Victoria, BC, Canada

 History of Victoria, BC, Canada

Long before Captain James Cook became the first non-aboriginal man to set foot on Vancouver Island in 1778, Victoria's rugged yet pristine wilderness had been home to First Nations people.
Many aboriginal families lived on Southern Vancouver Island, each referring to themselves by distinct family group names. These peoples could be separated into three groups that spoke different dialects of the North Straits Salish or Lekwungaynung language and became known as the Songhees, the Saanich and the Sooke First Nations peoples.

 

Victoria is Western Canada's oldest city. Its history began in 1843, when James Douglas chose Victoria (then known as Camosack), as a Hudson Bay Company trading post. The post was eventually renamed Fort Victoria, in honour of Queen Victoria. Between 1850 and 1854, Governor James Douglas negotiated fourteen treaties with Coast Salish peoples on Vancouver Island. The Lekwungen were then relocated to reserves, one of which overlooked Victoria's Inner Harbour and was later moved to Esquimalt.
By 1854, Victoria was still a small outpost, with a population of only about 200 settlers and thousands of Lekwungen residents. Then in 1858 the Fraser Valley gold rush lead to rapid growth in Victoria. As the city was the main port of entry to the Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, an estimated 25,000 gold seekers flooded the young settlement on the trek north to the Fraser River Valley. The allure of gold drew a diverse migrant population to the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. Among the gold seekers who arrived in Victoria in the 1850s were hundreds of Black pioneers from San Francisco seeking racial equality in the northern British colonies, many purchasing land and establishing successful businesses. The gold rush was also a springboard for the arrival of several thousand Chinese immigrants, who continued to arrive throughout the late nineteenth century to labour on projects such as the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s. This quickly turned the young town from a small frontier settlement to a social and economic hub of the British Empire, which was incorporated as a city in 1862.
In 1866 the colonies combined and Victoria became the colonial capital. The city was later established as the provincial capital when British Columanbia joined the Canadian Confederation in 1871.
In the twentieth century, Victoria evolved as a city of government, retirement and tourism. The city remains, however, Canada's western naval base and home to a major fishing fleet. Information Technology is now one of the largest industries in the city and the area is increasingly developing as a marine, forestry and agricultural research centre. Victoria is also noted for its fine educational institutions which include the University of Victoria, University Canada West, Camosun College and Royal Roads University.
Today with a growing regional population, a moderate climate and scenic setting, Victoria has retained a very vital but comfortable quality of life. The Greater Victoria region is proud of its rich heritage, its historic downtown, the flowers and parks and of course, it's Inner Harbour with scenic vistas.