Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 20

The History of Fort Langley, 1827-96

by Mary K. Cullen

Abstract

The theme of this narrative is the changing role of Fort Langley in the Hudson's Bay Company's trade on the Pacific Slope and the political implications of this development. The dates 1827-96 span the life of the Company at Langley and outline the purview of the study. In 1827 Fort Langley was built as a principal unit of a monopoly trading concern whose northward expansion of its own commerce was directly related to the consolidation of British political interests on the Pacific Slope. The economic diversity which Fort Langley demonstrated through the years helped guarantee Canada's place on the Pacific and kept a viable business operation at Langley long after the Hudson's Bay Company was spent as an international force. Competition from larger centres ultimately forced the Company to abandon the Langley post in 1896.

Submitted for publication 1972, by Mary K. Cullen, National Historic Parks and Sites Branch, Ottawa.