1. The Colony of Vancouver Island
SS10 – March 31st

2. The Roots of a New Province
In 1845, the United States and Britain were involved in a dispute over the Oregon territory The United States claimed the land all the way up to Alaska, while Britain’s claim extended all the way south to what was then Mexico The US President, James Polk, had used the slogan “54-40 or fight!”, so many feared that war would soon break out But the US and Britain eventually agreed to a treaty that divided the territory halfway, resulting in our current boundaries

3. Vancouver Island is born
However, this incident convinced Britain that it needed a stronger presence on the Pacific coast At the time, the only British presence in the region was the HBC, so the Colony of Vancouver Island was created in 1849 It was governed by James Douglas, a former HBC employee who had previously founded Fort Victoria in 1843 Douglas was mainly concerned with stopping further settlement attempts by Americans, so he wanted to offer land free to any colonists who wanted to move to the island, allowing them to become farmers

4. A touch of class
However, the British instead wanted to re-create their class system on the island Instead of offering free land, settlers had to purchase land at the rate of £1 per acre, and purchase at least 20 acres Furthermore, settlers who purchased at least a hundred acres were required to bring at least five people to work the land The intent was to have a small amount of settlers as landowners, with a large population of labourers to help them farm In many cases, these landowners were former HBC employees, who already had access to the best farmland

5. Economic and Social Change
In the late 1840s and 1850s, Vancouver Island’s economy began to diversify Coal was discovered near Nanaimo in the late 1840s, and many new immigrants arrived to try and start a mining business To take advantage of this, Britain’s Royal Navy built a naval base in Esquimalt, just to the west of Fort Victoria Navy Officers soon became part of the local elite, and were invited to parties hosted by local landowners and playing a large role in the colony’s social life

6. The Legislature
Soon, many of the colony’s residents began to complain to James Douglas that Victoria was turning into a private club for navy officers and other upper class people In response to this, Douglas created a Legislative Assembly for the colony It only had seven members and only male property owners could vote Therefore, only forty of the 450 adults living in the colony could actually vote Furthermore, the legislature could only pass resolutions, or suggestions, as Douglas maintained final say in all affairs However, the legislature could grant money for the government to use

7. Those who were here first
By 1855, Vancouver Island had a population of 744 settlers, but its Native population was over 30,000 Douglas realized that if he wanted the colony’s population and economy to grow larger, he would have to negotiate deals with the Native population over their territories to provide room for a growing European population In particular, he wanted access to the fertile lands between Fort Victoria and Nanaimo In order to do this, he began to make treaties with the local aboriginal population.

8. Primary Source Analysis: Douglas’ Treaty
What is a primary source?
Why are primary sources important?
Turn to page 215 of Horizons, and read the last paragraph
Use that section to complete your primary source analysis worksheets
They will be checked next class