The Hudson's Bay Company Archives represent a rich documentation of three centuries of history as the Company grew and expanded in the vast territories of Rupert's Land, which eventually became part of Canada. The Company insisted on meticulous record-keeping and ensured most records remained in its possession. It is an extraordinary collection of books, letters, ledgers, ships' logs, pictures, photographs, maps and reports. Founded by Royal Charter in 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company is the oldest chartered trading company in the world. The Company's archives contain the only known documents for numerous eighteenth-century settlements in Canada, including Churchill, Manitoba; Moose Factory and Albany, Ontario; Rupert House and Eastmain, Québec; Cumberland House, Saskatchewan; and Edmonton, Alberta. The records of the HBC are of special historical value due to their continuity. For example, all of the Company Minute Books -- covering a period of more than three hundred years -- have survived except for the years 1670-1671 and 1674-1679. The extensive Company archives include original handwritten journals, correspondence and accounts of more than five hundred HBC trading posts (1688-1949), Company ships' logs, original maps and plans, various journals of travel and exploration and other Company or related documentation that accumulated in HBC files in the years since 1671. Also part of the archives is a photograph collection, an art collection and a small, specialized library.