What monopoly did the Hudson's Bay Company receive?

• A. A monopoly over the fur trade in all land whose rivers drained into Hudson Bay
• B. A monopoly over timber in New France
• C. A monopoly over fishing in the Atlantic
• D. A monopoly over gold mining in Rupert's Land

Answer: (A)

The question hinges on the royal charter that created the Hudson’s Bay Company and gave it exclusive control over a vast fur trade area. In 1670, the Crown granted the company a monopoly over the fur trade in all lands whose rivers flow into Hudson Bay—essentially Rupert’s Land. That means no other European traders could operate there for fur, as long as the charter remained in effect. This arrangement helped the HBC dominate the early fur economy and shaped the pattern of exploration and Indigenous–European trade across a huge portion of what would become Canada.

The other options don’t fit because the monopoly described in the charter was not over timber, fishing, or gold mining. Those resources were governed or pursued in different contexts and regions, not under the HBC’s fur-trade monopoly.