British Columbia & The Railway

British Columbia British Columbia was founded as a British colony in 1849 It was a quiet colony that lived in harmony with the First Nations population until 1858 when the population exploded! Why do you think the population expanded in 1858?

GOLD!! Gold was found It could be found in river beds and certain mines It was hard work, but a quick way to get rich!

Problems Quickly Surface Gold made British Columbia very rich very fast and they were one of Britain’s favourite colonies Their population and infrastructure (buildings and towns) quickly grew Why did Britain like BC so much?  But the Gold Rush did not last long

Aboriginals The Aboriginal groups of BC relied on salmon to live Searching for gold in the river scared the fish away First Nation groups attempted to block the river and many fights broke out, and many people died

End of the Gold Rush The rush only lasted 10 years and ended in They did not have the technology to find any more gold at the time. Many immigrants left or did not have a job You now have a modern colony, completely bankrupt

The Solution With the colony in debt and no gold to be found, Britain abandoned BC and stopped helping them Needing help to survive, BC turned to another option: CANADA!

What BC Wanted BC had some demands if it was going to allow itself to be governed by Canada: – Canada had to pay their debts – They wanted to be linked to Canada by a paved road – They wanted Canada to give them money each year

Canada Agrees! Canada says yes to all their demands They pay the debts Instead of a paved road, Canada offers something better: A Railway!!!! On July 20 th, 1871 British Columbia becomes Canada’s 6 th province

THE RAILWAY Every province was promised to be connected to the rest of the country via railway Two things were needed: – Money – People