Richmond Gulf - Name and History

Name and History

In 1743 the Hudson's Bay Company ordered its post at Fort Albany, Ontario to explore the whole east coast of Hudson Bay, an area rarely visited because it was barren and produced little fur. In 1744, Thomas Mitchell, captain of a HBC ship entered the lake and named it "Sir Atwell's Lake", most likely in honour of HBC Deputy Governor Sir Atwell Lake, whose surname "Lake" became a source of confusion. Mitchell also recorded that same year the Cree name "Winipeq" for this location. The map of William Coats (1749) identified the lake under the Cree name "Artiwinipeck" and in English as "Sir Atwell's Lake". Later on this body of water would be given several other names, particularly "Winipeke Bay", "Hazard Gulf", "Gulf of Richmond," and "Richmond Bay" until the Geography Commission of Canada accepted Richmond Gulf in 1905. The reason for this choice is not clear: it may refer to the Duke of Richmond or the name of Thomas Mitchell's small vessel. In 1962, the Quebec Government decided to give French names to places in the northern Quebec and changed the name to "Lac Guillaume-Delisle", in honour of renowned cartographer and First Royal Geographer of France, Guillaume Delisle (1675-1726).

In 1749 the HBC ordered Fort Albany to build a post on the east side of the Bay. Since the loss of Fort-Rupert trade on the east side had been done by small ships from Fort Albany and most of it was confined to the forested country well south of Richmond Gulf. The reason for the new post is not clear but it may have been due to rumors of non-HBC traders planning to enter the Bay. In 1750 Captain Coates and John Potts built Fort Richmond on an island known as Factory Island off the south shore of the inlet. Traces of copper were found on the Little Whale River just to the south. A house was built on that river for miners and a small whaling operation, but the mine produced nothing of value. Since the area produced little fur the post was closed in 1759.

Some time during this period a group of Eskimos came to the Little Whale River post, found it occupied only by a boy, plundered the post and carried off the boy. Fort Richmond responded by seizing two Eskimos in the hope of exchanging them for the boy. In fact the boy had been murdered. Since the two sides did not know each other's languages the hostages may not have understood what was being done to them. The hostages grabbed two guns and used them as bludgeons against some HBC people. Since the HBC men knew that the guns were loaded they shot down the two Eskimos. Morton claims that this is the only case where the HBC shed native blood.