Pricing behavior at three Hudson's Bay Company trading posts is examined in terms of a model of long-run profit maximization of a depletable resource. At Fort Churchill, where the company acted as a monopsonist purchaser of furs from the Indians, rising European fur prices had little impact on...

The smallpox epidemic of 1781–82 in the Hudson Bay region is said to have devastated the native population, causing mortality of at least 50%. We reassess this claim using a four-pronged approach. First, we total smallpox deaths reported by two fur trading posts that were in the midst of the...

Price bubbles provide a unique opportunity to study the financial acumen of shareholders. We focus on the 1720 South Sea episode as experienced by the Royal African Company whose stock was more speculative than other joint stocks. During 1720 the company had a new large stock issue. This paper...