Bc historical road trip

BC Historical Road Trip
Thomas Manship & Kamilla Pap

Oregon Territory
• In the 1800s, there were no boundaries and the Oregon Territory belonged to the First
Nations. It became a great spot for the fur trade and brought a lot of settlers to the area.
In 1824 George Simpson guided the HBC's Oregon Territory posts. He decided to put a
new fort on the north of the Columbia River, named Fort Vancouver. It became the main
trading post for the HBC. John McLoughlin was in charge of Fort Vancouver, and when
Americans were trespassing and invading near the Columbia River, he told the settlers to
settle south of the Columbia River to avoid any conflict. He gave them supplies and
money to begin getting settled. As the population of the American settlers to the south
of the Columbia River increased dramatically conflict began. The America's Manifest
Destiny made them want to take over all of North America. So, the HBC decided to make
a deal with the Americans, where they would to go back to their borders to the 49th
parallel. This would make Fort Vancouver fall into the American territory, but avoid
conflict. When James Polk won the election in 1844, his slogan was "54 40 or fight!". In
1845 and 1856, the borders were negotiated to the 49th parallel, with the exception that
Vancouver Island remained in BC's territory. Fort Victoria closed down officially in the
year of 1849. This resulted in the formation of the American and Canadian borders we
know today and the creation of Fort Victoria.

Colony of Vancouver Island
• In 1848, the British government made the decision create the Crown Colony of
Vancouver Island along with James Douglas. James Douglas played his part by
convincing people to settle in the area surrounding For Victoria. However the
best land was already taken by the HBC employees, which was rather unfortunate
for the settlers. James Douglas knew that the immigration of Europeans wouldn't
happen with ease if he didn't practically take the land from the Aboriginals and
claim it as his own, so he negotiated 14 different treaties between the years of
1850 and 1854 with the First Nations people. James Douglas was pretty fair with
the First Nations people as he allowed them to choose the size and location of
their new land as well as he allowed them to keep their traditional hunting &
fishing rights. He also gave them some range land for their horses/cattle. In the
1850s, coal was discovered and mines opened up all across the island and this
caused Vancouver Islands economy to grow enough to allow a navel base to be
built near Fort Vancouver. This helped BC develop a strong naval presence and to
bring in more European men with the royal navy (which caused a class system to
be created as well).

Colony of BC
• In 1858, the colony of BC was created on the mainland, and the reasoning for that
was because there was so many Americans bombarding the area and people
were frightened that the Americans could possibly take over. So by creating the
colony of BC, BC government could charge taxes on people bringing gold out of
Canada. In 1859, The Royal Engineers were sent to BC by the Colonial Office to
provide military presence, survey the region, and help lay down new towns and
roads which came to be known as New Westminster the capital of BC. Since New
Westminster was the new capital of BC many settlers and miners settled there.
Because of the Gold Rush people would usually travel from different towns to see
if they could find any gold, and they really needed some sort of road to make
traveling a lot quicker and easier. So James Douglas hired miners to widen and old
HBC trail that bypassed the Fraser River, which became known as the Cariboo
Wagon Road. It connected to different towns such as Yale and Barkerville, and it
took up to 3 years to build and cost the colonial government $75,000. After the
road was finished the Gold Rush was already declined and left BC in great debt.

Confederation
• There were a lot of arguments and opinions on the Confederation in BC,
some people wanted it and some people didn’t want it. The elected
representatives on the mainland were in favour of the Confederation, while
members from Vancouver Island disapproved. The third group were the
Victoria merchants who favoured annexation by the US, but he First
Nations were not aloud to share their opinion whatsoever. In late 1868, a
new election created balance of anti and pro confederationists in the
assembly. Then soon after, Governor Seymour passed away. So The British
Colonial Office appointed Anthony Musgrave as his replacement. The
British government were tired of supporting the colony, so they were in
favour of Confederation. Musgraves instructions were very simple “get BC
to join Confederation as quickly as possible”. The people in BC agreed to
write out a “wish list” of terms. Canada agreed with most of the terms, and
allowed BC to have responsible government.

Vancouver
• Vancouver is the youngest major community in BC. However Burrard Inlet is not fed by a
main river, and the peninsula was originally covered by thick forests. During the fur trade
and the Cariboo Gold Rush, these factors discouraged people from settling there. When
Colonel Moody arrived New Westminster, he was impressed by the potential of Burrard
Inlet. In 1865 the area had completely changed. Captain Edward Stamp built Hastings
Mill on the south side of the inlet, and on the north side of the inlet, American
entrepreneur Sewell Moody also built a sawmill. Both mills specialized in logging timber
from large trees. Both Hastings Mill and Moodyville were dry until Gassy Jack appeared
in Burrard in 1867 with his family. Gassy Jacks saloon became a popular meeting place in
Gastown. The end of the CPR changed Port Moody to Vancouver because the harbour
was shallow and there wasn’t enough flat land. By the spring 1886, the CPR was
completed in Vancouver, it had a population of over 5000, and in 10 years it was more
than 20,000. With Confederation and the railway, BC was no longer isolated from the rest
of Canada. BC drew attention to producers and business owners. The population grew
increasingly due to the railway making it easier through the mountains. Goods could flow
easily through the province, both to and from the rest of Canada.

Kanakas
• Kanakas were the first non- European immigrants in BC who traveled to the
west coast of North America from the Hawaiian Islands in the 19
th
century
who came here to work in the fur trade as contract labourers. Over time
they became 30-60% of the work force at each individual HBC fortified
trading post. A lot of these young men married First Nations women, put
down roots and settled here in Salt springs. Many of the Kanaka families
grew fruit and vegetables, fished and hunted, and made coke from the
local coal. This coal is what they sold to Hastings Mill (located near
Gastown). The kids trekked along a shore path to school at the Mill daily.
The Kanakas and the Kanaka children played a not always so easy part in
aiding the growth of this city (kanaka creek meets the Fraser river, where
they first settled.)

Blacks
• African American settlers came from San Francisco to Victoria in 1858 to
escape oppression and discrimination on the personal invitation of
Governor James Douglas in April 14, 1858. They had no civil rights in
California and were constant victims of increasingly violent discrimination.
The SS Commodore was a ship that carried 35 African Americans
northward from California to Victoria, their jobs were to decide whether or
not Victoria was a suitable place for a black community to flourish, which it
was because of the cheap land and they would have the same rights as
white citizens. Mining, farming and logging were all industries many of the
settlers went into. Many people started their own businesses on their land.
The African Americans who came to Canada to seek refuge found that the
very Americans that they were running from had overrun this area as well,
and so they faced racism. The gold rush caused property values in Victoria
to rise, and as a result many black immigrants moved north of the farm on
Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring Island: Then & Now

Chinese
• The reason why the Chinese came to Canada was because of the Railway. Railway
owners hired Asian railway workers because they could do cheaper things on the
railway. Employment on the railway decreased dramatically after 1886, and
Chinese workers filled a variety of jobs in both rural and urban BC. The Head tax
in 1885, the year where the CPR was finished and it was only directed for
immigrants coming from China. By 1901, the head tax is $100 and in 1903 it was
raised to $500. In 1904 and 1905 business moved eastward on Dupont St from
Carrall St to Westminster Av. In 1907 the Asiatic Exclusion League was formed in
BC by members of a male working association concerned about the impact of the
continued presence of poorly paid Chinese workers. Although the Chinese did not
fight back the Japanese did. This caused a riot and many people were injured,
and the riot increased racism between all non-white groups and in 1923 they
banned all Chinese immigration. The Chinese weren’t accepted in Canada, but
despite all the attacks Chinatown continued to grow more an more.

Jewish
• Jewish settlers first came from California to BC around the late 1850s; many of
them were drawn in by the gold rush. Jewish merchants from San Francisco
settled in Victoria during the 1858 gold rush and opened stores all throughout the
mainland. The settling of Jewish people in BC lead to the first Synagogues and
Jewish cemeteries being built. In the 1900's and 1910's large numbers of poor
Jews seeking refuge in Canada from pogroms in Eastern Europe, settled in
Strathcona district.

Congregation Emanu-El Synagogue: Then &
Now

Sikhs
• Sikh’s were the first Indian that immigrated to Canada. The Komagata Maru arrived in
Vancouver on May 1914. Its passengers, mostly Sikhs from Punjab, India and all British
subjects, challenged Canada's Continuous Journey, which was put in place in part to limit
immigration from non-European countries. After two months under difficult conditions,
the ship and most of its passengers were forced to return to India where, in a
subsequent clash with British soldiers, 19 passengers died. They were attracted to the
warm climate and rich vegetation of Vancouver because it resembled their Punjabi
homeland (Jagpal, 1994; Singh, 1999; Unna 1985). The census of 1901 captured 1,000
Canadian residents who had been born in India, and then resided in British Columbia and
Ontario. In that Census, they were classified as being of British origin and were labelled
as Anglo-Indians (Bali & Bal, 1993). The first Sikh pioneers in Canada had a strong desire
to have a place to hold religious gatherings and to be surrounded by the Satsangat. Many
later became successful mill and farm owners. In addition to farming and logging, many
Sikhs worked on railways and in sawmills in British Columbia. Much of the Sikh
community continued to raise donations to build formal Gurdwaras around the areas
where they found work, which included Port Moody, New Westminster, Victoria, and
Vancouver.

Cariboo Gold Rush
• The Cariboo Gold Rush was the second gold rush to strike British Columbia
from 1860-1863 after the Fraser River Gold Rush died off. It ran out of a
very little town called Barkerville which we still have here today in BC.
When the Cariboo Wagon Road was created, it made for much easier
access up to Barkerville and in result, the town boomed and became
economically successful. There was Saloons, dancehalls, general stores and
boarding houses that all served the needs of the miners and made the
town lots of money as it was in such high demand for everyone up
participating in the rush. Unfortunately just as the road was completed, the
Gold Rush had died down and many people began leaving the area. This
put many people in to debt since they had put money in to roads and for
bettering their business’s. The gold rushes of British Columbia advanced
the colony when it was being created, it was the beginning of the growth of
cities and flourished the ideas of creating profit.

Logging
• Forestry helped make lot of money when the CPR was being built, but after it was
completed, the forest industry started to decrease however, it did bring more
business into BC. But the industry started picking up again, this created many job
opening in the 1800’s and brought more people into the area increasing the
population. It also affected Port Alberni, Prince George, Burrard Inlet, and later in
the future, Victoria. The over cutting of trees and destruction of forests are some
of the concerns and even though some trees were replanted after they were cut,
they didn’t grow back to full potential or as strong as they had been before. The
government decided to make the Forest Act which means logging companies
were limited to only cut as many trees as it can grow back. Another issue were
the pine beetles, as it has been taking out entire forests and decreased the total
number of trees. There was also Silviculture, which is the growing and cultivation
of trees until their maturity. Forestry really helped the development and
economy of British Columbia, bringing it more business and a larger population.

Mining
•
Mining was discovered by the HBC on Vancouver Island and caused many Scottish people
to immigrate there. Other locations were also soon discovered, these locations consists
of Nanaimo, Wellington, Cumberland and Ladysmith. The mining industry would hire
many people over the course of several years, as they exported a lot of coal to other
countries and needed more help. However, despite the success that they had, there are
no longer coal mines, but there is an open pit mine in both South East and North East BC.
Coal is no longer used to fuel the heat in homes, but are still burned to make steel and
burning power plants. They found gold near the Cariboo and Fraser River, this caught
many people’s attention and many came to BC for the Gold Rush hoping to be successful,
but many returned home empty handed. Towns such as Barkerville, Atlin, Kaslo,
Greenwood were created for all the people that came for the Gold Rush. Once they ran
out of money, most of the people left and the towns became ghost towns. Open pit
mining was becoming a concern as these craters were harmful to the ground, and
created a large decrease in the amount of trees. Another concern was that the material
of the mining industry was not a renewable source, and many were afraid of the decline,
so BC decided to solve this issue by covering the craters that was made for open pit
mining and to only mine in suitable areas in the future.

Fishing
• The fishing industry took place anywhere that contained plenty of fish to catch,
but this industry specifically affected Annieville, as they were the first ones to
have a canning factory. The First Nations and the Europeans relied on salmon for
food and to make money. Packing the fish into cans was the easiest way to
transport the fish and the best way to keep the fish fresh. The canning plants
provided many people such as immigrants and the aboriginals jobs, however,
after the peak in fishing industry, many came to BC for jobs, this also meant more
people needed food. The total amount of fish started to decrease causing the
industry to decline as well, over fishing was another reason that caused this
decline to happen, and therefore was a limit established on the amount of fish
that you could catch. The number of days that they were allowed to fish was
reduced, and you now needed a fishing license to be permitted to fish, this
reduced the number of those who were being employed by the fishing industry.
However, sport fishing became popular and brought in a lot of tourists and
money to the province.

Agriculture
• An area perfect for agriculture was the Fraser River, Delta and the south east part of
Vancouver Island as they were well suited with rich soil to grow a variety of vegetables
and berries. The Okanagan was perfect for orchards and vineyards as it had a hot and dry
climate. The central interior were mainly used for cattle ranching and the Peace River
was used for grain farming. The farming of vegetables dairy cattle, and poultry was done
in the Fraser Valley where it was most fertile. The industry helped with the supplying of
meat, dairy products as well as vegetables. However, agriculture was never a big industry
in BC as only 1% of the land was considered capable to be used for agriculture at that
time, and since it was such a small industry, many people decided to import their food
because the transportation costs were fairly cheap. Another reason for the decline in the
industry was because of the competition from Mexico, US and other countries that had
the ability to produce far larger number of agriculture goods for a cheaper price, and if
America could grow goods that are cheaper than Canada’s good, the Canadian
agriculture industry would have to lower their prices as the Canadians would want this
cheaper item. Later on, people realized that their precious farmland was becoming
smaller and smaller, the provincial government decided to take action and establish the
Agricultural Land Reserve law to protect the land from further development and
settlement.

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