Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk

Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk

Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk (born June 20, 1771 on St. Mary's Isle , Kirkcudbrightshire , Scotland , † April 8, 1820 in Pau , France ) was a Scottish philanthropist . He became known for his commitment to the settlement of landless Scottish farmers in the Canadian Red River Colony .

Life

youth

Thomas Douglas was the seventh son of Helen Hamilton and Dunbar Douglas, 4th Earl of Selkirk . At 14 he went to Edinburgh University and studied humanities and law.

After completing his studies, he traveled to the Scottish Highlands in 1792 and was deeply moved by the suffering of the farmers who had become landless through the Highland Clearances . Further trips through Europe followed until 1794, but the impressions from the Highlands did not let him go. He then dealt with British politics in Scotland and began to learn Gaelic .

With six older brothers, four of whom reached adulthood, Thomas Douglas never expected to inherit from his father. Between 1794 and 1797, however, all four brothers died, two of yellow fever in the Caribbean and two of tuberculosis . When his father died in 1799, at the age of 28 he inherited not only the title of Earl of Selkirk , but also a fortune.

First settler projects in Canada

Even before his unexpected inheritance, Selkirk had developed plans to emigrate landless Scottish farmers, who he wanted to help in their suffering and at the same time strengthen the British colonies. With the fortune now at his disposal, he began to put his plans into practice.

In the winter of 1801/1802 he proposed to the British Colonial Office to settle insurgents of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 in the colonies on the Red River . He had previously toured Ireland and considered the leaders of the rebellion to be suitable leaders of new colonial settlements. However, it was repeatedly turned away because the Irish were generally considered unreliable and there were many general concerns about emigration on a large scale.

In 1803 Selkirk was able to leave for Prince Edward Island with Scottish settlers . He had happily housed his settlers by September and then toured Ontario , New England, and Québec . He carefully studied the region's trade and agriculture. In particular, the fur trading companies recently aroused his interest, as he recognized the enormous potential of their land ownership (together 2/3 of today's area of ​​Canada, 20 times that of the FRG), in particular for his settlement projects, in addition to the great influence they had.

In 1804, Selkirk began work on his second project in Baldoon on the Detroit River in southern Ontario and entrusted Alexander McDonell with the management of the construction work as well as the new settlement itself. However, this was to develop far less successfully than Selkirk's first project, which in part did attributed to the swampy soils of the area.

Back in Europe

Selkirk himself traveled back to Europe shortly after Baldoon's handover and published his views and findings on highland farmers and emigration in the book Observations on the present state of the Highlands of Scotland, with a view of the causes and probable consequences of emigration . The book was written convincingly and made him famous. His very successful settlement on Prince Edward Island supported his arguments, the emerging problems in Baldoon went largely unnoticed.

Selkirk was subsequently to become ambassador to Washington , and then received an offer for a new settlement of over 1200 km² (300,000 acre ) of land in New Brunswick . But in the end, there was no agreement on either matter. In 1806 he was elected as the Scottish Representative Peer to the House of Lords , on November 24, 1807 he married Jean Wedderburn in Inveresk , Scotland. The continuing problems in Baldoon seemed to preclude new projects in Canada, and Selkirk was so preoccupied with British politics that he seemed to have completely forgotten all thoughts of emigrant projects.

The Red River Colony

Fort Douglas in a drawing by Lord Selkirk

Selkirk's land "Assiniboia", 1817

With the Napoleonic Wars , however, the free markets of Europe had become so restricted towards the end of the first decade of the 19th century that the stock exchange prices of the fur trading companies collapsed due to a lack of sales market. Selkirk drew hope for his first, never realized project on the Red River, which was in the area of ​​the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Together with his brother-in-law Andrew Wedderburn and his cousin John Halkett, he bought shares in HBC in 1808, and even if it was not enough to take over, they did gain a hearing and influence within society. Selkirk became a member of the Board of Directors.

He brought up the idea of ​​a colony on the Red River, which would simplify the food supply for the fur hunters and at the same time be offered to them as a senior citizen. The competition from the North West Company (NWC) realized too late that this colony would jeopardize its existence as it would cut it off from its concession areas in the northwest as well as from its supplier of provisions, the Métis , which settled on the Red River . In 1811, the HBC Selkirk left for the symbolic amount of 10 shillings an area of ​​300,000 km² (116,000 square miles ) in exchange for the promise to promote agricultural settlement there. The Red River Colony was born.

In 1812 Fort Douglas was built at the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red River, in the immediate vicinity of Fort Gibraltar of the NWC and in the middle of the settlement area of ​​the Métis. Miles Macdonell was named by the HBC as the first governor of Assiniboia , the first administrative territory within the Red River Colony. In the spring of 1813 he imposed a ban on the export of supplies across the entire colony, thereby also prohibiting the Métis from supplying the NWC.

The NWC took this as a declaration of war and burned down together with the Métis Fort Douglas and surrounding farm buildings, the pemmican war had started. Numerous settlers moved, bribed or threatened by the NWC, in the direction of what is now Ontario. Those who stayed behind were most recently forcibly expelled. Lord Selkirk's request to the Colonial Ministry for military intervention was not granted. Most recently, the NWC captured Macdonell and transferred him to Québec. In 1815 Fort Douglas was rebuilt and some Scottish emigrants were resettled.

After further diplomatic efforts were unsuccessful, Selkirk hired 90 soldiers at his own expense in the spring of 1816, while the NWC also sent reinforcements. The NWC came before Selkirk and destroyed Fort Douglas again. Twenty settlers and Assiniboia's new governor, Semple, were killed by NWC and Métis in the Battle of Seven Oaks . Some settlers were held captive at the NWC Fort William trading post . Selkirk then stormed Fort William and in turn captured some members of the NWC. He sent most of the prisoners to Montreal, took over the Fort Williams stocks in a dubious deal with the remaining NWC member Daniel McKenzie, and decided to keep the fort occupied for the winter. With that he had finally exceeded his authority, lost his credibility as a neutral representative of peaceful settlement of the Red River and with it the support of the representatives of the crown in Ontario.

He twice refused to be detained by Crown officials at Fort Williams that fall. When forces reached Fort William in the spring of the NWC, he had already left it for the Red River. It was followed by soldiers of the Crown under William Bacheler Coltman, who should restore order on the Red River. HBC and NWC were found equally guilty in a trade war, the surrender of the Red River Colony to Selkirk not recognized. The settlement has been called a tactical move in the trade war as the land was considered unsuitable for agriculture. Selkirk was released on bail of £ 6,000 and required to appear on trial in Montreal. Participants of the Métis in the Battle of Seven Oaks were able to flee or evade court after paying small deposits in Red River. At the instigation of the NWC, the trial against Selkirk was moved to York (now Toronto ) in Ontario.

Return to Europe and death

Selkirk fell ill but faced the York court. The trial was last adjourned as " sine die " (without an appointment), i. H. set. Selkirk traveled back to the UK to call the Department of Colonial Affairs. He continued to administer his settlements in Prince Edward Island and Red River and achieved a reassessment of the NWC's action to their detriment by the Colonial Department. However, his health did not improve permanently. His family followed him last, and they moved to Pau in the south of France to restore Selkirk to health in a better climate. After some recovery he died on April 8, 1820.

Memberships

In 1798 he was elected a member ( Fellow ) of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . In 1808 he was admitted to the Royal Society .

Web links

• Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).

Individual evidence

1. ^ Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed October 22, 2019 . 
2. ^ Entry on Douglas: Thomas (1771–1820); 5th Earl of Selkirk in the Royal Society Archives , London

predecessor	Office	successor
Dunbar Douglas	Earl of Selkirk 1799-1820	Dunbar Douglas