Sir James Douglas (August 15, 1803 – August 2, 1877), was a British Columbian fur trader and politician who became the first Governor of the Colony of British Columbia.
- James Douglas (governor)With the signing of the Treaty of Washington in 1846, which established the US border along the 49th parallel, the HBC moved the headquarters of its western operations from Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River (present day Vancouver, Washington) to the newly established Fort Victoria, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.
- Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866)Meanwhile, the mainland continued to function under the de facto administration of the HBC, whose chief executive, James Douglas, was also governor of Vancouver Island.
- Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866)In 1841, Douglas was charged with the duty of setting up a trading post on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.
- James Douglas (governor)Following the brief governorship of Richard Blanshard, James Douglas, Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay post, assumed the role in 1851.
- Vancouver IslandThe economic situation of the colony declined following the Cariboo Gold Rush of 1861–1862, and pressure grew for amalgamation of the colony with the mainland colony of British Columbia (which had been established in 1858).
- Vancouver Island2 related topics with Alpha
British Columbia
1 linksWesternmost province of Canada.
Westernmost province of Canada.
The Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) was subsequently founded by Richard Clement Moody, and by the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush.
British Columbia's capital is Victoria, located at the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island.
Lord Lytton "forgot the practicalities of paying for clearing and developing the site and the town" and the efforts of Moody's engineers were continuously hampered by insufficient funds, which, together with the continuous opposition of Governor James Douglas, "made it impossible for Moody's design to be fulfilled".
Colony of Vancouver Island
1 linksCrown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with the mainland to form the Colony of British Columbia.
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 colony comprised Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands of the Strait of Georgia.
Chief Factor James Douglas was relocated from Fort Vancouver to Fort Victoria to oversee the company's operations west of the Rockies.
To exert its legal authority, and undercut any HBC claims to the resource wealth of the mainland, the district was converted to a Crown colony on 2 August 1858, and given the name British Columbia.