Manitoba History, A Past More Exciting Than the Present!

Here in this article, we will take a deeper look at Manitoba history, and we will talk about some historical sites that you can visit even today, so fasten up and stay with us till the end of it.

Manitoba History timeline

It is known that Canada was discovered and settled in from east to west, so it is only natural that Manitoba, placed around the middle of Canada geographically, has had its settlements starting in the 17th century.Created from Rupert Lands, Manitoba became a province in 1870 by joining the confederation. Long before that, indigenous people lived and traded in Manitoba, and it was not before 1668 that French people supported by the British came there in hopes of finding high-quality fur.But the pinnacle in Manitoba history was in 1885 when Louis Riel was executed. Louis is known as one of the Canadians most written about, if not the Canadian most written about. His execution led to a polarization between the politicians; the Francophone believed he did not deserve it, and it was done by the Anglophone.In the table below, you can read about the important parts of Manitoba history.

Important events and dates in Manitoba history

Year	Event
Before the 17th century	Manitoba was a place for many indigenous people to live or come to in order to trade.
1611	Henry Hudson sails into what we know as Hudson Bay, thus named after him.
1612	Thomas Button reaches northern Manitoba, at the mouth of Nelson River.
1668	French traders under the banner of Britain reached Hudson Bay in the hope of finding high-quality furs.
1670	Hudson’s Bay Company was instituted, backed up by Charles II.
1684	Foundation of York Factory at the mouth of the Nelson River.
1697	Hudson’s Bay Company lost almost all of its posts to the French.
1713	Treaty of Utrecht, Hudson’s Bay Company regains its posts.
1763	Treaty of Paris, The British earned all of the French colonies in North America (Except a part of Louisiana).
1812	The Red River Colony was founded by Lord Selkirk, which later became downtown Winnipeg.
1844	Louis Riel was born at St. Boniface.
1859	The first hotel of Manitoba was established, named Royal Hotel.
1869-1870	Rupert Lands were purchased from Hudson’s Bay Company without consultation of indigenous people, which resulted in the Louis Riel Rebellion (Red River Rebellion).
1870	Manitoba entered Confederation.
1885	Louis Riel’s execution happened at Regina, Saskatchewan.
1898	Neepawa became the first urban area to have a telephone system in North America.
1929	Great Depression hit Manitoba hard due to economic drop and agriculture problems caused by drought.
1939	WWII began, Winnipeg became a key place for the “British Commonwealth Air Training Plan”, a program to train fighter pilots.
1997	“Flood of the Century” Left Manitoba with 400 million Canadian dollars in damages.