On today’s date in 1668, U.S. sea captain Zachariah Gillam reached Rupert River (in present-day Québec) on the ketch Nonsuch.

He was joined by the French explorer and fur trader Médard Chouart des Groseilliers.

After building Charles Fort (also known as Rupert House), Gillam and Groseilliers made a treaty with a local chief before trading goods through the winter.

The following June, the Nonsuch set sail for England carrying beaver pelts the traders had acquired from the Cree community in exchange for knives, kettles, beads, needles and blankets. They arrived back in London in October 1669.

“The subsequent history of the ship is unknown, but it is likely she was sold,” reads the Hudson’s Bay Company History Foundation website.

Upon their return to England, the traders approached King Charles for a charter to establish a trading company, which was granted on May 2, 1670, creating the Hudson’s Bay Company—one of Canada’s oldest commercial enterprises.

1968 NONSUCH STAMP

In 1968, 300 years after the 1668 voyage of the Nonsuch, Canada’s Post Office Department (now Canada Post) issued a multi-coloured five-cent stamp (Scott #482) commemorating the ketch’s iconic journey.

Printed by the British American Bank Note Company, the stamp had a print run of 24,560,000.