1. BRITISH COLUMBIA TO 1896
Chapter 6

2. VANCOUVER ISLAND

3. “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 Ocean
British kept control of Vancouver
Land south of Vancouver became American

4. James Douglas
1848—British government created the Crown colony of Vancouver Island
James Douglas became governor
Did not like Americans
Encouraged British settlement in the colony
Thought prospective colonists should receive a free grant of land
British government wanted to recreate the English class system

5. English Class System Settlers purchased land at 1 an acre
PROCESS
RESULT
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

6. Mining Starts 1840’s—Coal discovered near Nanaimo
Immigrants arrived to be miners
Royal Navy became their first customer
Esquimalt harbor established next to Fort Victoria as a naval base
Warships needed a supply of coal
Mid-1850’s—more mines established at Cumberland north of Vancouver Island

7. Landed Gentry
Royal Navy were ‘gentlemen’ and were a big part of Victorian social life
Came from the privileged class in England
Douglas 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

8. 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

9. 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 land
They would have fishing and hunting rights on the surrendered land

10. 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.

11. COMPENSATION Each family got an annual £210 shillings
Seemed Douglas was leasing the land
Governments 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

12. GOLD RUSHES

13. 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:
Stake a claim (buy a spot) that you and maybe your workers would work
Sink a mine shaft down to bedrock and bring it to the surface
Gold-bearing clay and sand would be washed away to reveal gold
Was a very tedious process

14. 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

15. 49’ERS Yeah, a football team
Named 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

16. RIVER RUSHES
1857—HBC trader arrived in Fort Victoria with 2 vials of gold dust which he panned in the Thompson River
He 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 —His fear became a reality
Ex-California rushers moved up to the banks of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers

17. 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 arrive
End of the Summer—Over 10,000 miners were working on the Fraser River
Mostly Americans

18. 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 Moody
Provided a level of military authority in the new colony
They surveyed the region, giving technical assistance in building roads and towns

19. CARIBOO

20. CARIBOO GOLD RUSH
1859—Gold deposits in the Fraser River had been depleted
Miners thought the gold has eroded from a larger source upstream
The moved upstream, searching for the source
—Miners found the source that fed the Fraser River:
The Cariboo region in south central BC

21. The Cariboo Road
1860’s—Douglas realized his colony wasn’t getting any profit from the mining
All gold taken from BC was taxable
Douglas decided to build a road to the goldfields
This would ensure gold left via the Fraser and not US territory
It would also promote settlement and encourage economic development

22. THE ROUTES Lake Harrison and Lillooet River
Long Route
Short Route
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

23. 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 complete
Over $
Mid-1860’s—Gold rush was ending
Gold revenues were falling fast when road was completed
The colony took the loss hard and did not recover for a long time

24. BRITISH COLUMBIA

25. NEED FOR UNION
Rapid loss of population and revenue hurt the two colonies
Suffered great financial losses
Representatives from BC and Vancouver Island wanted to join the colonies
This would help economically
1866—Vacouver Island had a $ debt
BC had just over $ of debt
May—Both colonies found out their local bank credit had run out

26. 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

27. ? UNION WAS NOT THE CURE? Union did not solve their problems
Population continued to decline
Money problems also continued
A more permanent solution was needed ?

28. FACTIONS OF CONFEDERATION
There were three groups:
Strongly opposed Confederation
Supported Confederation
Supported annexation by the US
Mostly Victoria businessmen
—Debate was never-ending
BC’s future was unknown

29. A STEP TOWARDS CONFEDERATION
1868—Election held for Legislative Assembly
Mainland—Candidates supported confederation
Island—Candidates were against confederation
Governor Seymour died suddenly while touring the northern communities
Anthony Musgrave, John A. Macdonald’s personal friend, was Seymour’s successor
Macdonald had recommended Musgrave
Instructions from the British Colonial Office:
Get BC to join Canada as quickly as possible

30. CONFEDERATION ACHIEVED
Musgrave 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

31. CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD

32. 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

33. ANNEXATIONISTS
Circulated a petition to be sent to President Grant in Washington
In Victoria, a population of 3000, only 125 signatures were collected
Annexation was not popular
Musgrave decided to co-opt the anti-confederation supporters
They 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

34. 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

35. “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

36. NO METROPOLIS 1881—Port Moody was the designated terminus for the CPR
Speculators bought land, buying into the future metropolis
1884—William Van Horne arrived to make the precise location for the terminus
Discovered the harbour was made of tidal flats
Could not hold deep-sea vessels needing to dock to load and unload cargo
Continues his search for anchorage

37. 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

38. VANCOUVER

39. THE YOUNGEST COMMUNITY
Youngest major community in BC
Other major centres started with fur trade or the Cariboo Gold Rush
During this time settlers were discouraged because:
Burrard Inlet isn’t fed by a major river
Vancouver’s peninsula is covered by a dense forest

40. “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

41. DAVID OPPENHEIMER
Moved 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

42. “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

43. VOCABULARY

44. 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 country
established or recognized right to something

45. Verbs
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
To rework:
To undercut:
To co-opt:
To stake claim:
To pan:
To inflate:

46. 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

47. Land an imaginary line north or south of the equator Parallel:
a low-lying marsh
solid rock underneath looser materials suck as soil
a town that provides services to people engaged in one main industry
a chief city
Parallel:
Tidal Flat:
Bedrock:
Service Town:
Metropolis:

48. GOLD RUSH