Fort Victoria

ARTICLE CONTENTS:  |  Suggested Reading  |  Links to Other Sites
In 1842, James DOUGLAS of the HUDSON'S BAY CO selected the port of Camosack (the harbour where Victoria now stands) as a new fur-trade post - eventually to replace FORT VANCOUVER as the company's Pacific headquarters and to bolster the British claim to VANCOUVER ISLAND. Known first locally as Fort Albert, the original intention was to name the site Fort Adelaide, but on 10 June 1843 it was officially christened Fort Victoria after Queen VICTORIA. The OREGON TREATY of 1846 effectively terminated Fort Vancouver as Columbia district headquarters, and in 1849 it was superseded by Fort Victoria. The crown colony of Vancouver Island was also established in 1849 and Richard Blanshard, who became its first governor in 1850, resided at Fort Victoria. VICTORIA townsite was surveyed adjacent to the fort in 1851-52 and during the FRASER RIVER GOLD RUSH of 1858 its population soared. Fort Victoria eventually became an anachronism and by 1864 its last remnants had disappeared.

Author DENNIS F.K. MADILL


Suggested Reading
D. Pethick, Victoria: The Fort (1968).


Links to Other Sites
British Columbia
An overview of the major issues and events leading up to British Columbia's entry into Confederation. Includes biographies of prominent personalities, old photos and related archival material. From Library and Archives Canada.

The Canadian Register of Historic Places
Canada is home to a vast array of fascinating historical sites. Many of them are illustrated and described in this searchable online database of Canadian historic places that are of local, provincial, territorial, and national significance.

British Columbia Historical Federation
The website for the British Columbia Historical Federation, an umbrella organization for provincial historical societies. View full issues of "British Columbia History" and "British Columbia Historical News." Note: some large PDF files.

Hudson's Bay at Fort Victoria
This British Columbia Heritage website chronicles the early years of Fort Victoria, the Hudson’s Bay Company outpost on Vancouver Island. Features an in-depth tour of the fort, original documents and historic photographs from B.C. Archives, stories about pioneering families, and much more.

0
0
Absolutely free, with over 40,000 articles in French and English, The Canadian Encyclopedia is the ultimate online resource for all things Canadian, from history, sports, arts, science, technology, and much, much more. Get started at www.TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com
Feature Articles
The Formation of the RCMP

The Dominion government's advertisement asked for volunteers "able to read and write either the English or French language" with "good antecedents" who were good horsemen...

INSIDE TCE

Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.