BRITISH COLUMBIA TO 1896 Chapter 6. VANCOUVER ISLAND.

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