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Transition to Settlement in BC and the Prairie West

CLASS 10

22 November 2016

The Oregon Country (to 1818)

u Northwest Company Fur Trade west of the Rocky Mountains

u “New Caledonia” (present-day British Columbia)

u “Columbia” (present-day Washington, Oregon, Idaho)

u Collectively known as the “Oregon Country”

u Becomes key part of Hudson’s Bay Company territory after merger

u Post-merger emphasis on self-sufficiency

u Expense of outfitting and supplying region

u Agriculture, fishing

u Challenge posed by the American presence

u Struggle vs. American fur traders [1810-12]

u Small American presence persists in territory after 1812

u Joint Occupancy agreement with United States (1818)

u Traders/merchants from both Britain and America allowed

u Neither country would claim sovereignty over the territory

Oregon Country

u British goal - Keep the Americans out of Oregon

u Could not keep out by force (Treaty of 1818)

u Make region unattractive to Americans (peripheral economic zone)

u Snake Country Expeditions (1824-30)

u Effort to turn territory into ‘fur desert’

u 1840s: Oregon becomes settlement rather than fur trade area

u Thousands of Americans migrate on Oregon Trail

u Calls for American annexation [late 1830s – 1840s]

u “Manifest Destiny”

u Idea that the United States had a destiny to rule all of North America

u American naval deployment (1843)

u 1844 election

u “54’40” or fight!!”

u War scare between Britain and United States

Oregon Treaty (1846)

u Oregon Treaty sets border at 49th latitude

u HBC anticipates losing Oregon

u Fort Victoria (1843)

u Becomes new base of HBC operations in western Canada

u Significance of Oregon Treaty:

u Shift to settlement in BC

u HBC given responsibility to colonize Vancouver Island

u Negotiation rather than confrontation

u Effort by Britain to normalize relations with USA [1840s]

� New mandate for the HBC

� Charter up for renewal (late 1840s)

� Very strong resistance in Great Britain

� HBC charter renewed; given political authority over island

� HBC responsible for attracting settlers to the colony

Vancouver Island Colony

� The ‘Elite’ Colony: Ø HBC sets price of land high to attract wealthy settlers

Ø Oregon a much more attractive option

Ø Only approx. 435 settlers on Vancouver Island by mid-1850s

Ø Mostly retired HBC men: few immigrants

Ø Impossible to establish representative government

� James Douglas � Governor of Vancouver Island (1851-64)

� Biography and experience as a fur trader (HBC)

� Negotiated treaties with First Nations around Victoria ◦ Earliest land treaties negotiated in western Canada with FN

u “to include in each reserve the permanent Village sites, the fishing stations, and Burial grounds, cultivated land and all the favorite resorts of the Tribes, and in short to include every piece of ground to which they had acquired an equitable title through continuous occupation, tillage or other investment of their labour.”

Gold Rush [1858]

u Smallest of the Pacific Gold Rushes u Starts along Fraser River in southern BC [‘Fraser’ Gold Rush]

u Moves deeper into the interior by 1860 [‘Cariboo’ Gold Rush]

u At least 50,000 new immigrants arrive within a few years u United States, Europe, China

� Concerns of Douglas:

◦ Violence (especially First Nations and Miners):

� Claims staked without consultation with First Nations

� Resources taken without compensation to First Nations

� Significant violence (Douglas fears repeat of California)

◦ Sovereignty:

� Most miners (at least 80%) are American

� Douglas claims political authority over the mainland (1858) � Creates new colony of British Columbia

� Remains distinct from Vancouver Island

Explosive Growth of Victoria

� Efforts to control gold rush:

◦ Forces miners to buy licenses in Victoria

� Assistance of British navy patrolling Fraser River

◦ Builds roads to link interior towns

� Necessary for law, order and commerce

u Population Growth:

u 10,000 people still in BC (1865)

u Massive debt

u Efforts to keep up with Gold Rush (infrastructure)

u Tax base insufficient to sustain colony (population decline)

u Resentment over HBC rule

u Reform movement emerges to end HBC governance

u Separate movements on Vancouver Island and the Mainland

Chinese in the British Columbia Gold Rush

u Thousands of Chinese respond to Gold Rush u At least 6,000(?) by 1861

u More heavily concentrated on mainland than Vancouver Island u 40% of non-aboriginal population in parts of mainland

during Gold Rush

u Migration from China and USA u Many with experience from California Gold Rush

u Filled variety of roles u Merchants

u Miners

u Labor

u Chinese settlement and the ‘sojourner’ idea

Victoria’s Chinatown u Earliest Chinese-owned business = 1858

u Chinese settlement established on northern fringe of the city

u Ravine created physical barrier between Chinatown and downtown

u Chinese comprised about 6% of Victoria’s population (1860s)

u Ranged between 200-400

u Overwhelmingly male (only merchants had wives)

u Community leadership = small group of wealthy merchants

u Linked to San Francisco and Hong Kong

u Played wide range of roles

u Import/export businesses

u Banking

u Real estate

u Community spokesmen

u Merchants took a leading role in native-place associations

u Branches of San Francisco organizations

Merchant Case Study: Kwong Lee &. Co.

u Merchant house established by two brothers

u Immigrate from San Francisco to Victoria (1858)

u Establish the earliest Chinese stores in Victoria

u Becomes core of Chinatown

u Manager (Lee Chang) quickly emerges as prominent local leader

u Protest against proposed Head Tax [1860s)

u active trade in silk, tea, sugar, and rice imports from China, as well as the prospects of increasing lumber, coal, mineral, and fish exports to China

u Expand beyond Victoria as Gold Rush went further inland

u Traded in a wide variety of imported goods

u Mining u Owned mining claims and invested in non-Chinese owned claims

u Ranching

u Owned ranch deep in BC interior

u Pack animals and mixed agriculture

Chinese Settlement in Barkerville

u Much larger Chinese population, but far less enduring

u Heavily involved in service industries [laundries, restaurants]

u Working-class Chinese organization (Freemasons) established

u It is said that a well-organized society is ruled by reason and that the security and harmony of society depend on the cultivation of harmonious sentiments. The nation treats peace and prosperity as matters of paramount importance. In a hostel a friendly relationship among the lodgers is of paramount importance. The purpose in forming the society is to maintain a friendly relationship among our countrymen and to accumulate wealth through proper business methods for the benefit of all members. Thus, those who do mental work and those who do physical work are devoting their strength to a common goal.

u Functions:

u Ensure that members “maintain fair business practices” and do not use “an advantageous position” to “oppress countrymen”

u Merchants would only employ paid members of the society

u Could not ”reduce wages” or “slander each other”

u Disputes to be “settled within the society”

From Gold Rush to Settlement u Gold Rush increases permanent British settlement in British Columbia

u It was a great pity to see this beautiful country so well adapted to the wants of man, lying waste, when so many Englishmen and Scotchmen would be glad to come here and till the soil

u Increasing dispossession of First Nations people u Smallpox epidemic (1862)

u Growing shift to agriculture, settlement in early 1860s

u Growing violence in 1860s (Chilcotin War, 1864)

u Disruption of First Nations economies

u Mutual benefit of fur trade now gone

u Both economic and social relationships undermined

u Impact of commercial fisheries and ranching

u Objections to employment of aboriginal labour

u It is Caucasian-Anglo-Saxon bone, muscle and sinew we want – Amor de Cosmos

u Strong opposition to aboriginal presence near cities and towns

u Intense pressure to have Songhees relocated from Victoria

Missionary Presence in British Columbia u Very limited during Fur Trade era

u Transient nature of the trade (Maritime)

u Limited land-based presence until 1830s and 40s

u Strong missionary presence in late 1850s

u Agents of religious and other cultural change

u William Duncan (Methodist Missionary)

u Sent to Fort Simpson (1857) to work among the Tsimshian people

u To attempt to describe the condition of these tribes on my arrival would be but to produce a dark and revolting picture of human depravity. The dark mantle of degrading superstition enveloped them all, and their savage spirits, swayed by pride, jealousy and revenge were ever hurrying them to deeds of blood. Thus their history was little else than a chapter of crime and misery

u Establishes mission at Metlakatla (1862)

u Strict regulations for those attending the mission

u Blended religious and political authority

u Absolute unquestioned authority at Metlakatla

u Held appointment as Justice of the Peace for the Fort Simpson area

u Came under significant criticism from other missionaries

‘The Great Curse of the Colony’

u Transition to settlement had massive impact on gender relations

u Social relations of the fur trade no longer deemed appropriate

u Immigration of British women made a priority and a duty

u Anticipated roles of British women in the colony

u Convince men to settle and farm

u Refinement

u if something is not done soon, either by the Imperial or Colonial government, or by some philanthropists, at home, I know not what will become of us. Poor man goes sadly down hill if he remains long without the supporting influence of women – 1862 Letter

u Labour (domestic service)

u Reproduction (“Nursery of the Empire”)

u Class dimensions

u Colonial government wanted middle-class women for settlement

u Assisted migration schemes attracted working-class women

First Nations Adjustment (1820s-50s): Bison

u Demographic patterns

u Smallpox epidemic (1837-38)

u Impacts southern peoples (Blackfoot, Assiniboine) more than Cree

u HBC vaccination program

u Bison robe and hide trade

u Minimal during Northwest Company – HBC competition

u Sharp increase in 1830s (demand in the United States)

u 10,000 robes traded per year in Canada by 1840s

u Impact on the bison herds extreme by the 1850s-60s

u Growing tension between First Nations groups (and Metis)

u Subsistence hunting vs. hunting for the bison trade

u Cree forced to migrate west in pursuit of herds u Rising conflict with Blackfoot

u Murder of Maskepetoon (1869)

u War with Blackfoot ends (1871)

Missionaries and the Prairie West

u No organized missionary activity in western fur trade (prior to 1818)

u British imperialism did not prioritize missionary work until early 19th-century

u Relevance of religion in fur trade societies

u Red River Settlement

u Missionaries sent to the colony after it was re-established (1817)

u Both Catholic and Protestant missionaries in place by 1820

u Rupert’s Land not a priority for British missionary societies

u Red River used as a base to establish branch agricultural colonies

u Cree settlements in Manitoba [established by William Cockran)

u Position of the Hudson’s Bay Company: cooperative but unenthused

u “it would be extremely impolitic in the present temper and disposition of the public to show any unwillingness to assist in the conversion of the Indians.”

u Concern over opposition to the HBC Charter

u HBC agrees to support work of Wesleyan Missionary Society (largest society in Britain)

u Provide free transportation for all missionaries

Big-Game Hunting and “Imperial Tourism”

u Big-Game hunting in early 19th-Century Britain u Recreational hunting associated with elite culture

u Associated with ‘naturalism’ – elite pursuit of scientific knowledge

u British Nationalism

u Our colonies include parts of the earth where the forms of plants and animals are the most strange. No empire in the world had ever so wide a range for the collection of the various forms of animal life as Great Britain. Never was there so much energy and intelligence displayed in the capture and transmission of exotic animals by the enterprising traveler in unknown lands and by the hardy settler in remote colonies, as by those who start from their native shorts of Britain. [1858 speech]

u Western Canada becomes significant field for imperial tourism u Increases British knowledge of the Prairie West

u Scientific study ‘domesticates’ Prairie West [place names as well]

u Impact on relations with aboriginal peoples

u “In you land you are great chiefs. You have abundance of blankets, tea and salt, tobacco and rum. You have splendid guns, and powder, and shot as much as you can desire. But there is one thing that you lack – you have no buffalo, and you come here to seek them. I am a great chief also. But the Great Spirit has not dealt with us alike. You he has endowed with various riches, while to me he has given the buffalo alone. Why should you visit this country to destroy the only good thing I possess, simply for your own pleasure?”

Perceptions of the Prairie West

� Region viewed as inhospitable and dangerous

� Fur trade reports, explorer narratives

� Red River Settlement (Seven Oaks Massacre)

� Overall: Western Canada not viewed by many as suitable for settlement

� Rise of the Expansionist Movement

� Based in Canada West (Ontario)

� Led by prominent men in business and politics

◦ George Brown (leader of Reform Party and editor of Globe newspaper)

� Expansionists argued Prairie West was key to future of Canada and British Empire

u New North-West Passage (railway promotion)

u open markets of Asia up to British Empire [not practical in 1850s]

u Canadian government unconvinced in the 1850s

u No conviction that Prairie West held any other economic value

u Need to balance French-English interests (French Canada unenthused)

Expansionist Campaign

u Canada West’s land shortage (1850s) u Creates tremendous urgency for expansionists to push forward

u Claim that the HBC charter is invalid (New France)

u Canada expresses serious interest in Rupert’s Land in 1857 u “whether Canada shall ultimately become a petty state, or one of the great

powers of the earth”

u Scientific Expeditions dispatched to evaluate economic potential u Palliser and Hind Expeditions

u Suitability for settlement

u Natural resources

u Climate and environment

u Both expeditions affirm the presence of a ‘fertile belt’ u Warn about extremely dry area in southern Prairies

u Palliser’s Triangle

Rupert’s Land Purchase

u Emergence of the Canadian Party at Red River Settlement

u Canada West settlers move to Red River in 1850s

u John Schultz and the Nor’wester Newspaper

u First Nations and Métis in expansionist discourse

u Sayer Trial (1849) – Métis arrested for violating HBC monopoly

u Expansionists take wrong lesson from Sayer Trial

u International Financial Society buys controlling interest in HBC (1863)

u Primary interest: profit from sale of Rupert’s Land

u Agreement reached (1869):

u £300,000 to HBC

u 5% of land in the fertile belt reserved for HBC to sell

u HBC retains ca. 50,000 acres of land around trading posts

u NO mention of aboriginal title in Rupert’s Land sale