fort Langley on the Frasier River mostly to a group, including 3 Kanakas who had been sent 4 years prior to scout out the best for it and begin to construct it. The records from Fort Langley all support the idea that Kanakas were both physically and mentally capable workers. According to John McLoughlin, who was responsible for hiring many of the Hawaiian workers, they tended to be harder workers than much of the French Canadian and Native American individuals they employed, and they seemed to be resistant to many illnesses.

The Kanakas in the NW helped to survey new land, clear it, and build new posts and forts. They helped to navigate journeys from Hawaii to the Northwest. They had great skill in canoe making as well as maneuvering ships through the harsh waters near the Columbia. Without them, the British exploration into the NW would have been severely delayed.

HBC set up an office in Oahu in order to help keep trade efficient from the islands to the mainland. Timber and salmon were some of the main exports from the NW forts to Hawaii, while sweet potatos, hogs and coconuts were the primary imports.

Sources: Leavings Paradise: Indigenous Hawaiians in the Pacific NW

Kanaka Timeline *This is a great supplement to my timeline