New Caledonia (Canada)
New Caledonia | |
---|---|
District of Hudson's Bay Company | |
1805–1858 | |
Capital | Fort St. James |
History | |
• Established | 1805 |
• Disestablished | 1858 |
Today part of | north central British Columbia, Canada |
New Caledonia was a fur-trading district of the
Fur-trading district
The explorations of
For all intents and purposes, New Caledonia came into being with the establishment of the first British
Shifting boundaries and designations
The boundaries of the department were vague, and changed over time. For all practical purposes, New Caledonia extended as far as the economic relationships enjoyed by its designated
In 1849, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia were designated a crown colony in their own right, the Colony of Vancouver Island.
From New Caledonia to British Columbia
New Caledonia continued over the next few years to be administered by the HBC, whose regional chief executive, James Douglas, also happened to be governor of Vancouver Island. This situation was manageable, so long as the European population remained small (about 100, mostly Company employees and their families). All this changed in 1858, however, with the discovery of gold north of Yale, prompting the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush and the influx of twenty to thirty thousand people, mostly American. Douglas, who had no legal authority over the region, felt compelled to exert British sovereignty by placing a gunboat at the mouth of the Fraser River in order to obtain licence fees from prospectors seeking to travel upstream. The British colonial office was prompted into action, and legislation was passed designating New Caledonia a crown colony on August 2, 1858. The name given the new entity was the Colony of British Columbia, and a new capital, New Westminster was established on the southern reaches of the Fraser River.
The name New Caledonia is still used in official and commercial names in the region (e.g., the College of New Caledonia and the Diocese of Caledonia in Prince George; Caledonia Sr. Secondary School in Terrace).
See also
- Caledonia
- Columbia (Oregon Country)
- Columbia District, 1810–1846
- Former colonies and territories in Canada
- Oregon Country
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria in Canada
- Stickeen Territories
- Territorial evolution of Canada after 1867
- Washington Territory