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bc history study guide
Oregon Territory was disputed over land ownership between USA and Britain.
Americans wanted to add Oregon territory, as part of their manifest Destiny Plan.
This was a plan which Americans hoped to control all of North America, including Canada.
Fort Victoria was an important British trading post, because it protected HBC interests against American invasion.
In 1846, a treaty was signed between Britain and USA, that created Canada’s southern border along the 49th parallel.
James Douglas was the father of british Columbia because:
he protected the colony against American invasion.
He arranged fair land treaties with the Island tribes,
He arranged for the building of the cariboo Wagon Road to the gold mine regions of BC.
His land treaties:
gave natives firsthoice of land for their rreserves,
Gave them fishing and hunting rights
Set aside land for the natives grazing animals
The first gold rush in North America was near San Francisco, California.
The first gold In British Columbia was discovered along the Thompson River.
The gold rush posed 3 problems:
Overpopulation of BC by thousands of miners.
No police force to control them.
The possibility of Americans claiming BC as their territory.
To solve these problems, the British government:
Created a new colony, British Columbia, with Douglas as the governor to set up laws, and Royal Engineers were sent to build roads.
The Royal Engineers were surveyors, road and bridge builders, and aslo soldiers.
The Cariboo Road was built to:
Develop towns in the caribbo region.
Protect gold shipments coming from the Cariboo to Victoria.
Help in the collection of taxes from the miners.
Ship food and supplies to barkerville.
Barkerville became the largest town of the gold rush.
When the gold ran out, Barkerville became a ghost town.
Vancouver Island joined with mainland BC to form one colony, British Columbia to pay off debts form the Cariboo Road, because:
The gold ran out- miners left BC - tax money decreased due to population decrease.
First Nations people died off because of small pox disease, spread by white miners.
In 1866, the first BC government had 23 members.
Today, in 2022, there are 87 members of Parliament.
The government includes the Lieutenant Governor, plus the Legislative Assembly.
In 1870, BC had three options:
Join Canada, Join America, or start their own country.
Lieutenant Musgrave was ordered by Britain to persuade BC to join Canada.
the key reason for BC deciding to join Canada was the promise of a connecting railway.
Vancouver was chosen as the Pacific Station for CP Railway because:
Its harbour was deeper than Port Moody’s for ships to dock.
More flat land available for railroad yards,
This land was free, as agift from Vancouver mayor Oppenheimer.
The father of Vancouver was mayor David oppenheimer, who was famous for:
-building a dam for water supply, and water pipes under the Burrard Strait
-starting plans for electric street car lines for passengers in Vancouver
- designed and began the creation of Stanley Park.
- started the first sewage system for vancouver.
Gasy Jack was a famous saloon owner in early Vancouver history, and Gastown was named after him.
Joe Fortes was a Joe Fortes
Chinese immigrants first came to Canada to help build the CPR Railway. -
They later reated Chinatown, in Vancouver.
They were racially discriminated against.
Canadian government charged head tax of $50 on each Chinese person, to discourage them from immigrating to Canada.
Later, that head tax got as expensive as $500 per person.
By 1900, the quickest trade route from Asia to Europe went through Canada:
Ships brought goods by boat from Asia to Vancouver harbour,
Goods were loaded onto CPR trains and shipped to Montreal,
Loaded onto boats on the St. Lawrence River, and onto the Atlantic.
Boats travelled across Atlantic to Europe.
Panama Canal opened, making Vancouver an even busier port of North America, for cargo or cruise ship transportation.