Richard Blanshard
Richard Blanshard | |
---|---|
Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island | |
In office 1849–1851 | |
Succeeded by | James Douglas |
Personal details | |
Born | London | 19 October 1817
Died | 5 June 1894 London | (aged 76)
Richard Blanshard
Biography
Blanshard was born in
Blanshard's short tenure proved unhappy from the start, largely because of the enormous power and influence wielded by the Hudson's Bay Company and its autocratic Chief Factor, James Douglas. Indeed, prior to Blanshard's appointment, there had been serious consideration given by the colonial office to appointing Douglas governor, but concerns over conflict of interest prevented it.
Blanshard arrived to a colony in which the land had been given as a ten-year lease to the Hudson's Bay Company, with Douglas given a mandate to attract settlement. Almost the entire non-
Blanshard evidently did not pursue further colonial service. He married and inherited his family's estates in Essex and Hampshire. He died in London at the age of 76.
Places named for Blanshard
- Mount Blanshard, part of a group of sugarloaf-type peaks commonly known as the Golden Ears, is located in Golden Ears Provincial Park in the Garibaldi Ranges of the Coast Mountains, immediately north of Maple Ridge, British Columbia.
- The Yukonborder.
- Blanshard Island is located among the Gulf Islands northeast of the City of Victoria.
- Blanshard Street is a major thoroughfare in downtown Victoria, running northwards from the north end of Beacon Hill Park to join with Highway 17 just past the Victoria–Saanich boundary.
- A large provincial government structure, The Richard Blanshard Building stands on the corner of Blanshard and Pandora Streets in Victoria.