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1850

1858

'Gunboat Diplomacy'

British use violence to impose colonialism on coastal Indigenous

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1850

Douglas Makes 14 Treaties

Treaties signed with Indigenous on Vancouver Island mean different things to each side

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1850

Scottish Miners Arrive

B.C.'s raucous history of labour strikes begins at the northern tip of Vancouver Island

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1857

The Metlakatla Experiment

British missionary William Duncan starts an Indigenous Christian utopia among the Tsimshian

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1858

Black Pioneers Arrive in B.C.

Eight hundred newcomers flee persecution in California

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1858

The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush

Gold fever forever transforms mainland B.C. as Americans and other foreigners pour in

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1858

The Fraser Canyon War

A Nlaka’pamux chief arranges a peace with an American military commander, avoiding major bloodshed

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1858

Mainland B.C. Becomes Colony

Spurred on by a gold rush, New Caledonia becomes the Colony of British Columbia

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1859

New Westminster Named Capital

The "Royal City" remains B.C.'s capital for only eight years

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1859

Victoria Booms

A fur-trading outpost swiftly becomes a bustling hub for global adventurers

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