History of British Columbia Aboriginal Interests – BC has been home to more than 25 different aboriginal groups for more than 10 000 years Aboriginal groups have long been involved in trade European Contacts – Russians first to the coast in 1741 Ships from Spain, Britain and USA followed Sea otter trade flourished on the Pacific Coast HBC establishes posts and British presence Competition b/w USA and Britain over sea otter trade

James Cook EXPLORER: Capt. James Cook (1728-1779)  FROM: England IMPORTANT DATES: in 1776 the Resolution set sail; reached Pacific Northwest in 1778  VESSELS: Cook sailed the Endeavour on his first expedition and commanded the Resolution and the Adventure on his second expedition POTENTIAL PURPOSE: the search for the Northwest Passage; search for resources; collection of scientific and ethnographic data The routes of Captain James Cook's voyages. The first voyage is shown in red, second voyage in green, and third voyage in blue. The route of Cook's crew following his death is shown as a dashed blue line.

Nootka Sound, 1777 Cook arrived at Nootka Sound and continued to the Aleutians and Alaska in his search for a Northwest Passage.  Ice halted his progress through the Bering Strait at a point they named Icy Cape. In late October, they sailed back to the Sandwich Islands, intending to winter there. With welcoming people interested in trade.  They exchanged sea otter and other animal skins as well as carved work, for iron and other metal objects.  Cook and his crew kept notes and made drawings of the Mowachaht people and the local landscape. Captain James Cook's Resolution and Discovery at Resolution Cove

Maritime Fur Trade on the Pacific Coast The maritime fur trade brought the natives of the Northwest Coast material prosperity, wealth, and technology. There was an increase in the frequency of potlatching, which was used by the nouveau riche in challenging the traditional chiefs. It enlarged and transformed inter-tribal relations, trade, and war. Negative effects of the coast trade on the native peoples of the Northwest included waves of epidemic disease, smallpox worst of all. The coast trade also promoted and enhanced the pre-existing system of native slavery and native slave trading. The overall number of slaves increased, as did their distribution and exploitation.

Oregon Territory – Competing Interests Early 1800s – Border b/w BNA and USA was 49th parallel, but only to the Rocky Mountains Americans claimed Oregon Territory (Manifest Destiny) and encouraged settlers into area HBC saw Oregon as extension of Rupert’s Land HBC creates new posts – circa 1826/1827 1. Fort Vancouver (Columbia River) 2. Fort Langley (Fraser River) 1830s – very strong US settler presence in Oregon Terr. 1840s – US waning to expand territory 1844 – “54-40 or Fight” - Democratic candidate James Polk runs on slogan that would see US claim territory up to Alaskan Border – he wins!

Gold Rush

Fraser River Gold Rush The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia. This was a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser River at present-day Lytton. The rush overtook the region around the discovery, and was centered on the Fraser Canyon from around Hope and Yale to Pavilion and Fountain, just north of Lillooet. Though the rush was largely over by 1860, miners from the rush spread out and found a sequence of other gold rushes throughout the British Columbia Interior and North, most famously that in the Cariboo. The rush is credited with instigating European-Canadian settlement on the mainland of British Columbia. It was the catalyst for the founding of the Colony of British Columbia, the building of early road infrastructure, and the founding of many towns. The Fraser Gold Rush was a seminal point in the history of British Columbia. It led Britain to declare the Colony of British Columbia, which was also known as the Mainland Colony, to assert British authority and governance over the territory, which had been unincorporated in the wake of the Oregon Treaty of 1846.