C. British Columbia & Vancouver Island  While the issue in the Red River was being settled, Macdonald still had his goal of uniting the colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island to Canada 1) Before Confederation a. Exploration - The area was explored by Spain’s Alejandro Malaspina and Britishers James Cook and George Vancouver. - In 1849, Britain finally claimed Vancouver Island as a colony as a trade post for furs. - The Mainland area was known as New Calendonia, and it was only seen as a source of remote trade forts for HBC and NWC, so it wasn’t even considered a colony.

b. Gold Rush - In 1849, there was a gold rush in California that brought prospectors there. - As claims ran out in California, another source of gold was found in New Caledonia, so there was a rush north bringing 30,000 prospectors. - Britain was afraid that New Caledonia would be lost to Americans, so Britain turned it into the colony of British Columbia. - The gold rush continued in 1862, when another lode was found in the Cariboo region. - To ensure order, the colonies were united under one colonial government in 1865.

c. Government of the colony of British Columbia - Responsible government was not used, though elections were. - There was an Executive Council and a 22-member Legislative Council, 9 of whom were elected by the people. - Both councils answered to the governor, who was also appointed. - The governor in turned answered to the British colonial secretary in London, a member of the Queen’s Cabinet.

d. Debt and financial crisis - By 1865, the gold rush was nearing its end, so there was a decrease in income. - Meanwhile, the colony had spent a lot of money on roads and services. - It also still had to import goods without the income of exporting gold. - Farming, coal mining, and forestry weren’t advanced enough to make up the difference. - The colony now faced a serious debt with a definite lack of income. - There was still the threat of American annexation; would BC be part of Manifest Destiny?

e. Potential solution - While all this was going on, the conferences in Québec, Charlottetown, and London were occurring that discussed Confederation. - Now BC was considering the same option.

Assignment (due in class) Compare BC’s situation to that of Nova Scotia when both colonies considered joining Confederation. How would each benefit, and what would each give up?