hidden pixel

Colony of British Columbia Information

The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1871. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely-uninhabited regions north of the Nass and Finlay Rivers, the regions east of the Rocky Mountains, or any of the coastal islands. The Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands and the Stikine Territory were merged with it in 1863, and it was amalgamated in 1866 with the Colony of Vancouver Island to form a further colonial entity named British Columbia, but unofficially known as the United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia to avoid confusion.

Contents

Background

Main Article: History of British Columbia

The explorations of James Cook and George Vancouver, and the concessions of Spain in 1794 established British claims over the coastal area north of California. Similar claims were established inland via the explorations of such men as John Finlay, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Simon Fraser, Samuel Black, and David Thompson, and by the subsequent establishment of fur trading posts by the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). However, until 1858, the region which now comprises the mainland of the Province of British Columbia was an unorganized area of British North America comprising two fur trading districts: New Caledonia, north of the Thompson River drainage; and the Columbia District, located south of the Thompson and throughout the basin of the Columbia River.

Sir James Douglas, first governor of the Colony of British Columbia

With the signing of the Treaty of Washington in 1846, which established the US border along the 49th parallel, the HBC moved the headquarters of its western operations from Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River (present day Vancouver, Washington) to the newly-established Fort Victoria, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Vancouver Island and the surrounding Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia were organised as a crown colony in 1849. Meanwhile, the mainland continued to function under the de facto administration of the HBC, whose chief executive, James Douglas, also happened to be governor of Vancouver Island. The non-aboriginal mainland population during this time never exceeded about 150, mostly HBC employees and their families.

By 1857, Americans and British were beginning to respond to rumours of gold in the Thompson River area. Almost overnight, some ten to twenty thousand men moved into the region around present-day Yale, British Columbia, sparking the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Governor Douglas and the colonial office were suddenly faced with having to exert British authority over a largely alien population. Douglas — who had no legal authority over New Caledonia — stationed a gunboat at the entrance of the Fraser River in order to exert such authority by collecting licenses from prospectors attempting to make their way upstream. In order to normalise its jurisdiction, and undercut any HBC claims to the resource wealth of the mainland, the district was converted to a crown colony on August 2, 1858 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and given the name British Columbia. Douglas was offered the governorship of the new colony by the colonial secretary, Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, on condition that he sever his relationship with the HBC. Douglas accepted these conditions, and a knighthood. British Columbia was given its own capital — New Westminster — in 1859, but James Douglas would govern both colonies from Victoria for the next six years.

Governorship of Sir James Douglas

The influx of people into the new colony required Douglas to act quickly in drawing up regulations and creating infrastructure. Magistrates and constables were hired, mining regulations drawn up, and townsites surveyed at Yale, Hope and Fort Langley in order to discourage squatting on crown land. In addition, roads were constructed into the areas of greatest mining exploration around Lillooet and Lytton. The colony, however, was not immediately granted a representative colonial assembly, because of uncertainty as to whether the gold rush would yield a stable, settled population. Douglas, who had endured unhappy conflicts with the assembly on Vancouver Island, was relieved.

A portion of the Cariboo Road in the Fraser Canyon, circa 1867.

The rush indeed was short lived, and the exodus of miners, speculators, and merchants was already underway by the time the Royal Engineers had laid out the colony's new capital at New Westminster. Prospecting continued, however, and additional finds farther inland in the Cariboo region in 1860 signalled an impending second gold rush. Provisioning was already proving to be an acute problem, and with more distant finds it became clear that wagon trains would have to replace pack horses, necessitating new infrastructure. By 1862, the Cariboo Gold Rush, attracting an additional 5000 miners, was underway, and Douglas hastened construction of the Great North Road (commonly known now as the Cariboo Wagon Road) up the Fraser Canyon to the prospecting region around Barkerville.

By the time of this second gold rush, the character of the colony was changing, as a more stable population of British colonists settled in the region, establishing businesses, opening sawmills, and engaging in fishing and agriculture. With this increased stability, objections to the colony's absentee governor and the lack of responsible government began to be vocalised, led by the influential editor of the New Westminster British Columbian and future premier, John Robson. A series of petitions requesting an assembly were ignored by Douglas and the colonial office until Douglas was eased out of office in 1864. Finally the colony would have both an assembly and a resident governor.

Frederick Seymour, second governor of the Colony of British Columbia, and his cat.

Governorship of Frederick Seymour

Main article: Frederick Seymour

Douglas's successor was Frederick Seymour, who came to the colony with twenty years of colonial experience in Van Diemen's Land, the British West Indies, and British Honduras. The creation of an assembly and Seymour's appointment in April, 1864 signalled a new era for the colony, now out of the shadow of Vancouver Island and free of a governor suspicious of sharing power with elected representatives. Douglas's wagon road project was still underway, presenting huge engineering challenges, as it made its way up the narrow Fraser Canyon. Successive loans authorised by Seymour's predecessor, largely for the purpose of completing the road, had put the colony £200,000 in debt; and the Chilcotin War of 1864 cost an additional £18,000 to suppress. Seymour himself made the difficult journey through the Great Canyon of the Homathko and Rainbow Range as a show of force and participation in the hunt for Klatsassin, the Tsilhqot'in war leader, but the armed expedition reached a denouement when Klatsassin surrendered on terms of amnesty in times of war, only to be tried and hanged for murder, as Seymour had not endorsed the terms.

On Seymour's return overland, he made a tour of the Cariboo minefields, and along the Fraser Canyon, which made him increasingly convinced of the colony's future prosperity. On returning to the capital, however, fiscal reality set in as it became clear that British Columbia's indebtedness was getting worse. Even as the colonial administration took drastic measures to augment revenues and improve the road system to attract prospectors and settlers, the economic situation grew increasingly dire, and agitation grew for an almagamation of the two colonies. Seymour opposed this proposal, but with pressure from various quarters of the colonial government, he eventually relented, recommending that British Columbia be the dominant partner, and (unsuccessfully) that the capital be located at New Westminster. The two colonies were united by an Act of the British Parliament, and proclaimed on August 6, 1866 (see United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia).

Governors of British Columbia

See also

British Columbia portal
History of Canada portal

External links

 ·  ·  Former colonies and territories in Canada
Norse Named Territories: Vinland • Sites: L'Anse aux Meadows
French Claims: New France (Acadia • Isle St-Jean • Île Royale • Canada • Terre Neuve) Important sites: Port Royal • Quebec •Trois-Rivières • Montreal • Louisbourg • Plaisance• List of towns • List of Forts
Spanish Sites: Nootka Sound • Other: Expeditions
Scottish Claims: Nova Scotia (1621) • Sites: Port Royal Colony
Russian Claims: Russian America
American Claims: Oregon Country
English & British Claims: Rupert's Land • Nova Scotia (1710) • Quebec • Lower and Upper Canada • New Brunswick • Prince Edward Island • Cape Breton • United Canada • New Caledonia • Columbia District • Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands • Colony of Vancouver Island • Colony of British Columbia • Stickeen Territories • North-Western Territory • Red River Colony • United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia • Important sites: Cuper's Cove • York Factory • Halifax • Victoria • Fort Langley • List of HBC sites
Related Territorial evolution of Canada after 1867 • List of areas disputed by Canada and the United States • Proposals for new Canadian provinces and territories
Category Portal · WikiProject
 ·  ·  British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations

Legend Current territory · Former territory * now a Commonwealth Realm · now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe

18th century 1708–1757 Minorca since 1713 Gibraltar 1763–1782 Minorca 1798–1802 Minorca

19th century 1800–1964 Malta 1807–1890 Heligoland 1809–1864 Ionian Islands

20th century 1921-1937 Irish Free State
North America

17th century 1607–1776 Virginia 1610–1907 Newfoundland since 1619 Bermuda 1620–1691 Plymouth Colony 1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay Colony 1632–1776 Maryland 1636–1776 Connecticut 1636–1776 Rhode Island 1637–1662 New Haven Colony 1663–1712 Carolina 1664–1776 New York 1665–1674 and 1702-1776 New Jersey 1670–1870 Rupert's Land 1674–1702 East Jersey 1674–1702 West Jersey 1680–1776 New Hampshire 1681–1776 Pennsylvania 1686–1689 Dominion of New England 1691–1776 Massachusetts

18th century 1701–1776 Delaware 1712–1776 North Carolina 1712–1776 South Carolina 1713–1867 Nova Scotia 1733–1776 Georgia 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island 1763–1791 Quebec 1763–1783 East Florida 1763–1783 West Florida 1784–1867 New Brunswick 1791–1841 Lower Canada 1791–1841 Upper Canada

19th century 1818–1846 Columbia District / Oregon Country1 1841–1867 Province of Canada 1849–1866 Vancouver Island 1853–1863 Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands 1858–1866 British Columbia 1859–1870 North-Western Territory 1862–1863 Stikine Territory 1866–1871 Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada2 20th century 1907–1949 Dominion of Newfoundland3

1Occupied jointly with the United States 2In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. see Canada's name. 3Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.
Latin America and the Caribbean

17th century 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia 1623–1883 Saint Kitts (*Saint Kitts & Nevis) 1624–1966 *Barbados 1625–1650 Saint Croix 1627–1979 *St. Vincent and the Grenadines 1628–1883 Nevis (*Saint Kitts & Nevis) 1629–1641 St. Andrew and Providence Islands4 since 1632 Montserrat 1632–1860 Antigua (*Antigua & Barbuda) 1643–1860 Bay Islands since 1650 Anguilla 1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname) 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast (protectorate) 1655–1962 *Jamaica since 1666 British Virgin Islands since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670–1973 *Bahamas 1670–1688 St. Andrew and Providence Islands4 1671–1816 Leeward Islands

18th century 1762–1974 *Grenada 1763–1978 Dominica since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands

19th century 1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana) 1833–1960 Windward Islands 1833–1960 Leeward Islands 1860–1981 *Antigua and Barbuda 1871–1964 British Honduras (*Belize) 1882–1983 *St. Kitts and Nevis 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago 20th century 1958–1962 West Indies Federation

4Now the San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia
Africa

18th century 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony

19th century 1806–1910 Cape Colony 1810–1968 Mauritius 1816–1965 Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho) 1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana) 1882–1922 Egypt 1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana) 1884–1960 British Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1888–1894 Matabeleland 1890–1965 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) 5 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania) 1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi) 1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate 1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

20th century 1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River Colony 1900–1910 Transvaal Colony 1906–1954 Nigeria Colony 1910–1931 South Africa 1911–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) 1914–1954 Nigeria Colony and Protectorate 1915–1931 South West Africa (Namibia) 1919–1960 Cameroons (Cameroon) 6 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania) 6 1954–1960 Nigeria 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) 5

5Southern Rhodesia issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and returned to British control in 1979. 6League of Nations mandate
Asia

17th Century 1685-1824 Bencoolen (Sumatra)

18th century 1702–1705 Côn Đảo 1757–1947 Bengal (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh) 1762–1764 Philippines 1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1796–1965 Maldives

19th century 1819–1826 British Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore) 1826–1946 Straits Settlements 1839–1967 Colony of Aden 1839–1842 Afghanistan 1841–1997 Hong Kong 1841–1941 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia) 1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma) 1879–1919 Afghanistan 1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia) 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei 1888–1946 Sultanate of Sulu 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate 1892–1971 Trucial States protectorate 1895–1946 Federated Malay States 1898–1930 Weihai Garrison 1878–1960 Cyprus

20th century 1918–1961 Kuwait protectorate 1920–1932 Iraq6 1921–1946 Transjordan6 1923–1948 Palestine6 1945–1946 South Vietnam 1946–1948 Malayan Union 1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia) 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia) since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus) since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory

6League of Nations mandate
Oceania

18th century 1788–1901 New South Wales

19th century 1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands7 1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu) 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Swan River Colony/Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands 1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji8 1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Territory of Papua 1888–1965 Cook Islands7 1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau)7 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands9 1893–1978 British Solomon Islands10

20th century 1900–1970 Tonga (protected state) 1900–1974 Niue7 1901–1942 *Commonwealth of Australia 1907–1953 *Dominion of New Zealand 1919–1942 Nauru 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea 1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea11

7Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand 8Suspended member 9Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu 10Now the *Solomon Islands 11Now *Papua New Guinea
Antarctica and South Atlantic

17th century since 1659 St. Helena12

19th century since 1815 Ascension Island12 since 1816 Tristan da Cunha12 since 1833 Falkland Islands13

20th century since 1908 British Antarctic Territory14 since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands13, 14

12Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922—) and Tristan da Cunha (1938—) were previously dependencies of St Helena 13Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982 14Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands)

Categories: Former monarchies of North America | Short-lived states | Former countries in North America | Former British colonies | States and territories established in 1858 | 1866 disestablishments | History of British Columbia | British North America | British colonization of the Americas

 

The above information uses material from Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Some facts may not have been fully verified for accuracy. [Disclaimers]
This page was last archived by our server on Sun Oct 23 16:35:02 2011.
Displaying this page or its contents does not use any Wikimedia Foundation's resources.
The owners of this site proudly support the Wikimedia Foundation.

More Information Results for "Colony of British Columbia"
[Hide]▼
[Hide]▲