The Origins of British Columbia

First Nations in BC Humans have inhabited what is today British Columbia for at least 11,500 years. The Pacific Northwest had the greatest pre-contact population density in North America (outside of California) and almost half of the aboriginal population of present day Canada. This was thanks to the abundance of natural resources, such as salmon and cedar. Estimated pre-contact population: 80 000 BC is home to over thirty aboriginal languages.

The Spanish In 1774, Juan Perez was the first European to reach the BC coast. His mission was to claim the coast for Spain, but he had to return early, due to lack of provisions. He traded with Nuu-chah-nulth on Vancouver Island, but did not land. In 1775, Juan de la Bodega y Quadra arrived, sailing as far north as Sitka, Alaska. He landed several times, claiming the territory for the Spanish crown.

James Cook In 1778, James Cook landed at Nootka Sound, searching for the Northwest Passage. He traded for sea otter pelts with the Nuu-chah-nulth, which would later become a profitable trade.

British and Spanish Competition In 1791, Spanish captain Jose Maria Narvaez explored the Straight of Georgia. In 1792, Dionisio Alcala Galiano and George Vancouver both made separate expeditions to present-day Vancouver. They met in the Burrard Inlet and agreed to work together to chart the Straight of Georgia. In 1794, Spain renounced its claim to the territory north of California.

British Overland Exploration In 1793, Alexander Mackenzie became the first European to reach the Pacific Northwest overland, with the help of First Nations guides and French voyageurs. He reached the coast near Bella Coola, the territory of the Heiltsuk nation. His travel companion, John Finlay, established a settlement at Fort St. John.

American Exploration In 1805, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark reached the Pacific Ocean, claiming the Oregon Territory for the US. They were accompanied by a Shoshone interpreter named Sacagawea, and her Quebecois husband Toussaint Charbonneau.

Continued British Exploration 1808 Simon Fraser and his crew reached the mouth of the Fraser River at Musqueam. In 1811, David Thompson explored the Columbia River. Three month before he reached its mouth, the American Fur Trade Company of John Jacob Astor had founded Fort Astoria, arriving by sea.

Oregon Territory The staff at Fort Astoria sold the fort to the NWC within a year, who renamed it Fort George. After the HBC and NWC merged, the HBC established Fort Vancouver in 1824 as the new regional headquarters. The district south of the Thompson River was called the Columbia District, and the district to the north New Caledonia.

The Columbia District The treaty of 1818 between Britain and the United States gave each country open access to the Oregon Territory. Since the local First Nations were not interested in working as hunters and trappers, the HBC mainly employed Iroquois, Ojibwe, Scots, Métis and French-Canadians, as well as native Hawaiians, known as Kanakas. Supplies were brought to Fort Vancouver once a year from York Factory, along the “York Express”.

The York Express

John McLoughlin John McLoughlin was born in Rivière-du-Loup, Québec, of Irish and French-Canadian ancestry. Simon Fraser was his mother’s brother. He was a trader for the NWC, and stood trial for the murder of Robert Semple at Seven Oaks (he was found not guilty). He was involved in the merger negotiations between the HBC and NWC. In 1824, he was appointed Chief Factor at Fort Vancouver.

The Oregon Trail American settlers began arriving in large numbers in the early 1840s, challenging HBC control of the territory. They settled mainly in the Willamette Valley and Puget Sound. The HBC had previously discouraged settlement, because it would conflict with the fur trade.

54-40 or Fight! John McLoughlin helped new American arrivals with money and supplies, encouraging them to settle south of the Columbia River. By 1843, American settlers had established their own provisional government. In the 1844 US presidential election, James Polk campaigned on behalf of US annexation of the Oregon Territory, as part of the US “Manifest Destiny”. He claimed the area as far north as 54°40′ north, the boundary with Russian Alaska.

1846 Oregon Treaty The US and Britain agreed to establish the 49th parallel as the border. The HBC headquarters shifted to Fort Victoria, which had been established in 1843.

The Colony of Vancouver Island In 1848, the same year that Oregon became a state, Britain created a crown colony on Vancouver Island. The HBC maintained its trading monopoly. The first governor was James Douglas.

James Douglas James Douglas was born in Guyana to a Scottish father and a Barbadian mother of part African ancestry. He joined the fur trade at the age of sixteen, as part of the NWC. He was married to a Métis woman named Amelia Connolly, the daughter of the Chief Factor of New Caledonia and his Cree wife.

The Douglas Treaties The Royal Proclamation of 1763 states that the crown must negotiate and sign treaties with indigenous people before land can be given to a colony. Between 1850-54, Douglas made 14 land purchases with members of the Esquimalt, Songhees, Saanich, Sooke, Nanaimo and Kwakiult nations. The treaties covered 930 km² around Victoria, Saanich, Sooke, Nanaimo and Port Hardy. First Nations kept their villages and fields, and the right to hunt and fish on surrendered land. In 1855, the colony had 774 settlers and 30,000 First Nations.

Ongoing Land Claims Treaty making in BC was ended after the Crown ran out of money. Only three more treaties would be signed in BC: Treaty 8 in Northeastern BC in 1899, the Nisga’a Agreement in 2000, and a treaty with the Tsawwassen First nation in 2007. The rest of BC is still subject to unextinguished Aboriginal title. The treaty process, involving 60 First Nations, has been going on since 1993.