Colony of British Columbia (1866–71)

This article is about the colony united from the merger of the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. For the former Mainland Colony, see Colony of British Columbia (1858–66).

Colony of British Columbia

British colony

1866–1871

Colonial flag of British Columbia (1870-71): British Blue Ensign and the great seal of the colony.

Anthem
God Save the Queen

The modern Canadian province of British Columbia has the same boundaries as its colonial predecessor.

Capital

Victoria

Languages

English

Religion

Christianity

Government

Constitutional monarchy

Queen regnant

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Historical era

British Era

•

Established, by merger with Colony of Vancouver Island

August 2, 1869

•

Entered Canadian Confederation

July 20, 1871

Preceded by

Succeeded by

	Colony of British Columbia
	Colony of Vancouver Island

Province of British Columbia

The Colony of British Columbia was 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 two former colonies were united in 1866, and the united colony existed until its incorporation into the Canadian Confederation in 1871.

Background

Main article: History of British Columbia

The Colony of Vancouver Island had been created in 1849 to bolster British claims to the whole island and the adjacent Gulf Islands, and to provide a North Pacific home port for the Royal Navy at Fort Victoria. By the mid-1850s, the Island Colony's non-indigenous population was around 800 people; a mix of mostly British, French-Canadian, Metis, Hawaiians, but with handfuls of Iroquoians and Cree in the employ of the fur company, and a few Belgian and French Oblate priests (thousands of first nations died due to the smallpox epidemic). Three years earlier, the Treaty of Washington had established the boundary between British North America and the United States of America west of the Rocky Mountains along the 49th parallel. The mainland area of present-day British Columbia, Canada was an unorganised territory under British sovereignty until 1858. The region was under the de facto administration of the Hudson's Bay Company, and its regional chief executive, James Douglas, who also happened to be Governor of Vancouver Island. The region was informally given the name New Caledonia, after the fur-trading district which covered the central and northern interior of the mainland west of the Rockies.

All this changed with the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1857-58, when the non-aboriginal population of the mainland swelled from about 150 Hudson's Bay Company employees and their families to about 20,000 prospectors, speculators, land agents, and merchants. The British colonial office acted swiftly, and the Colony of British Columbia was proclaimed on August 2, 1858.

United colonies

Douglas administered the mainland colony in absentia, remaining in Victoria. British Columbia's colonial capital, New Westminster would welcome its first resident governor, Frederick Seymour, in 1864. Meanwhile, Sir Arthur Kennedy had been appointed to succeed Douglas as Governor of Vancouver Island. Both colonies were labouring under huge debts, largely accumulated by the completion of extensive infrastructure to service the huge population influx. As gold revenues dropped, the loans secured to pay for these projects undermined the economies of the colonies, and pressure grew in London for their amalgamation. Despite a great deal of ambivalence in some quarters, on August 6, 1866, the united colony was proclaimed, with the capital and assembly in Victoria, and Seymour was designated governor.

Seymour continued as governor of the united colonies until 1869, but after the British North America Act joined three colonies (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada) into the Canadian Confederation in 1867, it seemed increasingly only a matter of time before Vancouver Island and British Columbia would negotiate terms of union. Major players in the Confederation League such as Amor De Cosmos, Robert Beaven, and John Robson pushed for union primarily as a way of advancing both the economic health of the region, as well as increased democratic reform through truly representative and responsible government. In this effort, they were supported and aided by Canadian officials, especially Sir Samuel Tilley, a Father of Confederation and Minister of Customs in the government of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald. Seymour, ill and beset by protests that he was dragging in his feet in completing negotiations for the HBC's territory, was facing the end of his term, and Macdonald was pressing London to replace him with Sir Anthony Musgrave, outgoing governor of the Colony of Newfoundland. Before the appointment could be finalized, however, Seymour died.

With Musgrave's appointment, the British colonial secretary, Lord Granville, pushed Musgrave to accelerate negotiations with Canada towards union. It took almost two years for those negotiations, in which Canada eventually agreed to shoulder the colonies' massive debt and join the territory to a transcontinental railroad, to be finalised. His efforts led to the admission of British Columbia as the sixth province of Canada on July 20, 1871.

Governors of the united Colony of British Columbia

Frederick Seymour, 1866-1869
Sir Anthony Musgrave, 1869-1871

Legislative Council of the united Colony of British Columbia

1866 to 1869 14 members were appointed by the governor and 9 were elected by the public.^[1]
1869 to 1872 13 members appointed by the Governor, 8 elected by the public.^[2]

Elections to the Legislative Council of the united Colony of British Columbia

Supreme Court

In 1869 Supreme Courts were established on the mainland ("The Supreme Court of the Mainland of British Columbia") and on Vancouver Island ("Supreme Court of Vancouver Island"), which merged in 1870 as the Supreme Court of British Columbia.^[3]

In 1858 the British Government had sent over Matthew Baillie Begbie as Chief Justice for the colony. Although trained at Lincoln's Inn he had never practised law, but soon published a Rules of Court and a timetable of sittings. He held the post, under consecutive administrative regimes, until his death in 1894. ^[4]

Reference List

↑ http://archives.leg.bc.ca/EPLibraries/leg_arc/document/ID/LibraryTest/622104431
↑ http://archives.leg.bc.ca/EPLibraries/leg_arc/document/ID/LibraryTest/816940262
↑ The Laws of British Columbia: Consisting of the Acts, Ordinances. p. 112.
↑ "Wild, Wild West Law". Duhaime.org. Retrieved 6 October 2015.

External links

Former colonies and territories in Canada

Norse	Named Territories Vinland Markland Helluland Sites L'Anse aux Meadows Point Rosee

French	Claims New France Acadia Isle St-Jean Île Royale Canada Domaine du roy Louisiana Pays d'en Haut Terre Neuve Important sites Port Royal Quebec Trois-Rivières Montreal Louisbourg Plaisance List of towns List of Forts

Spanish	Claims New Spain Important sites Fort San Miguel, Nootka Sound Expeditions Newfoundland Pacific Northwest

Scottish	Claims Nova Scotia (1621) Sites Port Royal Colony

Russian	Claims Russian America

American	Claims Oregon Country

English & British	Claims Newfoundland (1583) New Albion (?) Rupert's Land Nova Scotia (1710) Quebec Lower and Upper Canada New Brunswick Prince Edward Island Cape Breton United Canada New Caledonia Columbia District Queen Charlotte Islands Vancouver Island British Columbia (1858–66) British Columbia (1866–71) Stickeen North-Western Territory Red River Important sites Cuper's Cove Avalon (1620) York Factory Halifax Victoria Fort Langley List of HBC sites

Norwegian	Claims Sverdrup Islands

Related	Territorial evolution after 1867 Areas disputed by Canada and the United States Proposed provinces and territories of Canada Population of Canada

Category Portal WikiProject

Territories of the British Empire and the United Kingdom

Legend: Current territory; Former territory; * Now a Commonwealth realm; Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe

1708–1757 Minorca Since 1713 Gibraltar 1763–1782 Minorca 1798–1802 Minorca 1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate) 1813–1964 Malta (Colony) 1807–1890 Heligoland 1809–1864 Ionian Islands 1878–1960 Cyprus 1921–1937 Irish Free State

North America

17th century and before		18th century	19th and 20th century

1579 New Albion 1583–1907 Newfoundland 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia 1607–1776 Virginia Since 1619 Bermuda 1620–1691 Plymouth Colony 1623–1883 Saint Kitts *(Saint Kitts and Nevis) 1624–1966 *Barbados 1625–1650 Saint Croix 1627–1979 *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1628–1883 Nevis *(Saint Kitts and Nevis) 1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay Colony 1632–1776 Maryland since 1632 Montserrat 1632–1860 Antigua *(Antigua and Barbuda) 1636–1776 Connecticut 1636–1776 Rhode Island 1637–1662 New Haven Colony	1643–1860 Bay Islands Since 1650 Anguilla 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast (protectorate) 1655–1962 *Jamaica 1663–1712 Carolina 1664–1776 New York 1665–1674 and 1702–1776 New Jersey Since 1666 British Virgin Islands Since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670–1973 *The Bahamas 1670–1870 Rupert's Land 1671–1816 Leeward Islands 1674–1702 East Jersey 1674–1702 West Jersey 1680–1776 New Hampshire 1681–1776 Pennsylvania 1686–1689 Dominion of New England 1691–1776 Massachusetts	1701–1776 Delaware 1712–1776 North Carolina 1712–1776 South Carolina 1713–1867 Nova Scotia 1733–1776 Georgia 1754–1820 Cape Breton Island 1762–1974 *Grenada 1763–1978 Dominica 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island 1763–1791 Quebec 1763–1783 East Florida 1763–1783 West Florida 1784–1867 New Brunswick 1791–1841 Lower Canada 1791–1841 Upper Canada Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands	1818–1846 Columbia District/Oregon Country¹ 1833–1960 Windward Islands 1833–1960 Leeward Islands 1841–1867 Province of Canada 1849–1866 Vancouver Island 1853–1863 Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands 1858–1866 British Columbia 1859–1870 North-Western Territory 1860–1981 *British Antigua and Barbuda 1862–1863 Stickeen Territories 1866–1871 British Columbia 1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada² 1871–1964 British Honduras (*Belize) 1882–1983 *Saint Kitts and Nevis 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago 1907–1949 Newfoundland³ 1958–1962 West Indies Federation

1. Occupied jointly with the United States.
2. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Name of Canada.
3. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

South America

1631–1641 Providence Island colony 1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname) 1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands⁴ 1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana) Since 1833 Falkland Islands⁵ Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands⁵

4. Now the one the departments of Colombia. 5. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.

Africa

17th and 18th centuries	19th century		20th century

Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony	Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ 1806–1910 Cape Colony 1807–1808 Madeira 1810–1968 Mauritius 1816–1965 The Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1862–1906 Lagos Colony 1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho) 1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana) 1882–1922 Egypt	1884–1900 Oil Rivers/Niger Coast 1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana) 1884–1960 British Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania) 1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi) 1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate 1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River Colony 1900–1910 Transvaal Colony 1903–1976 Seychelles 1910–1931 South Africa 1914–1960 Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria (Nigeria) 1915–1931 South-West Africa (Namibia) 1919–1961 British Cameroons (Cameroon)⁶ 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania)⁶ 1923–1965 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷ 1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷

6. League of Nations mandate.
7. Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.

Asia

17th and 18th century	19th century		20th century

1685–1824 Bencoolen 1702–1705 Pulo Condore 1757–1947 Bengal (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh) 1762–1764 Manila and Cavite 1781-1784 Padang (Indonesia) 1786–1946 Penang (Malaysia) 1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1795-1819 Padang (Indonesia) 1796–1965 Maldives	1812–1824 Banka (Sumatra) and Billiton (Sumatra) 1819–1826 British Malaya (West Malaysia and Singapore) 1826–1946 Straits Settlements (Malaysia and Singapore) 1839–1967 Colony of Aden 1839–1842 Afghanistan 1841–1997 Hong Kong 1841–1946 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia) 1848–1946 Labuan (Malaysia) 1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma) 1874–1963 British Borneo (East Malaysia and Brunei)	1879–1919 Afghanistan (protectorate) 1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia) 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate 1892–1971 Trucial States 1895–1946 Federated Malay States 1898–1930 Weihai Garrison 1878–1960 Cyprus	1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate) 1918–1961 Sheikhdom of Kuwait 1920–1932 Iraq⁸ 1921–1946 Transjordan⁸ 1923–1948 Palestine⁸ 1945–1946 South Vietnam 1946–1963 North Borneo (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Singapore 1946–1948 Malayan Union 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia) Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus) Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles)

⁸ League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty

Oceania

18th and 19th centuries		20th century

1788–1901 New South Wales 1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands⁹ 1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu) 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Swan River Colony/Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands	1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji¹⁰ 1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Territory of Papua 1888–1901 Kingdom of Rarotonga/Cook Islands Federation⁹ 1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau)⁹ 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands¹¹ 1893–1978 British Solomon Islands¹²	1900–1970 Tonga (protected state) 1900–1974 Niue⁹ 1901–1942 *Commonwealth of Australia 1907–1953 *Dominion of New Zealand 1919–1942 and 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea 1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea¹³

9. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
10. Suspended member.
11. Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu.
12. Now the *Solomon Islands.
13. Now *Papua New Guinea.

Antarctica and South Atlantic

Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory¹⁵ 1841–1933 Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia) 1841–1947 Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)

14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena. 15. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.