british columbia & the railway. british columbia british columbia was founded as a british...
TRANSCRIPT
British Columbia & The Railway
British Columbia
• British Columbia was founded as a British colony in 1849
• It was a quiet colony that lived in harmony with the First Nations population until 1858 when the population exploded!
• Why do you think the population expanded in 1858?
GOLD!!
• Gold was found• It could be found in river beds and certain
mines• It was hard work, but a quick way to get rich!
Problems Quickly Surface
• Gold made British Columbia very rich very fast and they were one of Britain’s favourite colonies
• Their population and infrastructure (buildings and towns) quickly grew
• Why did Britain like BC so much? • But the Gold Rush did not last long
Aboriginals
• The Aboriginal groups of BC relied on salmon to live
• Searching for gold in the river scared the fish away
• First Nation groups attempted to block the river and many fights broke out, and many people died
End of the Gold Rush
• The rush only lasted 10 years and ended in 1868.
• They did not have the technology to find any more gold at the time. Many immigrants left or did not have a job
• You now have a modern colony, completely bankrupt
The Solution
• With the colony in debt and no gold to be found, Britain abandoned BC and stopped helping them
• Needing help to survive, BC turned to another option:
• CANADA!
What BC Wanted
• BC had some demands if it was going to allow itself to be governed by Canada:– Canada had to pay their debts– They wanted to be linked to Canada by a paved
road– They wanted Canada to give them money each
year
Canada Agrees!
• Canada says yes to all their demands• They pay the debts• Instead of a paved road, Canada offers
something better:• A Railway!!!!• On July 20th, 1871 British Columbia becomes
Canada’s 6th province
THE RAILWAY
• Every province was promised to be connected to the rest of the country via railway
• Two things were needed:– Money– People