In the first half of the nineteenth century, because of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, Canada was flooded with immigrants. This was when mass settlement in Canada really began: over 120,000 people went there in the five years between 1827 and 1832. Urban environments developed along the sea coast and the great lakes, with European-type economies. Further to the north and west, in the vast forests and mountains, the natives (Indians) and settlers hunted and traded in furs. The fur trade was controlled by several large companies, whose interest was to stop further settlement and preserve the hunting grounds.In 1867, when the Dominion of Canada was established, the government took control of Prince Rupert's Land (named after the brother of King Charles II, best known as a cavalry commander in the English Civil War)and allowed free settlement, but the arrival of settlers in the North Saskatchewan River area caused the revolt of the metis (half-breeds of French settlers and Indians) and the Indians, led by Louis-David Riel. To putdown this insurrection, the government dispatched an expedition which included two militia battalions raised for this purpose and, when these units arrived, the uprising collapsed virtually without bloodshed. One battalion was left to keep the peace in the rebellious area, known as Red River. A small mounted police force was detached from the battalion and stationed at Fort Garry, the administrative seat of one of the districts.The Canadian government had to assert its sovereignty in the new territories and ensure law and order, so as to make possible the migration of settlers across the western plains. The basis was the existing police and militia forces, and the North West Mounted Police was founded in 1873. It was decided to recruit 300 men on a semi-military basis. At their first and only review, in Duffer in (now Emerson), Manitoba in 1874, the whole unit gathered in one place for the first and last time in its history, then the 318men dispersed to their destinations. A curiosity is the march of the mounted police to the west, in which 1,650 km/1,025 miles were covered in 97 days.The work of the mounted police included keeping law and order,reconnoitering territory, informing the central authorities of the situation,guarding public property, helping settlers, relaying information and warnings, rescue missions, and so on. Mounted patrols were the most common way of keeping in touch with the local population.In 1920, the force was renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.Today, in keeping with the spirit of the times, the 18,000 members of the service are called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police/Gendarmerie Royaledu Canada (RCMP/GRC).
Cavalry : The History of a Fighting Elite - by V. Vuksic and Z. Grbasic
