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History of British Columbia, Canada
Journey back in time to British Columbia, Canada
Visit British Columbia, Canada. Discover its history. Learn about the people who lived there through stories, old newspaper articles, pictures, postcards and genealogy.
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"British Columbia is Canada's most westerly province, and is a mountainous area whose population is mainly clustered in its southwestern corner. BC is Canada’s third-largest province after Québec and Ontario, making up 10 per cent of Canada’s land surface. British Columbia is a land of diversity and contrast within small areas. Coastal landscapes, characterized by high, snow-covered mountains rising above narrow fjords and inlets, contrast with the broad forested upland of the central interior and the plains of the northeast. The intense "Britishness" of earlier times is referred to in the province's name, which originated with Queen Victoria and was officially proclaimed in 1858." thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
"The southern part of the area now known as British Columbia was called "Columbia", after the Columbia River. The central region was given the name of "New Caledonia" by explorer Simon Fraser. To avoid confusion with Colombia in South America and the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean, Queen Victoria named the area British Columbia when it became a colony in 1858." nrcan.gc.ca
"British Columbia: Canada's unconventional westernmost province is seen by Canadians as the land of the future, and has more in common with Seattle than Toronto. Like many other western Canadians, many residents of British Columbia feel somewhat estranged from "easterners" (a general code word for those from Ontario and Quebec)." ediplomat.com
There is MUCH more to discover about British Columbia, Canada. Read on!
Old Photos, Pictures, Advertisements and Postcards from British Columbia, Canada
History, News and Stories of British Columbia, Canada

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1778 - Captain James Cook of Great Britain reached Nootka Counda, first white man to set foot in B.C.
www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ province/ bcztimeln.htm
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1787 - John Mackay first white man to live in B.C.
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1846 - Oregon Treaty between United States, Great Britain signed; Britain relinquished claims to territory south of 49th parallel
www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ province/ bcztimeln.htm
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1850 - Gold quartz discovered on west coast of Queen Charlotte Islands; coal miners struck at Nanaimo due to non-working mine, inferior coal, food shortages, danger from warring natives
www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ province/ bcztimeln.htm
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1857 - Gold rush began after discovery at Fraser River
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1858 - Colony of B.C. formed
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1866 - Vancouver Island, B.C. united with passage of Imperial Act
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1870--Population of British Columbia, 10,586 of immigrants and their descendants.
www.statcan.gc.ca
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1871 - B.C. became 6th Canadian province (July 20)
www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ province/ bcztimeln.htm
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1873
BRITISH COLUMBIA, formerly NEW CALEDONIA, a province of the Dominion of Canada, bounded on the N. by the 60th parallel of latitude; E. by the main... Read MORE...
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1881 - Rogers Pass
In order to find a route through the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia, the Canadian Pacific Railway paid a surveyor names Major Albert Bowman... Read MORE...
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The last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven into the ground on November 7th, 1885, at Craigellachie, B.C. This was six years ahead of the planned schedule that would have taken a full ten years.
softschools.com
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1895 - British Columbia
Brit'ish Colum'bia, a province of the Dominion of Canada, on the Pacific coast of North America, extending from the Rocky Mountains westward, bounded ... Read MORE...
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1903 - Boundary between Alaska, B.C. established; railway employees struck, labour leader, Frank Rogers, killed while picketing (Canada's first martyr)
www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ province/ bcztimeln.htm
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1908 - Peter Verigin, leader of the Doukhobours since his arrival in Canada in 1902, leads the extremist Sons of Freedom to British Columbia.
fccs.ok.ubc.ca/about/links/resources/canadian-history/1868-to-1918.html
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1923 - Cumberland mine explosion killed 33; Chinese Immigration Act passed, ended all Chinese immigration to Canada
www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ province/ bcztimeln.htm
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1946 - 7.3 earthquake struck Courtenay on Vancouver Island
www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ province/ bcztimeln.htm
British Columbia, Canada Genealogy
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Updated: 12/7/2022 7:06:28 PM
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