Today’s Plan

• Debt today, why it matters, and a connection to early British Columbia

• Presentation: The Colony of British Columbia and Confederation

• Activity: The Confederation Question

Debt Today…

• Debt in Canada is over Trillion Dollarshttp://www.nationaldebtclocks.org/

debtclock/canada

• Debt in the USA is at 18.18 Trillion Dollarshttp://www.nationaldebtclocks.org/

debtclock/unitedstates

The Colony of British Columbia

The Impact of the Gold Rush

• During the Gold Rush (1858-1863), 35 000 prospectors came to the new colony of British Columbia

• As the gold ran out, however, these prospectors left British Columbia and so did their revenue

• On top of this the Cariboo road had created $1,000,000 in debt in British Columbia

The Union of the Colonies

• Up until this point, Vancouver Island and British Columbia had been two separate colonies, and neither had money

• Like British Columbia, Vancouver Island had lost considerable money and was $300,000 in debt (today Britain is $60.693 Billion in debt

• The two colonies decided to ask Britain to create a union and their request was granted on August 6, 1866

A New Leader• In 1864, the Governor of

the two colonies, James Douglas had retired

• He was replaced by Frederick Seymour in British Columbia and Arthur Kennedy on Vancouver Island

• When the two colonies were formally joined in 1866, Frederick Seymour would be the new colony’s first governor

The Legislative Assembly

• Under Governor Seymour was a Legislative Council of twenty three members

• Of these, only nine were elected leaving the population of BC with little say in their government

• Responsible government would not exist in BC until later in the century

Pre Confederate Cities in British Columbia

Life in British Columbia

• In the colony of British Columbia, most people in the area were retired miners or traders

• Most people were illiterate and could not write so few documents on of how poor people lived remain

• At this point, many Chinese were also living in British Columbia now often owning or working at grocery stores, hardware stores, and lodging

The Life of Women in British Columbia

• Even less is know about women in early British Columbia yet historians can tell a lot about how they lived through surviving pictures and journals from the few that could write

• Most common women worked in selling “food, liquor, and lodging”

• On top of this, some women were able to work in the arts and in music

A Call for Confederation• Shortly after the joining of British Columbia and

Vancouver Island, BC would join Canada on July 20, 1871

• Confederation wasn’t a welcome choice amongst all Canadians

• Activityo Read pages 225-227 and fill in a T-Chart with

positive outcomes of joining British Columbia on one side, and negative outcomes on the other

o When you are finished create a poster to advertise the cause of a:oConfederationistoAnti-ConfederationistoAnnexationist