Read the following passage.
A. On May 2, 1670, King Charles II of England granted a royal charter that created the Hudson's Bay Company, officially called 'The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay.' The charter gave the company a monopoly over trade in all the lands whose rivers flow into Hudson Bay. This huge region was named Rupert's Land after the king's cousin Prince Rupert, the company's first governor, and it covered roughly one third of present-day Canada. The charter also allowed the company to act as both a business and a colonial government, and historians see it as critical to the development of Canada.
B. The charter began with two French explorers, Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Des Groseilliers. On a journey that began in 1658, they found plentiful beaver north and west of Lake Superior, at a time when beaver had become scarce in Europe. The governor of New France showed little interest in their plans, took their furs and briefly jailed Des Groseilliers. The two men reached England in 1665, where Prince Rupert organized a group of private investors. Two ships left London on June 3, 1668, but a storm forced one back. The other, the Nonsuch, returned the next year with a rich cargo of furs, which finally persuaded Charles II to act.
C. The company built trading posts along the rivers that led to Hudson Bay. Its traders, mostly Scottish, waited for Indigenous trappers and their middlemen to bring furs, which they exchanged for goods such as guns and wool. To standardize the trade, the company set up its own currency, known as Made Beaver, which measured goods against one prime beaver pelt. The fur trade could not work without the labour and knowledge of Indigenous peoples. Over two centuries, posts were built on most major waterways, and by 1870 Rupert's Land had 97 posts within its borders.
D. Today the charter is judged in very different ways. It claimed land where First Nations and Inuit lived, while setting aside only lands already held by 'any other Christian Prince or State.' Legal scholar Kent McNeil argues that Britain did not have the sovereignty to grant it. In 1869 the charter was the legal basis for selling Rupert's Land to Canada for $1.5 million, without the consent of First Nations, Inuit or Metis peoples. Some historians credit the grant with discouraging Americans from expanding northward. Historian Cody Groat, however, calls it a clear example of a monarch trying to erase the political sovereignty of First Nations and Inuit and giving it to a private company.
E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.
Decide which paragraph, A to D, has the information given in each statement below. Select E if the information is not given in any of the paragraphs.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: C
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph C: the company set up its own currency, Made Beaver. It measured goods against one prime beaver pelt. A pelt is an animal skin, and the currency was a way of pricing goods.
Passage Reference: To standardize the trade, the company set up its own currency, known as Made Beaver, which measured goods against one prime beaver pelt.
Tips: Find a system the company created to show what goods were worth. Then check that it was based on 'a single animal skin'.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: In paragraph A, the writer covers the monopoly and the size of Rupert's Land. No system of prices is described.
- B: Paragraph B also mentions beaver, but only as an animal the explorers found in large numbers, not as a unit of value.
- D: The fourth paragraph gives a sale price of $1.5 million. That is a single deal, not a way of valuing trade goods.
- E: Made Beaver, the currency tied to one prime beaver pelt, is explained in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: The governor of New France showed little interest in their plans, took their furs and briefly jailed Des Groseilliers.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph B says the governor of New France showed little interest in the explorers' plans and took their furs. Only after that did the two men reach England in 1665.
Tips: Look for the paragraph that tells what happened to the explorers before they reached England.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Notice that paragraph A is about what the king granted in 1670. The explorers and their troubles do not appear.
- C: Paragraph C shows furs being traded at posts, not furs being taken away from anyone.
- D: Look at paragraph D: it speaks of land claimed from First Nations and Inuit, which is a different kind of taking.
- E: The governor of New France taking the explorers' furs is reported in Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: The charter also allowed the company to act as both a business and a colonial government, and historians see it as critical to the development of Canada.
Why this is correct: The first paragraph says the charter allowed the company to act as both a business and a colonial government. Acting as a government means ruling the territory, not only trading in it.
Tips: 'Permitted to rule' points to a second job for the company. Find the sentence that lists its two roles.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: How the idea for the company began is the subject of paragraph B. Its powers are not yet described.
- C: Notice that paragraph C is only about how the company traded furs, with posts and its currency.
- D: Paragraph D talks about sovereignty, but it questions whether Britain could grant it, not what powers the company was given.
- E: The company's double role as a business and a colonial government is stated in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: The other, the Nonsuch, returned the next year with a rich cargo of furs, which finally persuaded Charles II to act.
Why this is correct: The second paragraph says a storm forced one ship back. The other, the Nonsuch, returned with a rich cargo of furs that finally persuaded Charles II. One vessel finished the trip, and its furs won the king over.
Tips: Follow the vessels that set out. Check what the one that finished the trip carried and how the king responded.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Notice that paragraph A shows the king granting the charter, but not the voyage that convinced him to do it.
- C: In paragraph C, the writer deals with regular trade at many posts, not a single trial journey.
- D: Paragraph D gives present-day opinions of the charter. No voyage is described.
- E: Paragraph B tells of the storm that sent one ship back. It also tells of the Nonsuch returning with furs that changed the king's mind.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Legal scholar Kent McNeil argues that Britain did not have the sovereignty to grant it.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph D: it says legal scholar Kent McNeil argues that Britain did not have the sovereignty to grant the charter. A legal scholar is a legal expert, and his view questions Britain's power to issue it.
Tips: Several people give their views on the document. Find the one with a 'legal' background who doubts Britain's power.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph says historians see the charter as critical, which is about its importance, not whether it was lawful.
- B: Notice that paragraph B shows the king hesitating until the furs arrived, but nobody doubts his right to act.
- C: Posts, traders and Made Beaver fill paragraph C. No expert opinion appears.
- E: Kent McNeil's argument about Britain's sovereignty is given in Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: Its traders, mostly Scottish, waited for Indigenous trappers and their middlemen to bring furs, which they exchanged for goods such as guns and wool.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C describes traders who waited for Indigenous trappers and their middlemen to bring furs. Waiting for others to bring the furs means the company's staff did not go out to collect them.
Tips: Ask who moves and who stays put. Some people travel far for beaver, while others let the furs come to them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A gives the company its monopoly, but it does not show how traders got their furs.
- B: The second paragraph shows explorers who travelled far to find beaver themselves, the opposite of waiting.
- D: Notice that paragraph D mentions First Nations and Inuit, but in relation to land and consent, not carrying furs.
- E: Traders waiting for trappers and middlemen to bring furs is part of Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: The two men reached England in 1665, where Prince Rupert organized a group of private investors.
Why this is correct: In paragraph B, the writer tells us that Prince Rupert organized a group of private investors. The size of that group is never given, so the number nine cannot be found in the passage.
Tips: The passage has several numbers. Check whether any of them counts the investors.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A names Prince Rupert as the first governor, but it says nothing about how many people put in money.
- B: Look at paragraph B: it mentions Rupert's group of investors, which makes it the trap. Yet the size of the group is never given.
- C: The third paragraph gives 97 posts, a count of buildings, not of investors.
- D: Notice that paragraph D speaks of a private company, but no investors are counted there.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: This huge region was named Rupert's Land after the king's cousin Prince Rupert, the company's first governor, and it covered roughly one third of present-day Canada.
Why this is correct: The huge region was named Rupert's Land after the king's cousin Prince Rupert, as the first paragraph tells us. A cousin is a relative, and the king is the monarch.
Tips: Rupert's Land appears in three paragraphs. Find the one that explains the name.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B shows Prince Rupert gathering investors, but it does not explain the region's name or his family tie.
- C: Paragraph C uses the name Rupert's Land when counting posts, without saying where the name came from.
- D: The fourth paragraph refers to the sale of Rupert's Land in 1869, not to the origin of its name.
- E: The naming of Rupert's Land after the king's cousin appears in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: In 1869 the charter was the legal basis for selling Rupert's Land to Canada for $1.5 million, without the consent of First Nations, Inuit or Metis peoples.
Why this is correct: In 1869 the charter was the legal basis for selling Rupert's Land to Canada, according to paragraph D. This was done without the consent of First Nations, Inuit or Metis peoples. A sale without consent is a deal they did not agree to.
Tips: Two parts of the passage reach the years around 1870. Look for a sale of land, then check whether the nations agreed to it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes the land granted in 1670, but no later sale is mentioned.
- B: Paragraph B goes back to how the charter began. The land deal comes two centuries later.
- C: The third paragraph ends in 1870 with a count of posts, but it does not mention any sale or consent.
- E: The 1869 sale made without the consent of First Nations, Inuit or Metis peoples is in Paragraph D.
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