A central element in the story is the Hudson's Bay Company. This was one of three such enterprises of the British Empire; the other two being the British East India Company, which operated in and around the Indian subcontinent, and the Moscovy company, which focused on Russia and the region to the south, which includes modern day Iraq and Iran. The role of the colonies was to strengthen and enrich the British Empire, and these enterprises were created by the crown specifically for this dual purpose. The military element was there not only for protection of British interests, but for the enforcement of the will of the company and, by extension, the crown.