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Under Eight Flags
In 1803 President Jefferson of the United States authorized the Louisiana Purchase, the land on which the town of Milk River was later to rise became American territory. But this was not the first claim to the yet unexplored region; in fact lying north of the 49th Parallel and within the area of the Mississippi-Missouri river systems, Milk River is unique in Canada. There could have flown over this land at various times no less than eight flags representing six governments and one great company.
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In 1682 the French explorer La Salle claimed the whole Mississippi system and the land which it drained for King Louis XIV of France and named the area Louisiana. |
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In 1762 by the secret Treaty of San Ildefenso France abandoned the still largely unexplored region to the Spanish Empire. |
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In 1800 Spain ceded the region to Napoleon who intended to establish French rule firmly but was unable to do so. |
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In 1803 the territory was acquired by the United States for a payment which eventually totaled $27 million. |
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In 1818 a Convention signed between the United Kingdom and the United States established the boundary of British North America as far as the Rocky Mountains along the 49th Parallel, cutting of the extreme northern area of the Mississippi-Missouri system. By previously granted license the newly-acquired territory came under the administration of the Hudson's Bay Company. |
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In 1869, following the formation of the new Dominion of Canada in 1867, jurisdiction over the western territories previously administered by the Hudson's Bay Company was transferred to the government in Ottawa. |
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In 1945 by Order-in-Council the Canadian government declared the Red Ensign to be the distinctive Canadian flag. |
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In 1965, by Proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II, the Maple Leaf flag was declared the official flag of the Dominion of Canada. |
