The French successes exposed a defense model built more on geography than on troops or fortifications. Hudson's Bay Company leaders had not invested enough to make an attack costly because remoteness had previously seemed sufficient protection. An Empire: Total War example illustrates the same calculation: a British player can garrison northern Canada to make a French attack difficult and expensive. The game is an analogy for the historical problem rather than evidence about the campaign itself. Once d'Iberville's force crossed the geographic barrier, the calculation changed abruptly. Natural obstacles deter only while an opponent remains unwilling or unable to overcome them.
Notable Point · 14:13-15:29
Geography substitutes for investment in Hudson Bay defence
The Hudson's Bay Company relied on distance and difficult terrain as deterrents, leaving its posts vulnerable when French attackers accepted the cost of reaching them.