Which organizations controlled Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory before Canada took control in 1870?

Before Canada assumed control in 1870, the governance of these regions was divided between a private corporation and the British government:

• Rupert’s Land: Responsibility for this territory, which comprised the drainage basin of Hudson Bay, was vested in the Hudson’s Bay Company. The company had been granted this land by King Charles II in 1670 to facilitate trade and commerce.123
• North-Western Territory: This area, which consisted of the remaining part of the mainland, was under nominal British rule until it was ceded to Canada in 1870.1

While the North West Company was a significant rival to the Hudson’s Bay Company in the fur trade during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the two organizations eventually merged in 1821 under the name and charter of the Hudson’s Bay Company.3