1. William Mactavish was a Scottish Hudson's Bay Company clerk, accountant, and chief trader.
33 Facts About William Mactavish
1. 2.
William Mactavish was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 29 March 1815, to Dugald and Letitia William Mactavish.
3.
William Mactavish had 5 brothers and 3 sisters, and has been described as having a certain energy and large personality that is associated with a large family.
4.
One of William Mactavish's uncle regarded him as being "well-educated," however he wondered how Scottish education would fare for William Mactavish's well-being in the vastly socially different climate of Canada.
5.
William Mactavish was intent on his bachelorhood, until he met his wife, Mary Sarah McDermot, often referred to as just Sarah.
6.
Exact details about Sarah and William Mactavish's life remain vague, due to the lack of information in Sarah's history.
7.
Finally, William Mactavish seldom talked about his marriage; in fact, he neglected to discuss the news of his wedding in any prompt manner.
8.
In May 1870, William Mactavish left Canada in hopes of traveling home to Scotland.
9.
William Mactavish began his career in Canada in 1833 in the HBC as a clerk at the Norway House trading post, but was shortly transferred to the York Factory trading post.
10.
William Mactavish continued his job as a clerk for 11 years, after which he was promoted and performed as an accountant from 1845 until 1846.
11.
William Mactavish's uncle, John George Mactavish, was a chief trader in the HBC, and was the reason that he was able to get his original job as a clerk.
12.
John George had William Mactavish transferred to York Factory in order to work under James Hargrave, who was the Chief Trader of York Factory at the time.
13.
Hargrave was determined to have William be his successor as chief trader of York Factory, so Hargrave and John George often discussed of Mactavish with Governor George Simpson, in hopes of persuading him in favour of William.
14.
William Mactavish had a pessimism for his future in the company and his advancement, because he did not like politics, however John George, Hargrave, and Simpson all had high hopes for him.
15.
William Mactavish believed that the HBC had dim prospects, because eventually the government would end the monopoly that had been created out of the fur trade, and therefore he saw little gain in the advancing in the company.
16.
On 9 December 1858, William Mactavish was appointed the role of Governor of Assiniboia.
17.
William Mactavish believed that the political realm of his title was not a position that he would excel in.
18.
William Mactavish felt that the position as a "stoker in hell" would have been more appealing than Governor of Assiniboia.
19.
William Mactavish was very open and clear in his dissatisfaction with the job.
20.
Regardless of his hatred for his job, William Mactavish performed well, and created a great deal of positivity in the settlement.
21.
William Mactavish made many changes in the settlement, including the implementation of a semi-weekly mail, and developing Fort Garry as a central point of business, which, in turn, increased the importance of the settlement.
22.
At that point, then, it meant that William Mactavish was the governor of both Assiniboia and Rupert's Land, which created a clash in his ideologies.
23.
William Mactavish had a tendency to put the needs of the people of Assiniboia first, rather than thinking about the entirety of a political scheme.
24.
William Mactavish believed that the Metis had a right to their own land, and, further, he criticized the Canadian government for their lack of consultation in the proposed transfer of Rupert's Land to Canada, and later objected the discussion.
25.
William Mactavish had such a distaste for politics that he refused to even engage in the political aspect of his job.
26.
On 16 November 1869, William Mactavish released a statement in regards to the eminent Red River Rebellion, notifying the inhabitants of Red River and Assiniboia about what was happening in regards to the events surrounding Red River.
27.
William Mactavish outlined six important issues, that were, in his opinion, what the Red River Rebellion encompassed:.
28.
William Mactavish encouraged the population of Red River to protest the rebellion, in hopes of minimizing conflict.
29.
William Mactavish was afraid to put his Metis sympathies into use, for fear of causing even more trouble.
30.
William Mactavish's lack of action and his hatred for politics was a major factor in why the Red River Rebellion continued.
31.
Many chief traders, and other high up men in the HBC, mad very public their aversion to how William Mactavish handled the political situation that was the Red River Rebellion.
32.
At the height of the Rebellion, William Mactavish was taken prisoner by Louis Riel.
33.
William Mactavish was both physically imprisoned, as well as simply bed ridden from his deteriorating health, as he was battling advanced tuberculosis at the time.