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BRITISH COLUMBIA TO 1896Chapter 6
VANCOUVER ISLAND
“54° 40’ OR FIGHT” Mid-1840’s—US wanted to expand its
territory 1844—James Polk ran for president
His slogan: “54° 40’ or fight” He won and in 1845, tried to negotiate
with British government for the Oregon Territory
Neither wanted war the 1818 boundary was extended along the 49th parallel to the Pacific OceanBritish kept control of VancouverLand south of Vancouver became
American
JAMES DOUGLAS1848—British government created
the Crown colony of Vancouver Island
James Douglas became governorDid not like AmericansEncouraged British settlement in
the colonyThought prospective colonists
should receive a free grant of landBritish government wanted to
recreate the English class system
ENGLISH CLASS SYSTEM
Settlers purchased land at 1 an acre
Minimum 20 acre purchase
Settlers who bought over 100 acres had to bring 5 people to work the land
Small numbers of landowners
Many servants to farm the land
1849—all settlers were ex-HBC workers
PROCESS RESULT
MINING STARTS1840’s—Coal discovered near NanaimoImmigrants arrived to be minersRoyal Navy became their first customerEsquimalt harbor established next to
Fort Victoria as a naval baseWarships needed a supply of coalMid-1850’s—more mines established at
Cumberland north of Vancouver Island
LANDED GENTRYRoyal Navy were ‘gentlemen’ and were
a big part of Victorian social lifeCame from the privileged class in
EnglandDouglas liked social gatherings but:
Didn’t like the Royal Navy for not owning any land but still being of a high class
He and ex-HBC workers didn’t like the landed gentry because they were shunned and prejudiced
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 1856—Douglas created a Legislative Assembly
Response to ex-HBC’s complaints: Vancouver Island was becoming a private club for the
landed gentry Was small with 7 voted representatives Only landowners could vote
About 40 of 450 adult citizens owned land Douglas wanted final say in the colony
Assembly could pass resolutions but not enforce them
Could grant monies for the government’s use This took power from the landed gentry because
they did not have property and therefore could not vote
NATIVE NEGOTIATIONS 1855—774 immigrants on Vancouver Island
and over 30,000 aboriginal peoples Douglas had to negotiate with them to
attract more settlers so the colony would grow
They had lived there longer and had all of the rich farmland between Fort Victoria and Nanaimo
Douglas’s idea:They would surrender the landThey would have fishing and hunting rights
on the surrendered land
A TREATY 1854—One of his treaties where ‘our’
refers to the Native peoples:The conditions of, or understanding of, this
sale is this, that our village sites and enclosed fields are to be kept for our own use, for the use of our children, and for those who may follows after us; and the land shall be properly surveyed hereafter. It is understood, however , that the land itself, with these small exceptions, becomes the entire property of the white people forever; it is also understood that we are at liberty to hunt over the unoccupied land, and to carry on our fisheries as formerly.
COMPENSATIONEach family got an annual £210
shillingsSeemed Douglas was leasing the
landGovernments of Britain, Canada
and BC know the aboriginal peoples had title to the lands
Douglas treaties were the only of the sort to be negotiated in the 19th Century
GOLD RUSHES
A FANTASY People believed they could run along a
creek pick up fist-sized nuggets and be wealthy overnight
How to find gold in real life:1. Stake a claim (buy a spot) that you and
maybe your workers would work2. Sink a mine shaft down to bedrock and
bring it to the surface3. Gold-bearing clay and sand would be
washed away to reveal gold Was a very tedious process
SACRAMENTO GOLD RUSH 1848—Gold was discovered along the
Sacramento River in California 1849—Thousands left their jobs and
homes to travel to California Went overland across the US Went overseas around the tip of South
America and up the Pacific Few survived the journey Few survivors got rich Few made it back
49’ERSYeah, a football teamNamed after the prospectors who
showed late and ended up working for original claim holders
Late-comers were broke and unemployed by the mid-1850’s
Moved to Washington and Oregon after the gold rush ended
RIVER RUSHES 1857—HBC trader arrived in Fort Victoria
with 2 vials of gold dust which he panned in the Thompson RiverHe presented the gold to Governor Douglas
Douglas feared the news of a gold rush would bring floods of greedy miners into his colony
Winter of 1857-58—His fear became a reality
Ex-California rushers moved up to the banks of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers
SAN FRANCISCO 1858—Word reached San Francisco Hundreds of unemployed miners tried
to book tickets on any ship going north First ship to arrive was the Yosemite
April 25, 1858 about 450 miners landed in Fort Victoria
Ships continued to arriveEnd of the Summer—Over 10,000
miners were working on the Fraser RiverMostly Americans
TOO MANY AMERICANS Douglas was afraid of territorial
expansion of the US Contacted the Colonial Office in London
Made Douglas Governor of the Crown colony of BC
1859—Britain sent a group of Royal Engineers under Colonel Richards MoodyProvided a level of military authority in the new colony
They surveyed the region, giving technical assistance in building roads and towns
CARIBOO
CARIBOO GOLD RUSH1859—Gold deposits in the Fraser
River had been depletedMiners thought the gold has eroded
from a larger source upstreamThe moved upstream, searching for
the source1860-61—Miners found the source
that fed the Fraser River:The Cariboo region in south central
BC
THE CARIBOO ROAD1860’s—Douglas realized his colony
wasn’t getting any profit from the mining
All gold taken from BC was taxableDouglas decided to build a road to
the goldfieldsThis would ensure gold left via the
Fraser and not US territoryIt would also promote settlement and
encourage economic development
THE ROUTES
Lake Harrison and Lillooet River
Took some steamer routes along the interior
Easier Expensive
Through the Fraser Canyon
Dangerous Cheaper This route was
chosen for the cost, although it was more difficult to make
1862—Construction started
Long Route Short Route
THE COMPLETION A marvellous feat of engineering
Covered 650Km from Yale along the Fraser Canyon to the new centre of Cariboo, Barkerville
Took 4 years to completeOver $750 000
Mid-1860’s—Gold rush was endingGold revenues were falling fast when
road was completed The colony took the loss hard and did
not recover for a long time
BRITISH COLUMBIA
NEED FOR UNION Rapid loss of population and revenue
hurt the two coloniesSuffered great financial losses
Representatives from BC and Vancouver Island wanted to join the coloniesThis would help economically1866—Vacouver Island had a $300 000
debtBC had just over $1 000 000 of debt
May—Both colonies found out their local bank credit had run out
BC IS BORN British colonial office agreed with the idea of
uniting the BC and Vancouver Island colonies Did not want to give large subsidies August 6, 1866—British government formally
united the two colonies to form British Columbia
Governor Seymour; more popular, became the new colony’s governor
Legislative Assembly was established with 23 members Only 9 were elected 5 representatives from the mainland and 4 from
the Island
UNION WAS NOT THE CURE?Union did not solve
their problemsPopulation
continued to decline
Money problems also continued
A more permanent solution was needed
?
FACTIONS OF CONFEDERATION There were three groups:
1. Strongly opposed Confederation2. Supported Confederation3. Supported annexation by the US
Mostly Victoria businessmen 1868-1870—Debate was never-
ending BC’s future was unknown
A STEP TOWARDS CONFEDERATION 1868—Election held for Legislative Assembly
Mainland—Candidates supported confederationIsland—Candidates were against confederation
Governor Seymour died suddenly while touring the northern communities
Anthony Musgrave, John A. Macdonald’s personal friend, was Seymour’s successorMacdonald had recommended MusgraveInstructions from the British Colonial Office:
Get BC to join Canada as quickly as possible
CONFEDERATION ACHIEVEDMusgrave promised an entirely
elected Legislature once Confederation was reached
With a promised responsible government, terms of Confederation was accepted collectively
July 20, 1871—British Columbia officially joined Canada
CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD
CPR PROPOSITION Elected mainland representatives supported
Confederation January, 1868—Forwarded resolutions to the
government of Canada Proposed that Canada be responsible for BC’s
debt Federal government should build a
transcontinental railway as a link to the East Resolutions were overpowered in the Legislative
Assembly by a vote of 12-4 Mainland representatives spent the year
promoting Confederation through the press Believed only the public’s support could convince
the governor and his supporters
ANNEXATIONISTS Circulated a petition to be sent to President
Grant in Washington In Victoria, a population of 3000, only 125
signatures were collectedAnnexation was not popular
Musgrave decided to co-opt the anti-confederation supportersThey would make a policy on the terms of union
and travel to Ottawa together to present the proposition
Canadian government agreed and construction was to begin within 2 years and be completed in 10
RAILWAY SURVEY Macdonald had no idea of the cost of the
railway Interior BC was mostly unknown Federal government sent out surveyors to find
all possible routes This bought time to find a way to finance the
railway 2 major groups:
Island politicians wanted the railway to go across the central interior down the Homathco Rive to Bute Inlet, across the Georgia Strait to the Island
Mainland politicians wanted the route through the Fraser Canyon to the Burrard Inlet
“BATTLE OF THE ROUTES”Alexander Mackenzie succeeded
John A. Macdonald as Prime Minister
He was reluctant to build the railway
1870’s—Groups pressured the government to pick their route for the CPR
1878—21 routes has been considered for personal benefit
NO METROPOLIS1881—Port Moody was the designated
terminus for the CPRSpeculators bought land, buying into the
future metropolis1884—William Van Horne arrived to make
the precise location for the terminusDiscovered the harbour was made of tidal
flatsCould not hold deep-sea vessels needing to
dock to load and unload cargoContinues his search for anchorage
NEW TERMINUS 1884—William Van Horne arrived in Port Moody
and was greeted by David Oppenheimer He took Horne around Gastown and rowed him
through the inner and outer harbours Horne was impressed by the amount of land
that could be used for the terminus Oppenheimer offered half his land to the CPR
as well as other landholders to seal the deal Smart because he knew the price of land would
skyrocket with the CPR terminus there 1885—CPR was completed
VANCOUVER
THE YOUNGEST COMMUNITYYoungest major community in BCOther major centres started with
fur trade or the Cariboo Gold RushDuring this time settlers were
discouraged because:Burrard Inlet isn’t fed by a major
riverVancouver’s peninsula is covered by
a dense forest
“GASSY JACK” 1865—Hastings Sawmill
opened south of the inlet North of the inlet Swell
Moody opened a mill in what is now North Vancouver
1868—“Gassy Jack” Deighton opened a saloon near the Hastings Mill because it was dry Other stores and saloons
were opened Called “Granville” or
“Gastown” after the founder
DAVID OPPENHEIMERMoved to the slightly populated
area near the Burrard Inlet in the decline of the Cariboo Gold Rush
Thought it would become a major port
Was confident that Vancouver would win the “Battle of the Routes” and become the terminus
1877—Bought a huge amount of land south of the inlet
“THE FATHER OF VANCOUVER” By 1885—Oppenheimer owned most of the land in
Vancouver 1888—Ran for mayor and won by acclamation In 4 years of being mayor he:
Concentrated on infrastructure Laid pipes under Burrard Inlet to carry water from
watersheds on the north shore Much of Vancouver’s water comes from this source today
Built a sewage system Bankrolled an electric streetcar system and a power
company called BC Electric to run the system Donated land for school, parks and with a new city
council, established Stanley Park as a permanent green space
Encouraged steamer companies to open the area to trade across the Pacific
VOCABULARY
PEOPLE Responsible
Government:
Contractor: Landed Gentry:
Title:
a government in which the executive council is responsible to the legislative assembly, whose members are representatives of the people
one who supplies workers the British upper class
“landed” in another countryestablished or recognized
right to something
VERBS To rework:
To undercut: To co-opt:
To stake claim:
To pan: To inflate:
to go back and try to extract more gold from and area after is has already been worked
to sell work at a lower price than average
to bring someone into a group by capitalizing on their strengths, even if they disagree with you
the legal right to mine gold, or other minerals, on a specific piece of land
to search for gold by panning gravel
to increase the price of something dramatically
MONEY Shilling:
Subsidy:
Black Market Economy:
Head Tax:
Frugal: Speculators: Bankrolled:
an old British coinage, about one twentieth of a pound
a directs financial aid from a higher level of government
an illegal or completely unregulated economy where normal price controls do not apply
a tax imposed on each person entering a country
careful with money
people who buy and sell land for profit
funded
LAND Parallel:
Tidal Flat: Bedrock:
Service Town:
Metropolis:
an imaginary line north or south of the equator
a low-lying marshsolid rock underneath looser
materials suck as soila town that provides services
to people engaged in one main industry
a chief city
GOLD RUSH
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