-
Captain James Cook
Born on October 27, 1728, in Marton-in-Cleveland, Yorkshire, England, James Cook was a naval captain, navigator and explorer who, in 1778, discovered and charted British Columbia.Cook's voyages helped guide generations of explorers, and provided the first accurate map of the Pacific. He died on February 14, 1779, in Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii. -
The Fraser river is discovered
Simon Fraser led expedition to descend to discover the Fraser River -
Battle of Woody Point
The Battle of Woody Point was an battle in 1811 on Vancouver Island involving the Tla-o-qui-aht natives of the Pacific Northwest and a United States-registered merchant ship of the Astor Expedition. After trading in the region for furs, the American vessel was massacred by the natives and scuttled by her crew off Vancouver Island, in Clayoquot Sound. -
North West Company and Hudson Bay Company Merge
North West Company, Hudson Bay Company merged, B.C.'s fur trading departments organized into New Caledonia. Name stays as HBC but NWC gets 55 shares. -
Dr. John McLoughlin
Dr. John McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver from 1824 to 1845. Mcloughlin was a capable and efficient administrator. He was also a realist. Because he knew that Americans were going to take up homesteads in the region, he decided to take actions to limit the American competion with the HBC's trade.He encouraged American colonists to settle south of the Columbia River. -
Coal discovered on Vancouver Island
The oldest established and one of the most important discovers on Vancouver Island is coal mining. Coal was first discovered on the Island at Fort Rupert, in 1835, and mining was carried on intermittently by the Hudson's Bay Company for several years, and finally abandoned at that point, the coal measures being considered not wide enough. -
George Simpson
Sir George Simpson, governor of the HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY (b at Lochbroom, Scot about 1787; d at Lachine, Canada E 7 Sept 1860). Simpson's knowledge of the FUR TRADE and fur traders was never before equalled. After revisiting the posts in the pcaific coast region he decided to shit all them down except for Fort Simspson. He had many disagreements with John McLoughlin over which forts stayed up or not. -
Hudson Bay Company established Fort Victoria on Vancouver Island
Bulit of Fort Victoria in 1843 highlighted the beginning of a permanent British settlement now known as Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia. The fort itself was demolished in November 1864 as the town continued to grow as a commercial centre serving the local area as well as trading with California, Washington Territory, the United Kingdom, and others. -
Oregon Treaty
Oregon Treaty between United States, Great Britain signed and let Britain gain there claims to territory south of 49th parallel -
Vancouver Island now a Colony
The Colony of Vancouver Island, was a crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with the mainland to form the Colony of British Columbia. The united colony joined the Dominion of Canada through Confederation in 1871. -
Gold Found on the West Coast
Gold quartz discovered on west coast of Queen Charlotte Islands; coal miners struck at Nanaimo due to non-working mine, inferior coal, food shortages, danger from warring natives -
Queen Charlotte Island become their own Colony
Queen Charlotte Islands became dependency of Crown Colony Vancouver Island -
Gold rush began after discovery at Fraser River
The Fraser Canyon gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1857 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser River at present-day Lytton. The rush overtook the region around the discovery, and was centered on the Fraser Canyon from around Hope and Yale to Pavilion and Fountain, just north of Lillooet. -
Sir James Douglas
Sir James Douglas, fur trader, governor of Vancouver Island, 1851-63, and of British Columbia, 1858-64 (b at Demerara, British Guiana 15? Aug 1803; d at Victoria 2 Aug 1877). A creative, enthusiastic and bright young man, Douglas assisted the Hudson's Bay Company become a trading monopoly in the North Pacific. As colonial governor he commenced British rule west of the Rocky Mountains, and as the founder of settlement, trade and industry, he is remembered as "the Father of BC." -
Colony of B.C. formed
The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, It was half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely uninhabited regions north of the Nass and Finlay Rivers, the regions east of the Rocky Mountains, or any of the coastal islands. -
New Westminster named capital of B.C.
On July 20, 1859, Governor James Douglas proclaimed that the new city would be officially named “New Westminster” – a name chosen by Queen Victoria herself. This naming by Her Royal Highness, gave residents, both then and now, the honour of referring to their home as the “Royal City”. -
Smallpox epidemic killed 14,000 Indians along coast from Vancouver to Alaska
1862, A smallpox epidemic among Northwest Coast tribes. It was carried from San Francisco on the steamship Brother Jonathan and arrived at Victoria, British Columbia, on March 12, 1862. White officials vaccinated as many whites as possible and very few Indians. -
Vancouver Island, B.C. united with passage of Imperial Act
By the mid-1860s, the gold rush had run its course. The good times were over and the number of miners was falling dramatically. The mainland colony had run up a huge debt from building roads to the gold fields. To save money, in 1866 Britain folded the Vancouver Island colony into its British Columbia Own. -
Victoria named capital of B.C.
-
B.C. became 6th Canadian province
British Columbia joined Confederation on 20 July 1871, becoming Canada's sixth province in the wake of a gold rush and being told of a transcontinental railway link. -
Anthony Musgrave
Sir Anthony Musgrave GCMG (31 August 1828 – 9 October 1888) was a colonial administrator and governor. He is the person that agreed to join confederation. He died in office as Governor of Queensland in 1888. -
Steamship Pacific collided with Orpheus, enroute to Victoria, killed 275
On November 4, 1875, The SS Pacific, en route to San Francisco from Victoria, B.C. with approximately 275 passengers and crew, collides with the S/V Orpheus, 40 miles southwest of Cape Flattery. Both vessels continue on course, but the Pacific founders within 20 minutes and only two people will survive -
Transcontinental railroad complete
the Canadian government contracted the Canadian Pacific Railroad to construct the first all-Canadian line to the West Coast. The company laid 4,600 kilometers of single track, uniting various smaller lines across Canada. -
Streetcar in Victoria crashed through Point Ellice Bridge into Gorge Waterway,
On May 26, 1896 in Victoria, British Columbia, a streetcar crowded with 143 holidaymakers on their way to attend celebrations of Queen Victoria’s birthday, crashed through Point Ellice Bridge into the Upper Harbour.[55 men, women and children were killed in the accident,[2] making this one of the worst disasters in British Columbia history and the worst accident in Canadian transit history. Only those passengers on the left side of the streetcar were able to escape. -
Boundry made between Alaska and BC
Boundary between Alaska, B.C. established; railway employees struck, labour leader, Frank Rogers, killed while picketing (Canada's first martyr) -
Riots occured in Vancouver in Chinatown
occurred over three days September 7-9, 1907, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. At about the same time there were similar anti-Asian riots in San Francisco, Bellingham, Washington and other West Coast cities. -
Ladysmith coal mine explosion
catastrophe struck Ladysmith when a violent explosion at Extension killed 32 men. In addition, coal faced serious competition from oil. -
The "Arena", Canada's first artificial ice ring opened to public
Denman Arena was an indoor arena located in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The arena was located at 1805 West Georgia Street at the northwest corner with Denman Street. It opened in December 1911 -
Special election established Port of Vancouver
On February 7, 1912, a petition was sent to Clark County commissioners requesting that a port district be formed as it was in “the best commercial interest of Clark County and the city of Vancouver to organize and maintain a Port of Vancouver.” -
Komagata Maru incident
The Komagata Maru sailed into Vancouver harbour with 376 people on May 23, 1914. Eventually, the boat sailed back to Calcutta where it was met by police, and 20 people were killed as they disembarked while others were jailed.
