This Day in the History of British Columbia

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

150 years ago today Ned McGowan landed in Victoria after debarking from THE PACIFIC.  His arrival was heralded by a 100 gun salute!  It was the glorious fourth you know.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

When the HBC Factor, and Governor of New Caledonia (now British Columbia) deliberately set out to start a gold rush because it was good business, he took a calculated risk.

The Empire had just lost the Oregon Territory to Manifest Destiny.  The treaty of Washington 1846 set the boundary at the 49th parallel.  But just where was that on the ground?  And where did it reach the Pacific?  Boundary commissions were sent out by both side, and were in place before the miners arrived from San Francisco.  The US party included 400 Infantry, for protection from Indians.  The British boundary commission preferred to employ natives.  This indicates the differing attitudes towards the Indians.

Governor Douglas' worst case scenario was a combination of overwhealming numbers of Americans, an Indian war, a poorly thought out reaction by British authorities, and the arrival of "HELP"! The presence of an agent provocateur would only speed things along!

Ned MsGowan;  "you rusty old broken-down hack-horse, spavined, wind-galled politician - you infernal old schemer - you dreadful and to be dreaded shoulder striker - you melter of wax candles - you stuffer of ballot boxex - you who reside in a French boarding house of equivocal character - you luxurious dog who lives on the fat of the land." Such was the assessment of a friend, Judge  Alexander Wells of San Jose!

Ned left San Francisco just ahead of a Vigilance Committee arrest warrant.  In fact he met a Vigilance Comitee executive member, Miles Truett, on his first day in Victoria, who tried to shoot Ned, but missed because he was too drunk! Douglas also noted Ned's arrival; How could he ignore a 100 gun salute on the Imperial doorstep?  Douglas had him in for a chat!  Ned wrote that Douglas made it clear that, in his view, Americans were inferior to loyal British subjects.

The Colony had in its midst, it's agent provocateur!

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Today in history, July 7, 1858 the first police service was created in the Crown Colony of Vancouver Island.  It evolved into two separate services.  The first was the BC Constabulary that was absorbed into the RCMP on August 15, 1950.  This record of 92 years service, has rarely been equalled in North America.

The other successor was the Victoria Police service that comemorates 150 years of continuous existence today.  This makes it the oldest police service in Western Canada.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

While not specifically a day in history, there is an interestin feature of BC history from 150 years ago.

In California, during the gold rush of 1848 and following, a number of African Americans could be found in California. They were generally prohibited from most occupations in the gold fields.

In about 1857, a group of about 600 African Americans wrote to James Douglas, the HBC Factor and Governor, who was incidentally half black himself, asking to come to Canada to settle.  Douglas welcomed the overature.  The advance party booked passage to Victoria.  It just happened that word of gold being found in Fraser's river had reached San Francisco, and the first miners also boarded the same ship.  Its arrival in Victoria doubled the non-native population of what is now British Columbia.

The arrival of the black settlers resulted in mixed experiences.  They were excluded from membership in the volunteer fire department in Victoria, but eventually they did form the colonies first militia company.  Later I will tantalize you with more on that topic.

The bulk of the black settlers moved to nearby Saltspring Island to take up farming.  Some of their descendants still resided there.

In the July 20, 2008 issue of the Victoria TIMES-COLONIST, there was a piece about a family gathering of some of the descendants of Lewis and Sylvia Stark who were part of that group of settlers. The location was the original homestead.  Lewis was a renowned orchardist and had a variety of apple, the STARK, named after him.  Lewis was the son of a white "master" and a black woman. He was a freeman, and in California he could work, as he could pass as Spanish!  His father had operated a tree nursery and taught him his craft.  A few of the original apple trees still stand.

Among the experiences of the first blacks were fights with cougars, trouble with hostile natives, and friends and neighbours being shot by whites.  I wonder if it is just coincidence that many of the black settlers returned to the USA, generally after emancipation, and that most of the attendees at the Stark reunion now live in California?