The Colony of British Columbia was a

British Crown Colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...

that resulted from the amalgamation of the two former colonies, the

Colony of Vancouver Island 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 the mainland to form the Colony of British Columbia ...

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 Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominio ...

in 1871.

Background

The

had been created in 1849 to bolster British claims to the whole island and the adjacent

Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands are a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia," the original term used by George Vancouver in his ...

, and to provide a North Pacific home port for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

at Esquimalt. By the mid-1850s, the Island Colony's non-indigenous population was around 800 people; a mix of mostly British, French-Canadian, Hawaiians, but with handfuls of Iroquoians, Métis and Cree in the employ of the fur company, and a few Belgian and French

Oblate In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally liv ...

priests (thousands of First Nations died due to the smallpox epidemic, which had occurred in the 16th century). Three years earlier, the Treaty of Washington had established the boundary between

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestow ...

and the United States of America west of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

along the 49th parallel. The mainland area of present-day

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, Canada was an unorganised territory under British sovereignty until 1858. The region was under the de facto administration of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

, 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 ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, 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 The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 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 ...

of 1857–1858, 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 Prospecting is the first stage of the geological analysis (followed by Mining engineering#Pre-mining, exploration) of a territory. It is the search for minerals, fossils, precious metals, or mineral specimens. It is also known as fossicking. ...

, speculators, land agents, and merchants. The British

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

acted swiftly, proclaiming the Crown

Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866 that was founded by Richard Clement Moody,Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Volume 90, Issue 1887, 1887, pp. 453-455 ...

on 2 August 1858, and dispatching

Richard Clement Moody Richard Clement Moody Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit of France (13 February 1813 – 31 March 1887) was a British governor, engineer, architect and soldier. He is best known for being the founder and the first Lieutenant ...

and the

Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment The Columbia Detachment of the Royal Engineers was a contingent of the Royal Engineers of the British Army that was responsible for the foundation of British Columbia as the Colony of British Columbia (1858–66). It was commanded by Colonel Richar ...

to establish British order and to transform the newly established Colony into the British Empire's "bulwark in the farthest west" and "found a second England on the shores of the Pacific".Jean Barman, ''The West Beyond the West: A History of British Columbia'', (Toronto: University of Toronto), p.71 Moody was appointed Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works and

Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the viceregal representative of the , in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in ...

United colonies

Moody and the Columbia Detachment disbanded in July 1863 and Moody returned to England. Douglas continued to administer the mainland colony in absentia from Victoria, but Sir Arthur Kennedy was appointed to succeed him as Governor of Vancouver Island.

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capi ...

would welcome its first ''resident'' governor,

Frederick Seymour Frederick Seymour (6 September 1820 – 10 June 1869) was a colonial administrator. After receiving little education and no inheritance from his father, Seymour was offered a junior appointment in the colonial service by Prince Albert. Seymour ...

, in 1864. 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 6 August 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 The British North America Acts 1867–1975 are a series of Acts of Parliament that were at the core of the constitution of Canada. Most were enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and some by the Parliament of Canada. In Canada, some ...

joined three colonies (

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Nova Scotia, and the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

) into the

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 Amor De Cosmos (born William Alexander Smith; August 20, 1825 – July 4, 1897) was a Canadian journalist, publisher and politician. He served as the second premier of British Columbia. Early life Amor De Cosmos was born William Alexander Smit ...

Robert Beaven Robert Beaven (January 20, 1836 – September 18, 1920), son of James Beaven, was a British Columbia politician and businessman. Beaven moved to British Columbia from Toronto, where he had been educated at Upper Canada College, because of ...

, 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 Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

. In this effort, they were supported and aided by Canadian officials, especially Sir Samuel Tilley, a

Father of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadian ...

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 Sir Anthony Musgrave (31 August 1828 – 9 October 1888) was a colonial administrator and governor. He died in office as Governor of Queensland in 1888. Early life He was born at St John's, Antigua, the third of 11 children of Anthony Musg ...

, outgoing governor of the

Colony of Newfoundland Newfoundland Colony was an English overseas possessions, English and, later, British Empire, British colony established in 1610 on the Newfoundland (island), island of Newfoundland off the Atlantic coast of Canada, in what is now the province of ...

. Before the appointment could be finalised, however, Seymour died. With Musgrave's appointment, the British colonial secretary,

Lord Granville Earl Granville is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is now held by members of the Leveson-Gower family. First creation The first creation came in the Pee ...

, 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 A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

, to be finalised. His efforts led to the admission of British Columbia as the sixth province of Canada on 20 July 1871.

Governors of the united Colony of British Columbia

, 1866–1869 *Sir

Anthony Musgrave Sir Anthony Musgrave (31 August 1828 – 9 October 1888) was a colonial administrator and governor. He died in office as Governor of Queensland in 1888. Early life He was born at St John's, Antigua, the third of 11 children of Anthony Musgr ...

, 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.
1869 to 1872 13 members appointed by the Governor, 8 elected by the public.

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

* 1866 Colony of British Columbia general election * 1869 Colony of British Columbia general election

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 Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motow ...

. In 1858 the British Government had sent over Matthew Baillie Begbie as Chief Justice for the colony. Although trained at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincol ...

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.

Reference List

External links

Order in Council determining British Columbia's terms of union with the Dominion of Canada, 1871
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:British Columbia, Colony of (1866-1871) British North America

Colony of British Columbia (1866-1871) The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: *Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) *Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also *History of Br ...

Former British colonies and protectorates in the Americas States and territories established in 1866 1871 disestablishments in North America 1866 establishments in the British Empire Former colonies in North America 1866 establishments in North America 1870s disestablishments in the British Empire