Sir James Douglas
Channel: BC History
Date: 2014-04-29

This mini-dic deals with James Douglas, the first governor of British Columbia and the second of Vancouver Island.

James Douglas was born in Demerra in British Guiana in 1803.  His father was Scottish and his mother was a free black woman from Barbados

James Douglas was the Chief factor of the HBC west of the Rockies when the Oregon country was divided in 1846.   He founded Fort Victoria.   

Douglas's wife Amelia was of mixed Scottish and Cree heritage.

He responded to the Fraser River Gold Rush in 1858 by creating the Colony of British Columbia.

He died in 1877 in Victoria BC

In 2009 the BC Provincial Capital Commission did a series of short history docs about various aspects of BC.  With the end of the PCC in March of 2014 it is not clear what would happen to these videos so I thought would post them to ensure they remain online.