The History

Aboriginal people lived in rich and complex societies in British Columbia for thousands of years before the first white settlers arrived. Because of the diversity of the Pacific coast - mild to cold climate, seashore to mountains - the First Nations who settled in this area developed many different cultures and languages. The coastal inhabitants were experts at wood sculpture, as their totem poles attest even today. They were also famous for their skill and courage in whaling. As for their social system, it was marked by occasions such as the "potlatch" - a ceremony in which important gifts were given to guests - and by theatrical displays.

In 1774, the first Europeans, under the flag of Spain, visited what is now British Columbia. In contrast with eastern Canada, where the English and French were the two nationalities fighting over territory, Spain and Russia were the first countries to claim ownership of certain parts of British Columbia. In the 18th

century, the Spanish claimed the west coast from Mexico to Vancouver Island. At the same time, the Russians were making an overlapping claim for control of the Pacific coast from Alaska to San Francisco.

In 1778, Captain James Cook of Great Britain became the first person to chart the region. The first permanent colony, in present-day Victoria, was established by the British in 1843. When gold was discovered in the Fraser Valley in 1857, thousands of people came in search of instant wealth. To help maintain law and order, the British government established the colony of British Columbia the following year. The colony of Vancouver Island joined British Columbia in 1866. The colony was cut off from the rest of British North America by thousands of kilometres and a mountain range.

The promise of a rail link between the Pacific coast and the rest of Canada convinced British Columbia to join Confederation in 1871.