It is
believed, that the first residents of British Columbia came from Asia
about 12,000 years ago. They settled on the pacific coast or the
interior of the Coast Mountains.
The First Nations, who populated the coast were bands such as Bella
Coola, Cowichan, Haida, Niska and, Salish. They found rich supplies of
seafood, wildlife, and plants and established a sophisticated culture
and trade. The First Nations of the interior had to live a more nomadic
life, as they had to adapt to ever changing climatic conditions. They
migrated as the herds of wildlife moved. Bands of the interior First
Nations are Athapaskans, Chilcotin, Okanagan, Shuswap and Kootenay.
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The first Europeans arrived in 1778, when Captain James Cook landed on
Nootka Island, on the north western coast of Vancouver Island. In 1792
Captain George Vancouver made his way to Nootka with his ships Discovery and
Chatham. In the meantime also the Spanish had found their way to Vancouver
Island and there were rivalries between England and Spain about Vancouver
Island. But already in 1795 the last Spanish ship had been ordered out of
the region and made an end to the rivalries and the Spanish influence. After
years of arguments with the United States Vancouver Island became an English
crown colony in 1849.
The first white settlement in British Columbia was founded in 1794 and is
nowadays known as Fort St. John. In 1805 the Hudson Bay Company opened its
first trading post west of Fort St. John in the northern part of the
province. The Hudson Bay Company was a fur trading company who amalgamated
with the North West Company in 1821 to the Hudson Bay Company.
Along the Fraser River the first gold was discovered in 1858, what lead to a
gold rush with thousands of prospectors rushing into the interior. The
British government acted quickly and announced their second crown colony
British Columbia in 1858. Governor James Douglas, chief factor of the Hudson
Bay Company and Governor of Vancouver Island, became the new governor of
British Columbia. Both colonies were joined in 1866 and Victoria became the
new capital. On July 20, 1871 the province of British Columbia joined the
Canadian Confederation.
The gold rush continued, when gold in the Peace River region was discovered
in 1861. The town of Barkerville developed to a large city during the rush
and in its heydays Barkerville was the largest city west of Chicago and
north of San Francisco. Billy Barker had set off the rush when he made 1000
dollar within the first two days of his claim.
When the Trans Canadian Railway was completed in 1885, British Columbia was
connected to the east. During this time there was a big demand for British
Columbia's resources - in particular timber - as the settlement within the
prairie regions had just begun. In addition the Panama Canal was completed
in 1914 and opened the European markets to British Columbia. The economy was
booming, but in 1929, when Wall Street crashed, British Columbia was faced
with a long lasting recession. With the outbreak of World War 2 the economic
recovery started and was sustained after the war with the discovery of new
resources and the development of a manufacturing base.
Nowadays forestry, mining, fishing and agriculture are important industries
for British Columbia. About one half of all employees have found their jobs
in small businesses. But also the film and TV production, generating over
one billion dollar in 1999 is an important sector for British Columbia's
economy. BC is Canada's most attractive film and TV location. 9.2 billion
dollars were generated by the tourism industry in 1999 making tourism an
important factor for the provincial economy. |
