Colony of Vancouver Island
Encyclopedia
The Colony of Vancouver Island (officially known as the Island of Vancouver and its Dependencies), was a crown colony
of British North America
from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with British Columbia
. The united colony joined the Dominion of Canada through Confederation
in 1871. The colony comprised Vancouver Island
and the Gulf Islands
of the Strait of Georgia
.
was the first European to set foot on the Island at Nootka Sound
in 1778, claiming the territory for Great Britain
. Fourteen years later, under the provisions of the Nootka Convention
, Spain
ceded its claims to Vancouver Island and the adjoining islands (including the Gulf Islands
). It was not until 1843, however, that Britain — under the auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company
(HBC) — established a settlement on Vancouver Island. The settlement was in the form of a fur trading post
originally named Fort Albert (afterward Fort Victoria
). The fort was located at the Songhees
settlement of Camosack (Camosun), 200 metres northwest of the present-day Empress Hotel on Victoria's Inner Harbour. The fort was originally known as Fort Camosun.
With the signing of the Treaty of Washington
in 1846, the HBC determined that its trapping rights in the Oregon Territory
were tenuous. Thus in 1849, it moved its western headquarters from Fort Vancouver
on the Columbia River
(present day Vancouver, Washington
) to Fort Victoria. Fort Vancouver's Chief Factor
, James Douglas
, was relocated to the young trading post to oversee the Company's operations west of the Rockies
.
This development prompted the British colonial office
to designate the territory a crown colony on January 13, 1849. The colony was immediately leased to the HBC for a ten year period, and Douglas was charged with encouraging British settlement. Richard Blanshard
was named the colony's governor. Blanshard discovered that the hold of the HBC over the affairs of the new colony was all but absolute, and that it was Douglas who held all practical authority in the territory. There was no civil service, no police, no militia, and virtually every British colonist was an employee of the HBC. Frustrated, Blanshard abandoned his post a year later, returning to England. In 1851, his resignation was finalized, and the colonial office appointed Douglas as governor.
Douglas's situation as both the local chief executive of a private company as well as the civil governor of the colony from whom the company had leased all rights, was barely tenable from the outset. Initially, Douglas performed the delicate balancing act well, raising a domestic militia
and encouraging settlement. By the mid-1850s, the colony's non-aboriginal population was approaching 500, and sawmill
and coal mining
operations had been established at Fort Nanaimo and Fort Rupert
(near present day Port Hardy). Douglas also assisted the British government in establishing a naval base at present-day Esquimalt to check Russian and American expansionism.
Douglas's efforts at encouraging settlement were hampered by colonial officials in London, who kept land prices high in order to encourage the emigration of wealthier Britons, who were given incentives to bring out labourers with them to work the landholdings. The result was that emigration was slow, and the landless labourers frequently fled the colony either to obtain free land grants in the United States, or work the newly-discovered goldfields of California
. A secondary result was the replication of the British class system, with the attendant resistance to non-parochial education, land reform, and representative government.
At the time of the establishment of the colony, Vancouver Island had a large and varied First Nations
population of upwards of 30,000. Douglas completed fourteen separate treaties with the various nations, or tribe
s. Under the terms of these treaties, known today as the Douglas Treaties
, the nations were obliged to surrender title to all land within a designated area, with the exception of villages and cultivated areas, in perpetuity. They were also given permission to hunt and fish over unoccupied territories. For these concessions, the nations were given a one-time cash payment of a few shilling
s each.
As settlement accelerated, resentment towards the HBC's monopoly — both economic and civil — over the colony swelled. A series of petitions were sent to the colonial office, one of which resulted in the establishment of a colonial assembly in 1855. At first, little changed, given that only a few dozen men met the voting requirement of holding twenty or more acres. Moreover, the majority of the representatives were employees of the HBC. However, as time went on, the franchise was gradually extended, and the assembly began to assert demands for more control over colonial affairs and criticized Douglas's inherent conflict of interest
.
By 1857, Americans and British colonists were beginning to respond to rumours of gold in the Thompson River
area. Almost overnight, some ten to twenty thousand men moved into the interior of New Caledonia
(mainland British Columbia), and Victoria was transformed into a tent-city of prospectors
, merchants, land-agents, and speculators. Douglas — who had no legal authority over New Caledonia — stationed a gunboat at the entrance of the Fraser River
in order to exert British authority by collecting licenses from boats attempting to make their way upstream. In order to exert its legal authority, and undercut any HBC claims to the resource wealth of the mainland, the district was converted to a crown colony on August 2, 1858, and given the name British Columbia
. Douglas was offered the governorship of the new colony, on condition that he sever his relationship with the HBC. Douglas accepted these conditions, and a knighthood, and for the next six years would govern both colonies from Victoria.
The remainder of Douglas's term as Vancouver Island governor was marked by increased expansion of the economy and settlement, and greater agitation for both union of the two colonies and for the introduction of fully responsible government
. It was also marked by occasional boundary disputes with the United States, the most significant of which was the San Juan Boundary Dispute in 1859. This resulted in a sometimes tense, twelve-year military standoff as the two countries garrisoned troops on San Juan Island
. There was a second gold rush — the Cariboo Gold Rush
— and again Victoria experienced an economic boom as the staging point for the prospectors.
The increased conflicts between Douglas and the reformers, such as Amor De Cosmos
, along with the growing desire of colonists in British Columbia to have a resident governor in their capital of New Westminster resulted in the colonial office easing Douglas into retirement in 1864.
Douglas was succeeded as governor by Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy
, a career colonial administrator who had previously served as governor of Sierra Leone
, Western Australia
, Hong Kong
and Queensland
. While there was popular acclaim for the appointment of a governor free from ties with the HBC, Kennedy was initially met with suspicion and opposition by the colonial assembly, which feared the loss of Vancouver Island's status vis-á-vis the growing power of the mainland colony. It resisted the colonial office's request for the permanent appropriation for the civil list
in return for control of the extensive crown lands of the colony, and temporarily withheld salary and housing to Kennedy until they had achieved their aim. Kennedy met with further opposition by some in the assembly over the plan for the colony to unite with British Columbia. It was only when opponents were persuaded that such union would boost the colony's ailing economy that passage of the proposal was assured by the assembly.
Meanwhile, Kennedy had achieved some progress in breaking down the longstanding social barriers established over years of HBC hegemony. In 1865, the Common Schools Act funded public education; and Kennedy reformed the civil service, introduced auditing of the colonial budget, and improved revenue collection. Nonetheless, he continued to fail in his efforts to persuade the assembly to introduce the vote of a civil list, as well as enforcing various measures to protect the rights and well-being of the increasingly pressured aboriginal population. Despite his sympathy for the plight of the colony's First Nations people, Kennedy authorised naval bombardment of the Ahousahts of Clayoquot Sound
in 1864 in reprisal for the murder of the crew of a trading vessel. Nine Ahousaht villages were destroyed, and thirteen people killed.
With the colony's budget collapsing by 1865, and the assembly unwilling and unable to introduce proposals for raising revenue, Kennedy was barely able to keep the administration afloat until the union of Vancouver Island and British Columbia in October, 1866. With that, Vancouver Island ceased to exist as a separate colony, becoming part of the United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
. The capital of the united colony would be Victoria.
Crown colony
A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....
of British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. The united colony joined the Dominion of Canada through Confederation
Confederation
A confederation in modern political terms is a permanent union of political units for common action in relation to other units. Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution, confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues such as defense, foreign...
in 1871. The colony comprised Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
and the Gulf Islands
Gulf Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia , between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada....
of the Strait of Georgia
Strait of Georgia
The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately long and varies in width from...
.
Establishment of the colony
Captain James CookJames Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
was the first European to set foot on the Island at Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
in 1778, claiming the territory for Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
. Fourteen years later, under the provisions of the Nootka Convention
Nootka Convention
The Nootka Conventions were a series of three agreements between the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Great Britain, signed in the 1790s which averted a war between the two empires over overlapping claims to portions of the Pacific Northwest coast of North America.The claims of Spain dated back...
, Spain
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
ceded its claims to Vancouver Island and the adjoining islands (including the Gulf Islands
Gulf Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia , between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada....
). It was not until 1843, however, that Britain — under the auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
(HBC) — established a settlement on Vancouver Island. The settlement was in the form of a fur trading post
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
originally named Fort Albert (afterward Fort Victoria
Fort Victoria (British Columbia)
Fort Victoria was a fur trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company, the headquarters of HBC operations in British Columbia. The fort was the beginnings of a settlement that eventually grew into the modern Victoria, British Columbia, the capital city of British Columbia.The headquarters of HBC...
). The fort was located at the Songhees
Coast Salish
Coast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the territory that is now the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington state around Puget Sound...
settlement of Camosack (Camosun), 200 metres northwest of the present-day Empress Hotel on Victoria's Inner Harbour. The fort was originally known as Fort Camosun.
With the signing of the Treaty of Washington
Oregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to the Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by...
in 1846, the HBC determined that its trapping rights in the Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
were tenuous. Thus in 1849, it moved its western headquarters from Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
on the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
(present day Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
) to Fort Victoria. Fort Vancouver's Chief Factor
Factor (agent)
A factor, from the Latin "he who does" , is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual or other legal entity, historically with his seat at a factory , notably in the following contexts:-Mercantile factor:In a relatively large company, there could be a hierarchy,...
, James Douglas
James Douglas (Governor)
Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...
, was relocated to the young trading post to oversee the Company's operations west of the Rockies
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
.
This development prompted the British colonial office
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
to designate the territory a crown colony on January 13, 1849. The colony was immediately leased to the HBC for a ten year period, and Douglas was charged with encouraging British settlement. Richard Blanshard
Richard Blanshard
Richard Blanshard MA was an English barrister and first governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island from its foundation in 1849 to his resignation in 1851....
was named the colony's governor. Blanshard discovered that the hold of the HBC over the affairs of the new colony was all but absolute, and that it was Douglas who held all practical authority in the territory. There was no civil service, no police, no militia, and virtually every British colonist was an employee of the HBC. Frustrated, Blanshard abandoned his post a year later, returning to England. In 1851, his resignation was finalized, and the colonial office appointed Douglas as governor.
Governorship of Sir James Douglas
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
and encouraging settlement. By the mid-1850s, the colony's non-aboriginal population was approaching 500, and sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
and coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
operations had been established at Fort Nanaimo and Fort Rupert
Fort Rupert, British Columbia
Fort Rupert is the site of a former Hudson's Bay Company fort which was built and first commanded by William Henry McNeill in 1849 and later by John Work. It is located near present-day Port Hardy, British Columbia on Vancouver Island....
(near present day Port Hardy). Douglas also assisted the British government in establishing a naval base at present-day Esquimalt to check Russian and American expansionism.
Douglas's efforts at encouraging settlement were hampered by colonial officials in London, who kept land prices high in order to encourage the emigration of wealthier Britons, who were given incentives to bring out labourers with them to work the landholdings. The result was that emigration was slow, and the landless labourers frequently fled the colony either to obtain free land grants in the United States, or work the newly-discovered goldfields of California
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
. A secondary result was the replication of the British class system, with the attendant resistance to non-parochial education, land reform, and representative government.
At the time of the establishment of the colony, Vancouver Island had a large and varied First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
population of upwards of 30,000. Douglas completed fourteen separate treaties with the various nations, or tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s. Under the terms of these treaties, known today as the Douglas Treaties
Douglas Treaties
The Douglas Treaties , Vancouver Island Treaties or the Fort Victoria Treaties were a series of treaties signed between certain First Nations on Vancouver Island and the Colony of Vancouver Island.-Background:...
, the nations were obliged to surrender title to all land within a designated area, with the exception of villages and cultivated areas, in perpetuity. They were also given permission to hunt and fish over unoccupied territories. For these concessions, the nations were given a one-time cash payment of a few shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s each.
As settlement accelerated, resentment towards the HBC's monopoly — both economic and civil — over the colony swelled. A series of petitions were sent to the colonial office, one of which resulted in the establishment of a colonial assembly in 1855. At first, little changed, given that only a few dozen men met the voting requirement of holding twenty or more acres. Moreover, the majority of the representatives were employees of the HBC. However, as time went on, the franchise was gradually extended, and the assembly began to assert demands for more control over colonial affairs and criticized Douglas's inherent conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
.
Thompson River
The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches called the South Thompson and the North Thompson...
area. Almost overnight, some ten to twenty thousand men moved into the interior of New Caledonia
New Caledonia (Canada)
New Caledonia was the name given to a district of the Hudson's Bay Company that comprised the territory largely coterminous with the present-day province of British Columbia, Canada. Though not a British colony, New Caledonia was part of the British claim to North America. Its administrative...
(mainland British Columbia), and Victoria was transformed into a tent-city of prospectors
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
, merchants, land-agents, and speculators. Douglas — who had no legal authority over New Caledonia — stationed a gunboat at the entrance of the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
in order to exert British authority by collecting licenses from boats attempting to make their way upstream. In order to exert its legal authority, and undercut any HBC claims to the resource wealth of the mainland, the district was converted to a crown colony on August 2, 1858, and given the name British Columbia
Colony of British Columbia
The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely...
. Douglas was offered the governorship of the new colony, on condition that he sever his relationship with the HBC. Douglas accepted these conditions, and a knighthood, and for the next six years would govern both colonies from Victoria.
The remainder of Douglas's term as Vancouver Island governor was marked by increased expansion of the economy and settlement, and greater agitation for both union of the two colonies and for the introduction of fully responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
. It was also marked by occasional boundary disputes with the United States, the most significant of which was the San Juan Boundary Dispute in 1859. This resulted in a sometimes tense, twelve-year military standoff as the two countries garrisoned troops on San Juan Island
San Juan Island
San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km² and a population of 6,822 as of the 2000 census....
. There was a second gold rush — the Cariboo Gold Rush
Cariboo Gold Rush
The Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Although the first gold discovery was made in 1859 at Horsefly Creek, followed by more strikes at Keithley Creek and Antler Horns lake in 1860, the actual rush did not begin until 1861, when these discoveries were...
— and again Victoria experienced an economic boom as the staging point for the prospectors.
The increased conflicts between Douglas and the reformers, such as Amor De Cosmos
Amor De Cosmos
Amor De Cosmos was a Canadian journalist, publisher and politician. He served as the second Premier of British Columbia.-Early life:...
, along with the growing desire of colonists in British Columbia to have a resident governor in their capital of New Westminster resulted in the colonial office easing Douglas into retirement in 1864.
The union of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
Arthur Edward Kennedy
Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy GCMG CB was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of a number of British colonies, namely Sierra Leone, Western Australia, Vancouver Island, Hong Kong and Queensland....
, a career colonial administrator who had previously served as governor of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. While there was popular acclaim for the appointment of a governor free from ties with the HBC, Kennedy was initially met with suspicion and opposition by the colonial assembly, which feared the loss of Vancouver Island's status vis-á-vis the growing power of the mainland colony. It resisted the colonial office's request for the permanent appropriation for the civil list
Civil list
-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom, the Civil List is the name given to the annual grant that covers some expenses associated with the Sovereign performing their official duties, including those for staff salaries, State Visits, public engagements, ceremonial functions and the upkeep of the...
in return for control of the extensive crown lands of the colony, and temporarily withheld salary and housing to Kennedy until they had achieved their aim. Kennedy met with further opposition by some in the assembly over the plan for the colony to unite with British Columbia. It was only when opponents were persuaded that such union would boost the colony's ailing economy that passage of the proposal was assured by the assembly.
Meanwhile, Kennedy had achieved some progress in breaking down the longstanding social barriers established over years of HBC hegemony. In 1865, the Common Schools Act funded public education; and Kennedy reformed the civil service, introduced auditing of the colonial budget, and improved revenue collection. Nonetheless, he continued to fail in his efforts to persuade the assembly to introduce the vote of a civil list, as well as enforcing various measures to protect the rights and well-being of the increasingly pressured aboriginal population. Despite his sympathy for the plight of the colony's First Nations people, Kennedy authorised naval bombardment of the Ahousahts of Clayoquot Sound
Clayoquot Sound
Clayoquot Sound is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is bordered by the Esowista Peninsula to the south, and the Hesquiaht Peninsula to the North. It is a body of water with many inlets and islands. Major inlets include Sydney Inlet,...
in 1864 in reprisal for the murder of the crew of a trading vessel. Nine Ahousaht villages were destroyed, and thirteen people killed.
With the colony's budget collapsing by 1865, and the assembly unwilling and unable to introduce proposals for raising revenue, Kennedy was barely able to keep the administration afloat until the union of Vancouver Island and British Columbia in October, 1866. With that, Vancouver Island ceased to exist as a separate colony, becoming part of the United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
The Colony of British Columbia is a crown colony that resulted from the amalgamation of the two former colonies, the Colony of Vancouver Island and the mainland Colony of British Columbia...
. The capital of the united colony would be Victoria.
Governors of Vancouver Island
- Richard BlanshardRichard BlanshardRichard Blanshard MA was an English barrister and first governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island from its foundation in 1849 to his resignation in 1851....
, 1849–1851 - Sir James DouglasJames Douglas (Governor)Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...
, 1851–1864 - Sir Arthur KennedyArthur Edward KennedySir Arthur Edward Kennedy GCMG CB was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of a number of British colonies, namely Sierra Leone, Western Australia, Vancouver Island, Hong Kong and Queensland....
, 1864–1866
Governors of the United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
- Frederick SeymourFrederick SeymourFrederick Seymour was a colonial administrator. He served as the second Governor of the Colony of British Columbia from 1864 to 1866, and the first governor of the union of the two colonies, also named the Colony of British Columbia from 1866 to 1869.Seymour was the son of Henry Augustus Seymour,...
, 1866–1869 - Sir Anthony MusgraveAnthony MusgraveSir Anthony Musgrave KCMG was a colonial administrator and governor. He was born at St John’s, Antigua, the third of 11 children of Anthony Musgrave and Mary Harris Sheriff...
, 1869–1871
See also
- Former colonies and territories in CanadaFormer colonies and territories in CanadaFormer colonies, territories, boundaries, and claims in Canada prior to the current classification of provinces and territories. In North America, ethnographers commonly classify Aboriginals into ten geographical regions with shared cultural traits and by related linguistic dialects...
- Territorial evolution of CanadaTerritorial evolution of CanadaThe federation of Canada was created in 1867 when three colonies of British North America were united. One of these colonies split into two new provinces, three other colonies joined later...
after 1867 - History of British ColumbiaHistory of British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost province in Canada. Originally politically constituted as a pair of British colonies, British Columbia joined the Canadian Confederation on July 20, 1871.-Early history :...
- Colony of British ColumbiaColony of British ColumbiaThe Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely...
- Colony of the Queen Charlotte IslandsColony of the Queen Charlotte IslandsThe Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands was a British colony constituting the archipelago formerly of the same name from 1853 to July 1863, when it was amalgamated into the Colony of British Columbia....
- Puget Sound Agricultural Company
- Postage stamps and postal history of British Columbia
- List of Governors of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
- United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British ColumbiaUnited Colonies of Vancouver Island and British ColumbiaThe Colony of British Columbia is a crown colony that resulted from the amalgamation of the two former colonies, the Colony of Vancouver Island and the mainland Colony of British Columbia...