Red River Settlement

Red River Settlement was founded on the last-named stream by the Earl of Selkirk in 1813 as a refuge for the surplus population of the Scotch Highlands. Much opposition was raised to the colony, but through the exertions of the founder it survived, and in 1835 the territory, with a mixed population of 5,000, including many French-Indian half-breeds (Bois-Brules), was retransferred to the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1869 the settlement was given over to the Canadian Government, when the French half-breeds under Louis Riel revolted and endeavoured to set up a republic, but the movement collapsed.