| Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl Of Selkirk |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT THOMAS DOUGLAS, 5TH EARL OF SELKIRK | |
| 1771 births | |
| selkirk, thomas douglas, 5th earl of | |
| 1820 deaths | |
| earls in the peerage of scotland | |
| fellows of the royal society | |
| red river colony | |
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Thomas Douglas ( June 20 , 1771 - April 8 , 1820 ) was the 5th Earl Of Selkirk , born at Saint Mary's Isle, Kirkcudbrightshire , Scotland . He was noteworthy as a Scottish philanthropist who sponsored immigrant settlements in Canada . EARLY BACKGROUND Thomas Douglas was the seventh son of a Scottish Earl. As he had not expected to inherit the family estate, he went to the University Of Edinburgh to study to become a lawyer. While there, he noticed poor Scottish farmers who were being displaced by their landlords. Seeing their plight, he investigated ways he could help them find new land in the then British colonies. When he unexpectedly inherited the estate, he used his money to send these poor Scottish farmers to Prince Edward Island and Upper Canada . INVOLVEMENT IN CANADA Douglas asked the British government for a land grant in the Red River Valley , which is a part of Rupert's Land . The government refused, as the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) had been granted a fur trading monopoly on that land. However Douglas was very determined, and he and Sir Alexander Mackenzie bought enough shares in HBC to let them gain control of the land. This position of power allowed him to get a land grant called Assiniboia . He traveled extensively in North America, and his approach and work gained him some fame; in 1807 he was named Lord-Lieutenant of Kirkcudbright District in Scotland, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London. As part owner, Douglas wanted to stop the North West Company from competing with HBC for furs in the region, and he spent much of his later life defending his actions in court. REFERENCES
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