British Columbia
Uniting the colonies and Confederation
Towards confederation
Objectives:
 What were the causes and consequences of negotiating the
boundary between southern British Columbia and the United
States?
 What events led to the formation of the crown colony of
Vancouver Island?
 What role did the Cariboo Gold Rush play in the creation of the
British Columbia colony?
 Why did BC agree to enter Confederation? What events led to
this agreement?
 Under what conditions did BC agree to become part of Canada?
B.C. before the 1800s
 No development or infrastructure
 Up to 100,000 First Nation people
 Competitive Maritime fur trade
 British, US and Russian interest
 Nobody “owned” the Oregon Territory
The Oregon Territory Dispute
 Boundary treaty signed after War of 1812
 49th parallel became the BNA/US border
 But area west of Rockies was not included
US Interest:
BNA/HBC Interest:
 Territory
left open
to settlers
• Rapid
population
increase
• Plan to expand fur trade along
• Manifest Destiny possible
Pacific Coast
• Settlement
policy
in Oregon
• ForttoVancouver
built in CRV
 American
fur traders
and settlers moved
Columbia River
Valley – Fort Astoria
Territory
• HBC manipulated US settlement
• Settlement in Columbia River
• Fort Langley built on Fraser
Valley
 HBC also dominated the area
River
• Trading posts south of Alaska
 Pressure from settlers towards politicians to annex the Pacific
Northwest
Russian / American treaty
 1824 US/Russian treaty divided their trade
of the Pacific Coast at 54 ° 40’ north
 US & British were to share trade south of
this latitude
 1844 James Polk’s presidential campaign
promised to gain this shared land for the US
 “54-40 or fight” an empty promise
 1846 Oregon Boundary Treaty divided land
at 49th parallel
 Columbia River (including where Fort
Vancouver was) controlled by US,
Vancouver Island con
Group Discussion Questions
What forces prompted the British decided to
focus on Vancouver Island?
• Boundary change under Oregon treaty
• Annexation of California in 1848
• US moving closer to their “manifest destiny.”
• Fear of US settlers moving north
What do you think would help Britain maintain
control of the region?
 Occupation of Vancouver Island
 January 1849, Vancouver Island became a crown
colony with Fort Victoria the capital
A new start – Vancouver Island
 HBC lost fur trade market in Columbia River
 Government created crown colony of Vancouver Island
 James Douglas sent to select a site for a fort
 “father of British Columbia”
 Used HBC skipper McNeill’s observations of 1837:
“found an excellent harbour, of easy access with good anchorage, surrounded
by a plain of several miles in extent, of an excellent soil.”
 1843 started the construction of Fort Victoria
 Area rich in forests, fisheries & coal
 Grants given to encourage people to start farming
Strengthening the claim
 British government gave HBC a royal charter
to give a monopoly over trade and commerce
 HBC instructed to encourage settlement and
sell land to settlers
 HBC keep 10%, 90% used to develop
infrastructure
 1849 Fort Victoria became the centre of
HBC’s west coast operations
 James Douglas transferred from Fort
Vancouver to control operations
 Governor Richard Blanshard had no control
over colony and resigned after 2 years
 James Douglas became the new governor
Encouraging settlement
 What kind of settlers do you think Douglas was looking for?
 What are the characteristics of a “good settler”?
 British government introduced a system that mirrored the class structure in
England
 Settlers could buy a minimum of 20 acres
 If they bought 100 acres +, they had to bring a minimum of five workers to
settle too
 Town plans being made for Victoria
 Plans for a naval base nearby
 Fine homes built for colony’s leaders
 Schools, churches, formal dances introduced
 Many BC Englishmen married daughters of fur traders/Metis or Indian wives
Economic development
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Discovery of lumber and coal
Gold discovered in California in 1849
HBC sold supplies to gold prospectors
Market for lumber in mining communities in California
Regular steamship service between California and Vancouver
Island established
Colony still grew slowly, despite the boom
1852 450 non-native settlers
HBC established coal mines near Nanaimo to provide steam for
ships
British miners came to the island to mine, increasing the
population to over 1000
The Gold Rush
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=9q6nSMF_eu0
 1857 gold found along North
Thompson River
 Hundreds of US miners came
north to prospect for gold
 News spread to San Francisco
and even more people came
 Gold also found on the Fraser
River
The Gold Rush & Victoria
 In April 1858 450 miners arrived aboard
the Commodore
 Douglas feared a large anti-British
population would have a negative impact
on the colony
 Fears of annexation
 50 of the miners settled, including 35
blacks
 They became valuable contributors to
Victoria’s society
 The other 400 headed to the gold fields
on the mainland
 By 1858, 10,000 men were searching for
gold on the Fraser River, 25,000 by 1859.
Benefits & Problems in Victoria
What were the benefits of the Gold Rush for Victoria?
 Island farmers provided food to miners
 Hotel owners benefited from increased visitors
 What were the problems of the Gold Rush for Victoria?
 Tent and shanty settlements developed
 More Americans that British
 Land values increased
 End to HBC’s monopoly as new businesses emerged
 May 30 1859 new Liberal British government ended HBC’s
charter to encourage competition
The founding of a mainland colony
 Why reasons prompted the development of the mainland
colony created in 1858?
 More US settlers due to Gold Rush
 Fears of US annexation
 To maintain law and order in the gold fields
Making it official:
 Britain’s new colonial secretary, Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton
offered James Douglas governorship of both Vancouver
Island and the new British Columbia colony
 Douglas had to resign from HBC
The founding of a mainland colony
 BC officially celebrated on November 19,
1858
 Fort Langley became the first capital
 Matthew Begbie, the colony’s judge,
named James Douglas as governor
 HBC’s exclusive right to trade was
removed
 Douglas, Begbie & Colonel Richard
Moody were responsible to bring good
government & law and order to the
mainland
 25,000 miners and settlers
The early BC colony
Diverse BC
English
BC shaped by two forces:
Miners:
American
 the miners • Ethnic diversity to
Italian
Poles
BC
Danes
Germans
 three men: Douglas, Begbie & Moody
• Focus on
Swedes
individualism
Spaniards
• Desire for riches
Mexicans
Chinese
Natives
Law & Order
• Begbie traveled to
hold court
• Law extended to
non-whites
• Trials for natives
Infrastructure
• Moody & Company of
Royal Engineers
controlled
development
• Roads, public works,
seaport
• Cariboo Wagon Road
Cariboo Wagon Road
 1860 more gold discovered in the Cariboo region
 Resource was richer than along Fraser River
 Gold discovered in Richfield - 800 people on by the creek in
William’s Lake by spring
 Other towns built along Williams Creek
 A road was needed as deposits located in isolated areas
 Supplies were needed at the mining town
 1862, the Cariboo Wagon Road was ordered by Douglas
 Civilian contractors and the Royal Engineers worked together
 Completed in less than 4 years, the road was 600 km long, 6m
wide and ran from Yale to Boston Bar
Where is the Best Location for
BC’s Capital City & Seaport?
Consider building:
• An already established
site?
• A new city?
What would city planners
need to think about?
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Space
Land use/type
Political control
Defense
Access to the sea
Access to rivers & roads
Choosing a Capital City &
Seaport
Douglas’ opinion:
 Capital should remain at Derby
(Fort Langley), south of the
Fraser River
 Seaport should be located on
north bank of Fraser River,
across from Annacis Island,
30km from the Fraser’s mouth
Moody’s Opinion:
 Location should be on north
side of river for protection
 Recommended a site by
Douglas for the seaport and
the capital
New Westminster
 July 1859, New Westminster became the capital and the
seaport for BC
Was New West the right choice?
Problems with New Westminster
 Politically unpopular – speculators in Victoria had bought land around
Fort Langley
 Moody had very expensive plans for a ‘magnificent’ city’s development
 Huge rivalry between New Westminster and Victoria
Successes with New Westminster
 Location satisfied requirement for defense
 Homes, churches, offices and commercial buildings created in 1860
 Town council took control in 1860 over local improvements
 Cariboo Gold Rush brought prosperity to New Westminster
 Easier supply location than Victoria
The Struggle for Responsible Government
On Vancouver Island
 1856 Douglas reluctantly created an elected assembly for the
Vancouver Island colony
 No responsible government – Vancouver Island Assembly had little
power
 Only property-holders had the right to vote (<40 out 450 residents)
 Douglas and Legislative Council had most power
Governor
Legislative
Council
Legislative
Council
Voters
The Struggle for Responsible Government
On the Mainland Colony
 British Columbia Act of 1858 made no provision for an elected
assembly
 All power held by Douglas and the Legislative Council (HBC
officers)
 Douglas supported by miners, opposed by settlers and business
people
Governor
Legislative
Council
Voters
The Move for Reform
On Vancouver Island
 Reform led by publisher of The British
Colonist newspaper
 William Smith, later known as Amor de
Cosmos
 Opposed Douglas for he did not listen to the
elected assembly’s decisions
 Every piece of legislation between 1856-1863
was made by Douglas & his council
 Opposed “family compact”/HBC men making
all of the decisions
 Pushed for responsible government and
Confederation as achieved by Howe in Nova
Scotia
The Move for Reform
On the Mainland Colony
 A reform group started to demand changes to the
way colony was ruled
 Led by John Robson, publisher of The British
Columbian newspaper
 Supported by New Westminster’s merchants who
had settled from the Canadas and the Maritimes
 They wanted BC to have an elected assembly with
a responsible government
 Opposed Douglas’ ability to make any law he
wished
 Douglas raised taxes three times in three years
 Miners didn’t support reformers as those taxes built
better roads and services
The Future of Douglas
 Douglas ignored the reformers and wanted to build
a prosperous colony within the British Empire
 His plans for expansion and public works cost
more than the taxes he raised
 After borrowing money, the colony suffered from
mounting debts
 His ability to govern was being questioned
 Reformers sent 4 petitions to London complaining
about Douglas’ rule
 Douglas created a partially elected Legislative
Council in response – but still not responsible
 Pressure from reformers in BC and VI pushed the
British Colonial Office to force Douglas’ retirement.
 Knighted by Queen Victoria
 Each colony was to have its own governor
Changes for the Colonies
Governor in British Columbia – Frederick Seymour
 Needed to raise money to repay loans from building roads
to gold fields
 Miners opposed paying taxes
Governor on Vancouver Island - Arthur Edward Kennedy
 Economic and political problems
 Conflict with elected members of the assembly, including
Amor de Cosmos
 The fought against proposals for increasing taxes
 Kennedy gained support from areas outside of Victoria
 Established Royal Navy base at Esquimalt , assuring a
market to coal mines in Nanaimo
 Kennedy appealed to colonial office for help but was
ignored
Uniting the Two Colonies
Why would the Colonial Secretary want to unite
the two colonies?
 Less expensive
 more efficient
 VI suggested a federal union with VI as a
separate province but idea was dropped as
recession worsened
 January 1856 Amor de Cosmos called for a
complete union
 To test public approval, he resigned, forcing
elections and won
 November 19 1866, the union was official and
colonies became known as British Columbia,
with Seymour as governor
 Victoria became capital after a debate led by
islander assembly member, John Helmcken
The Question of Confederation
The Key Players in the decision
1)
Anti-Confederation led by J.S. Helmcken – he did not think Confederation
practical
1)
Pro-Confederation position most vocal leader was Amor de Cosmos who
thought Confederation would lead to “Responsible Government”
1)
Annexationists were mostly merchants in Victoria who thought joining the
US would strengthen the economy
 Colonial Office explained that BC would have to wait until Rupert’s Land (still
owned by HBC at this time) became part of Canada
What were the options for British Columbia?
1.
2.
3.
Confederation – join Canada
Annexation – join the United States
Status Quo – remain the same (as a British colony)
For or Against Confederation?
Pros
For
Confederation
For Annexation
Status Quo
Cons
Confederation Achieved
 Gov. Seymour died in 1869
 Gov. Anthony Musgrave, who advocated Confederation, was a
friend of Canadian PM Sir John A MacDonald, replaced Seymour.
 BC’s Assembly was divided by members from Vancouver Island
who opposed confederation and members from the Mainland who
supported it. Colonial officials in BC (mostly British) also opposed
it.
 Musgrave needed to reconcile these groups
 He guaranteed Colonial officials pensions and jobs from the
Canadian government
 Colonial officials were also alarmed by Annexationists by forcing
them to chose between Canada or the US
 Musgrave chose Helmcken, Carrol and Joseph Trutch to be
delegates to Ottawa for the Confederation negotiations
 The Canadians gave in to all their demands: the railway was to
built in two years, BC’s debt paid, etc.
 AND gave responsible government