James Douglas (governor)
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Sir James Douglas Arthur Edward Kennedy | |
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Personal details | |
Born | Demerara, Dutch/Batavian Colony of Essequibo | August 15, 1803
Died | August 2, 1877 Victoria, British Columbia | (aged 73)
Resting place | Ross Bay Cemetery |
Political party | None |
Spouse | |
Children | 13 (6 lived to adulthood), including James W. Douglas |
Parents |
|
Sir James Douglas,
He started work at 16 for the North West Company and then the Hudson's Bay Company and became a high-ranking officer. From 1851 to 1864, he was Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island.[1] In 1858, he became the first Governor of the Colony of British Columbia and asserted the authority of the British Empire during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, which had the potential to turn the Mainland into an American state. He remained governor of both colonies until his retirement in 1864.
Early life
Douglas was born in 1803 in Guyana. His father was John Douglas, a Scottish planter and merchant from Glasgow, in business with three of his brothers. The Douglas family were part of "the business elite of
His mother was Martha Ann (née Ritchie, later Telfer).
In 1812, John Douglas returned to
North West Company
At the age of 16, James Douglas signed on to join the North West Company (NWC), a major organization active in the North American fur trade. He sailed from Liverpool for Lachine, Lower Canada, in spring 1819. From there, Douglas was assigned as a clerk at Fort William in what is now Thunder Bay.
The following year, he was moved to Île-à-la-Crosse on the Churchill River in what is now northern Saskatchewan. The rival Hudson's Bay Company was also active in this area, and Douglas was caught up in at least one argument with the fighting fur traders. Douglas continued his policy of self-education by reading books brought from Britain and meeting with many First Nations people.
Hudson's Bay Company
In 1821, the NWC was merged into its powerful competitor, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Douglas's contract was placed onto the HBC's payroll. He quickly moved up the strict HBC hierarchy. In 1825, he was put in charge of the founding of the
In 1827, he established
Throughout part of 1828, Connolly was absent from Fort St. James, leaving Douglas in charge. Two company traders were murdered with the help of a Dakelh. Douglas was said to have marched into the Stuart Lake village and seized the accused murderer, but the exact events of the day are disputed. By some accounts, Douglas shot the native in the head on the spot, with everyone watching. In others, Douglas took him away from the village, to be executed later. Another story is that Douglas tried to shoot the man but missed and got his partners to beat the accused before taking him away. Various stories were passed around the area, and Douglas generally acquired a negative reputation among the local First Nations as a result.
Fearing for Douglas's life, Connolly asked HBC Governor George Simpson to transfer the younger man elsewhere. He was reassigned to Fort Vancouver, headquarters of the company's Columbia District, near the mouth of the Columbia River in present-day Washington. His wife joined him after the death of their first child in 1830. While they lived in Fort Vancouver, she gave birth to ten more children (five died in infancy). Their son James W. Douglas grew up to become a politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), 1875–1878.
Fort Vancouver
Douglas spent 19 years working in
Pugets Sound Agricultural Company
Douglas supported Simpson's plans of making a settlement with the Russian-American Company (RAC). In Hamburg in early 1839, Simpson and Governor of Russian Colonies in America Ferdinand von Wrangel negotiated a commercial treaty that established future relations between the two state companies.
The
Later years at Fort Vancouver
In November 1839, Douglas was promoted to Chief Factor, the highest possible rank for field service with the HBC. As a Chief Factor, he traveled to Alta California, where he met with a Mexican administrator and received permission to create a trading post in Yerba Buena, California (modern San Francisco, California). In 1841, Douglas was charged with the duty of setting up a trading post on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. George Simpson had recommended a second line of forts be built in case the Columbia River valley fell into American hands. Charged with the task, Douglas founded Fort Victoria, on the site of present-day Victoria, British Columbia. That proved beneficial when in 1846 the Oregon Treaty was signed, extending the British North America and the United States border along the 49th parallel from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Georgia.
Fort Victoria
In 1849, Britain leased the entirety of Vancouver Island to the HBC under the condition that a colony be created. Douglas moved the headquarters of the western portion of the company from Fort Vancouver to Fort Victoria.
Douglas had a Kanaka man accompany him in 1849 on his journey from Fort Vancouver to Victoria by canoe, and at Victoria, he had a Hawaiian cook and household servant (Barman and Watson 2006: 62).
He was not initially appointed as Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island, which instead went to Richard Blanshard, an English barrister. However, most practical authorities rested with Douglas as the chief employer and person in charge of its finances and land, and he effectively drove Blanshard from the position. Douglas acknowledged the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and had the policy to trade the natives for their land.
Costs for each parcel of land were usually in the form of blankets, often three for each man. The policy also stemmed from a desire to have good interactions with natives while avoiding violence. After Blanshard resigned in 1851, the British government appointed Douglas as the Governor of Vancouver Island. As he was still Chief Factor of the HBC, he tried for several years to balance his important and time-consuming duties of both positions. He was the subject of controversy in local political debates and editorial tirades.
Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island
As governor, Douglas faced a number of significant challenges, not least of which was the expansionist pressure of the neighboring United States of America. Using his meagre resources, Douglas created the Victoria Voltigeurs, Vancouver Island's first militia, using money from the company and composed of
In 1859, Douglas also found his colony embroiled in a dispute with Washington Territory over sovereignty in the San Juan Islands. The protracted, twelve-year standoff came to be known as the Pig War. Douglas pressed Britain to exert sovereignty over all islands in the archipelago dividing the Strait of Georgia from Puget Sound. Named for the largest island of the group, the San Juan Islands are immediately adjacent to Victoria and so were of great strategic interest and worry. While opposing troops remained garrisoned on San Juan Island, the dispute was eventually settled by arbitration in favour of the United States.[6]
Douglas's largest problem in the mid- and late 1850s concerned relations with the majority First Nations peoples. These numbered around 30,000 local Songhee,
His relations with First Nations peoples were mixed. On the one hand, Douglas' wife was Cree, he had established many close business and personal relationships with indigenous peoples as a fur trader, and he sought to conclude treaties (the Douglas Treaties) with First Nations on southern Vancouver Island. On the other hand, Douglas supplied Washington Territory's Governor Isaac Stevens with arms and other supplies to assist the US government in its conflict with Native American tribes. The treaties that he concluded were later criticized as having provided woefully inadequate compensation to First Nations in return for their cession of large swaths of territory (in most cases, a few blankets or a few shillings).[citation needed] The treaties, concluded between 1850 and 1854, acquired 14 parcels of land for the Crown from the native peoples, totaling 570 square kilometres (220 sq mi). The treaty-making was halted after the Colony ran out of money to pursue its expansion policy.[7]
The administration also founded public elementary schools, worked to control alcohol in the colony, and constructed the Victoria District Church (the forerunner to the Christ Church Cathedral). In 1856, as ordered by the British Government, Douglas reluctantly established an elected Legislative Assembly. That was a turning point for Douglas, who had grown accustomed to administering the colony with absolute authority. The council was opposed to Douglas on many issues and consistently criticized him for having a conflict of interest between his duties to the company and to the colony.
Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
In 1856, gold was discovered in the
Douglas's actions in asserting British sovereignty over the mainland is generally conceded today to have helped exert to control over American miners and to undermine American territorial ambitions toward this part of British North America. Shortly thereafter, the Colonial Office formally confirmed Douglas's proclamation of sovereignty and established a new colony encompassing the mainland.
Feud with Moody
After the British Parliament in 1858 created the Crown Colony of British Columbia, Douglas was assigned as governor and was asked to resign as Chief Factor of the western portion of the Hudson's Bay Company. The Crown did not renew the company's trade monopoly on the mainland or Douglas' position as Chief Factor.
Moody and his family arrived in
Mary Moody, the descendant of the Hawks industrial dynasty and the Boyd merchant banking family,[13] wrote on 4 August 1859 'it is not pleasant to serve under a Hudson's Bay Factor' and that the 'Governor and Richard can never get on'.[14] In a letter to the Colonial Office of 27 December 1858, Moody boasted that he has ‘entirely disarmed [Douglas] of all jealously'[15] Douglas repeatedly insulted the Engineers by attempting to assume their command,[16] and refusing to acknowledge their value in the nascent colony.[17]
Margaret A. Ormsby, author of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry for Moody (2002), condemns Moody for a contribution to the abortive development of the city. However, most other historians have exonerated Moody for the abortive development of the city and consider his achievement to be impressive, especially with regard to the perpetual insufficiency of funds and the personally-motivated opposition of Douglas, whose opposition to the project continually slowed its development. Robert Edgar Cail,[18] Don W. Thomson,[19] Ishiguro, and Scott have praised Moody for his contribution, the latter accusing Ormsby of being ‘adamant in her dislike of Colonel Moody’ despite the evidence,[20] and almost all biographies of Moody, including those of the Institute of Civil Engineers, the Royal Engineers, and the British Columbia Historical Association, are flattering.
Governor
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In August 1858, news reached Douglas that two Vancouver Island miners had been killed by natives. He believed that the whole region was on the verge of war and went out to investigate. Numerous minor clashes between natives and whites had concluded without fatalities. After investigating the situation he found that alcohol had been a major cause, and prohibited the sale of liquor to natives. While on the trip to the murder scene, Douglas brought the Crown Solicitor of Vancouver Island to uphold the law and make a show that demonstrated British law was still in effect. During the trip, he encountered a great number of squatting foreigners, reducing the total possible revenues for land sales to the government.
In attempt to suppress unlawful acts, Douglas appointed regional
In December 1861, during the ongoing Trent Affair, Douglas argued for his London superiors to invade and conquer the Washington Territory as America was too busy in the East with the Civil War. He reasoned because there were few U.S. troops stationed in the territory since most other units stationed there were off to war in the East, the region's population was scattered, and there was little to no U.S. naval ships in the area. He also said the Royal Navy and Marines were powerful and could easily do the job, ending with a statement that "with Puget Sound, and the line of the Columbia River in our hands, we should hold the only navigable outlets of the country — command its trade, and soon compel it to submit to Her Majesty's Rule."[22]
Continuing his service as governor, Douglas authorised construction of the government buildings known as the "Birdcages" in 1859. In 1862, with the discovery of rich gold deposits in the
Near the end of his term as governor, Douglas was criticized for not developing the colony as a self-governing body. His only political reform had been to initiate an elected Legislative Council. His argument against the creation of a self-governing colony was the state of the population: few were British subjects, most held permanent residence in the colony, and few of them owned property.
He was friends with Robert Ker, the First Auditor General of the Two Colonies of British Columbia, and John Sebastian Helmcken a future Speaker of the House of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Like Douglas, they are both considered founding fathers of British Columbia. Helmcken married Douglas's daughter, Cecilia.
Retirement and death
When Douglas ended his service to the
Douglas continued to be active but kept out of politics in all forms. He died in Victoria of a heart attack on August 2, 1877, at the age of 73. His funeral procession was possibly the largest in the history of B.C., and he was interred in the Ross Bay Cemetery.
Places named for Douglas
- Port Douglas, British Columbia, a former community located on the northern end of Harrison Lake.
- The Douglas Ranges, a southernmost portion of the Coast Mountains west of Harrison Lake and east of Stave Lake.
- The Lillooet.
- Douglas, name of a Canada-US border crossing in Surrey, British Columbia.
- Douglas Peak, a 1,486-metre (4,875 ft) mountain of the Vancouver Island Ranges, located southeast of Port Alberni.
- Mount Douglas, a prominent, 260-metre (850 ft) hill in the Greater Victoria municipality of Saanich. It is also the namesake for a high school, road, municipal park, neighbourhood, and several businesses.
- Kitimat.
- Douglas Inlet, lies on the west side of Moresby Island in Haida Gwaii.
- Douglas Road, one of the first roads connecting Burnaby. Not to be confused with the Douglas Road from Harrison Lake to Lillooet.
- Douglas Street (Highways 1 and 17) is a major thoroughfare in Victoria, running north from Dallas Road (Mile "0" of the Trans-Canada Highway) to Dieppe Road in the Broadmead neighbourhood of Saanich.
- Douglas College is a publicly funded community university transfer and vocational college with campuses in New Westminster and Coquitlam.
- Sir James Douglas Annex are public elementary schools in South East Vancouver.
- Sir James Douglas Primary School, Supply, Mahaica, Demerara, Guyana.
- Numerous other elementary, middle, and secondary schools across British Columbia are named after Sir James Douglas. Among them is Sir James Douglas elementary school in Victoria, built in 1910 on the property that used to be the governor's farm.
- James Island, a privately owned, 315-hectare (780-acre) island located to the east of the Saanich Peninsula, opposite Sidney.
- James Bay, a small bay within Victoria Harbour, and the historic neighbourhood which surrounds it; this had been the governor's own property and residence before its development.
- Douglas Hall, a residence hall at Trinity Western University in Langley, BC
- Douglas Portage, a route around the "Falls of the Fraser" between Spuzzum and Yale. Originally built as part of the Hudson's Bay Brigade Trail, it became important during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in the absence of other routes. The name Douglas Portage was also used for the first, most southerly, portage of the Douglas Road.
- The noted Douglas Lake Cattle Company, and the lake, creek, and plateau in the area are not named for Douglas, but for a local settler of that name.
References
- ^ "Douglas, Sir James National Historic Person". Parks Canada. March 15, 2012. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
- . Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-926971-71-1.
- ^ Dedyna, Katherine (February 5, 2016). "Roots of black history run deep on the Vancouver Island". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
- ^ Ormsby, Margaret A. (1972). "Douglas, Sir James". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. X (1871–1880) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ^ Sainsbury, Brendan (September 12, 2022). "The US island that nearly ignited a war". bbc.com. BBC Travel. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ "1811 - 1867: Pre-Confederation Treaties II: The Douglas Treaties, 1850 - 1854". Canada in the Making. Canadiana.org. Archived from the original on June 6, 2004.
- ^ Donald J. Hauka, McGowan's War, Vancouver: 2003, New Star Books, p.146
- ^ Jean Barman, The West Beyond the West: A History of British Columbia, (Toronto: University of Toronto), p.71
- ^ Scott 1983, p. 13.
- ^ Scott 1983, p. 19.
- ^ Scott 1983, pp. 19–20.
- ^ Howard, Joseph Jackson (1893–1906). Heraldic Visitation of England and Wales. 8. p. 161-164. .
- ^ Scott 1983, p. 23.
- ^ Scott 1983, p. 25.
- ^ Scott 1983, p. 109.
- ^ Scott 1983, pp. 115–117.
- ^ Cail, Robert Edgar (1974). Land, Man, and the Law: The Disposal of Crown Lands in British Columbia, 1871–1913, Vancouver, University of British Columbia. p. 60.
- ^ Thomson, Don W. (1966). Men and Meridians, Vol. 1. Ottawa, Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, Government of Canada. p. 282.
- ^ Scott 1983, p. 131.
- ISBN 0809415410.
- ^ Despatch to London: Douglas, Sir James to Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle Henry Pelham Fiennes, 28 December 1861.
Bibliography
- Scott, Laura Elaine (1983), The Imposition of British Culture as Portrayed in the New Westminster Capital Plan of 1859 to 1862, Burnaby: Simon Fraser University
Further reading
- Adams, John D. Old Square Toes and His Lady (Horsdal and Schubart, 2002). ISBN 0-920663-77-X
- Barman, Jean and Bruce McIntyre Watson, 2006. Leaving Paradise: Indigenous Hawaiians in the Pacific Northwest, 1787–1898. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press
- Hauka, Donald J.. McGowan's War (New Star Books, Vancouver, 2003). ISBN 1-55420-001-6
- Smith, Dorothy Blakey. James Douglas (Oxford University Press, 1971). ISBN 0-19-540187-5
External links
- Video, Provincial Capital Commission: James Douglas, Governor[permanent dead link]
- Sir James Douglas[permanent dead link], Robert Hamilton Coats and R. Edward Gosnell, publ. Morang, Toronto, 1908
- Adams, John. "James Douglas (1803-1877) in Oregon". The Oregon Encyclopedia.