Introduction to History of British Columbia
Archeologists believe that the area that is now British Columbia was inhabited as early as 8000 B.C., by prehistoric people whose ancestors had migrated from Asia at a time when a land bridge connected Asia and North America. When European explorers arrived in the region, the major Indian tribes were the Tsimshian in the north, the Haida along the coast, and the Kwakiutl on Vancouver Island. These tribes had advanced cultures, and prosperous economies based on hunting, fishing, whaling, and trade.
Important dates in British Columbia1778 James Cook landed on Vancouver Island.1790 The Nootka Convention gave the Spaniards and the British equal trading rights along the North Pacific Coast.1792-1794 George Vancouver explored the coast.1805-1808 Simon Fraser explored what is now British Columbia.1843 The Hudson's Bay Company founded Fort Victoria.1846 The Oregon Treaty set the boundary between British Columbia and the United States.1849 The British established a colony on Vancouver Island.1858 The British established the colony of British Columbia on the mainland during the gold rush to the Fraser River.1861 The gold rush to the Cariboo District began.1866 The British united the colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island.1885 Canada's transcontinental railroad was completed.1942 The Alaska Highway linked Dawson Creek with Yukon and Alaska.1951 Major natural gas and oil fields were discovered near Fort St. John in the Peace River District.1964 Canada and the United States reached final agreement on their 1961 treaty providing for development of the Columbia River in British Columbia and the state of Washington.1972 The New Democratic Party became the first social-democratic party to form the provincial government. It remained in office until 1975.1985 The province's Northeast B.C. Coal Project, the largest coal mining project in Canada, made its first shipment of coal.2000 The Nisga'a Treaty, which settled land claims by the Nisga'a Indians of British Columbia, was ratified.European Exploration and Settlement
Juan Perez, a Spanish explorer coming north from Mexico, reached the coast of British Columbia in 1774. Britain's Captain James Cook, in 1778, explored parts of the coast. He landed at Nootka Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and began trading with the Indians for furs. When news of this commerce became known, other British traders came to the area. Meanwhile, Spain claimed the territory (1789) and established a settlement at Nootka Sound. Spain and Britain nearly came to war over the region, but the Spanish eventually abandoned their settlement and claims.
While Spain and Britain were disputing the territory, Captain George Vancouver, a British explorer, surveyed the coast, 1792–94. In 1793 Alexander Mackenzie of the fur-trading North West Company was the first European to make the overland trip to the Pacific. Other members of the North West Company explored the interior and established fur-trading posts. The British Columbia mainland (then called New Caledonia) was under the control of the North West Company until 1821, when that company was absorbed by the Hudson's Bay Company.
In 1843 the Hudson's Bay Company built a fort at Victoria, on Vancouver Island. This created a stir in the United States, which claimed all territory as far north as 54º40' latitude. The Treaty of Washington of 1846 (the Oregon Treaty) set the United States–British border at the 49th parallel. In the Georgia Strait, however, the boundary dips around, instead of crossing, Vancouver Island.
During the 1830's and 1840's, the territory grew steadily in population. In 1849 Vancouver Island became a British crown colony. In 1857 gold was discovered along the Fraser River, and the following year a gold rush began. Thousands of prospectors, many from the United States, flooded into the territory. In an effort to keep order and maintain British sovereignty, the mainland was made a crown colony, named British Columbia. The capital was established at New Westminster, and James Douglas, the governor of Vancouver Island, also became governor of the new colony. The San Juan Islands, off the coast of Washington, came under joint British-American control in 1859. (They were awarded to the United States by arbitration in 1872.) The discovery of gold in the Cariboo Mountains, in 1860, brought many prospectors and settlers to the mainland colony.
In 1866 the mainland and the separate colony of Vancouver Island were joined into the crown colony of British Columbia. Victoria became the capital in 1863. In 1871 British Columbia became the sixth province of the Dominion of Canada.
Modern Development
As an inducement for British Columbia to join the Dominion, Canada had promised to complete a transcontinental railway to the Pacific within 10 years. Surveys were made but building was delayed, partly because of the obstacles the mountains presented. Discontent over failure to complete the railway led to some cries for secession. However, extension of the Canadian Pacific Railway was started in 1881; it reached Vancouver in 1885.
The railway brought prosperity with it. New mines were opened, and lumbering and salmon fishing were developed. More railways were built, and immigration increased.
A dispute with the United States over the boundary between Alaska and British Columbia was settled by an arbitration commission in 1903. The commission decided in favor of the United States, briefly arousing anger by Canadians against the United States and Britain, whose member on the commission had cast the deciding vote against the Canadian position.
The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 enabled Vancouver to compete with Atlantic seaports in shipping grain, lumber, and fish products. During World War I, manufacturing (especially shipbuilding and metal producing) expanded. Following World War II the Alaska Highway opened up the north. Hydroelectric power projects aided growth of the metals industry and manufacturing. During the 1950's the Pacific Great Eastern Railway was extended to open up new settlements and link resources of the interior with Vancouver. A pipeline was constructed to deliver natural gas from the Peace River region to Vancouver and the United States.
In the 1960's and 1970's, industrial expansion was stimulated by construction of hydroelectric power plants and pulp mills, the opening of new coal mines, and the continued extension of railway facilities into the interior. Economic development was slowed by the worldwide recession of the early 1980's. In 1986 an international exposition, called Expo 86, was held in Vancouver. In 1991 the New Democratic party took power after nearly 40 years of rule by the Social Credit party.
In 2000, the Nisga'a Treaty was ratified by the Canadian government. The treaty provided land, money, and other benefits for Nisga'a Indians. The government also granted the Nisga'a some autonomy.