1.
Nootka Sound
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Nootka Sound is a sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia, historically known as King Georges Sound. It separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island, the inlet is part of the traditional territory of the indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth people. John R. Jewitt is an Englishman who describes the area in detail in a memoir about his years as a captive of chief Maquinna from 1802 to 1805. On August 8,1774, the Spanish Navy ship Santiago, under Juan Pérez, although the Spanish did not land, natives paddled to the ship to trade furs for abalone shells from California. Pérez named the entrance to Nootka Sound Surgidero de San Lorenzo, when Esteban José Martinez arrived in 1789 he gave Nootka Sound the name Puerto de San Lorenzo de Nuca. The Spanish establishment established at Friendly Cove he gave the name Santa Cruz de Nuca, in March 1778, Captain James Cook of the Royal Navy landed on Bligh Island and named the inlet King Georges Sound. He recorded that the name was Nutka or Nootka, apparently misunderstanding his conversations at Friendly Cove/Yuquot. There may also have been confusion with Nuu-chah-nulth, the natives autonym and it may also have simply been based on Cook’s mis-pronunciation Yuquot, the native name of the place. The earlier Spanish and British names for the Sound swiftly went out of use, at the time, the Spanish monopolized the trade between Asia and North America, and had granted limited licenses to the Portuguese. The Russians had established a fur trading system in Alaska. The Spanish began to challenge the Russians, with Pérezs voyage being the first of many to the Pacific Northwest, the British also became increasingly active in the region. The next European to visit Nootka Sound after James Cook was the British trader James Hanna in August 1785, Hanna traded iron bars for furs. He sold the furs in China for a profit, beginning an era of the Maritime Fur Trade. Starting in 1774 Spain sent several expeditions to Alaska to assert its claim over the Pacific Northwest which dated back to the 16th century. The endeavours of these merchants did not last long in the face of Spains opposition, the challenge was also opposed by a Japan holding obdurately to national seclusion. In 1789 Spain sent Sub-Lieutenant Esteban José Martinez, commanding the Princesa and he arrived in February 1789 and established a settlement and built Fort San Miguel. The ship Iphigenia Nubiana, under Captain William Douglas and owned by John Meares, was impounded, two American ships in the area were allowed to sail as the United States was Spains ally. However, the American ship Fair American was seized and taken to San Blas, the capture of the British ships led to the Nootka Crisis and near war between Britain and Spain
2.
Vancouver Island
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Vancouver Island is in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Canada. It is part of the Canadian province of British Columbia, the island is 460 kilometres in length,100 kilometres in width at its widest point, and 32,134 km2 in area. It is the largest island on the West Coast of North America and this area has one of the warmest climates in Canada, and since the mid-1990s has been mild enough in a few areas to grow subtropical Mediterranean crops such as olives and lemons. Vancouver Island has a population of 759,366 according to the Canada 2011 Census, nearly half of that figure live in the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria. Other notable cities and towns on Vancouver Island include Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Parksville, Courtenay, and Campbell River. Victoria, the city of British Columbia, is located on the island. Vancouver Island has been the homeland to many indigenous peoples for thousands of years, the island was explored by British and Spanish expeditions in the late 18th century. Quadras name was dropped from the name. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, Vancouver Island is the worlds 43rd largest island, Canadas 11th largest island, and Canadas second most populous island after the Island of Montreal. It is the largest Pacific island anywhere east of New Zealand, Vancouver Island has been the homeland to many indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The groupings, by language, are the Kwakwakawakw, Nuu-chah-nulth and their cultures are connected to the natural resources abundant in the area. The Kwakwakawakw today number about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and they are also known as Kwakiutl in English, from one of their tribes, but they prefer their autonym Kwakwakawakw. Their indigenous language, part of the Wakashan family, is Kwakwala, the name Kwakwakawakw means speakers of Kwakwala. The language is now spoken by less than 5% of the population—about 250 people, today 17 separate tribes make up the Kwakwakawakw. Some Kwakwakawakw groups are now extinct, Kwakwala is a Northern Wakashan language, a grouping shared with Haisla, Heiltsuk and Wuikyala. The Nuu-chah-nulth are indigenous peoples in Canada and their traditional home is on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The Nuu-chah-nulth speak a Southern Wakashan language and are related to the Makah of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State. The Coast Salish are the largest of the southern groups and they are a loose grouping of many tribes with numerous distinct cultures and languages
3.
Gold River, British Columbia
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Gold River is a village municipality located close to the geographic centre of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. In terms of the Islands human geography it is considered to be part of the North Island, taking advantage of its deep water and abundant forests, Gold River developed in 1967 as a prototypical logging and pulp and paper industry community. Gold River quickly sprang into prosperity and established excellent community facilities, when shifting world markets brought the mill closure in 1998, many of Gold Rivers inhabitants were forced to relocate. Gold River also serves as a point, being the closest village to the famous Yuquot, or Friendly Cove. There Cook met the Mowachaht native bands chief, Chief Maquinna, Gold River has a Marine west coast climate. With warm dry summers and mild winters, during the winter constant Low Pressure Systems moving off of the Pacific Ocean causes winter to be the wettest season. Most precipitation falls as rain year round but snow is not uncommon in the winter months averaging 118 cm, summers are warm with an average summer temperate of 17.6 °C in July. The summer months are the driest of the year with only 55.4 mm of rain in July compared to 481.9 mm in November. The average rain fall all year is 2,846.7 mm making the west coast of Vancouver Island the wettest place in Canada, the record high recorded for the village was 41.5 °C recorded on July 28,2009. The record low was −19 °C recorded on January 28,1980, village of Gold River official website Gold River
4.
British Columbia
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British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, with a population of more than four million people located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. British Columbia is also a component of the Pacific Northwest and the Cascadia bioregion, along with the U. S. states of Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. The first British settlement in the area was Fort Victoria, established in 1843, subsequently, on the mainland, the Colony of British Columbia was founded by Richard Clement Moody and the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Port Moody is named after him, in 1866, Vancouver Island became part of the colony of British Columbia, and Victoria became the united colonys capital. In 1871, British Columbia became the province of Canada. Its Latin motto is Splendor sine occasu, the capital of British Columbia remains Victoria, the fifteenth-largest metropolitan region in Canada, named for the Queen who created the original European colonies. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, the largest in Western Canada, in October 2013, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,606,371. British Columbia evolved from British possessions that were established in what is now British Columbia by 1871, First Nations, the original inhabitants of the land, have a history of at least 10,000 years in the area. Today there are few treaties and the question of Aboriginal Title, notably, the Tsilhqotin Nation has established Aboriginal title to a portion of their territory, as a result of the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision. BCs economy is diverse, with service producing industries accounting for the largest portion of the provinces GDP and it is the endpoint of transcontinental railways, and the site of major Pacific ports that enable international trade. Though less than 5% of its vast 944,735 km2 land is arable and its climate encourages outdoor recreation and tourism, though its economic mainstay has long been resource extraction, principally logging, farming, and mining. Vancouver, the provinces largest city and metropolitan area, also serves as the headquarters of many western-based natural resource companies and it also benefits from a strong housing market and a per capita income well above the national average. The Northern Interior region has a climate with very cold winters. The climate of Vancouver is by far the mildest winter climate of the major Canadian cities, the provinces name was chosen by Queen Victoria, when the Colony of British Columbia, i. e. the Mainland, became a British colony in 1858. The current southern border of British Columbia was established by the 1846 Oregon Treaty, British Columbias land area is 944,735 square kilometres. British Columbias rugged coastline stretches for more than 27,000 kilometres and it is the only province in Canada that borders the Pacific Ocean. British Columbias capital is Victoria, located at the tip of Vancouver Island. Only a narrow strip of the Island, from Campbell River to Victoria, is significantly populated, much of the western part of Vancouver Island and the rest of the coast is covered by thick, tall and sometimes impenetrable temperate rainforest
5.
Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations
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The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations are a First Nations government on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations are a nation of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. The Mowachaht, which translates to people of the deer, originate from a place called Friendly Cove, in the mid-to-late 18th century, first contact between indigenous peoples in what is now British Columbia, Canada and European explorers first happened in Yuquot. On July 27,2006, Chief Jerry Jack of the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nations died during an intertribal canoe journey in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, two other members of the canoes crew were sent to hospital in Port Angeles, Washington. Chief Jack was well known for his involvement with the story of Luna, Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nations Nuu-chah-nulth Nuu-chah-nulth language Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council Maquinna
6.
National Historic Sites of Canada
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Parks Canada, a federal agency, manages the National Historic Sites program. As of 2016, there are 976 National Historic Sites,171 of which are administered by Parks Canada, the sites are located across all ten provinces and three territories, with two sites located in France. There are related federal designations for National Historic Persons and National Historic Events, Sites, Events, and Persons are each typically marked by a federal plaque, but the markers do not indicate which designation a subject has been given. The Rideau Canal is a National Historic Site, while the Welland Canal is a National Historic Event, emerging Canadian nationalist sentiment in the late 19th century and early 20th century led to an increased interest in preserving Canadas historic sites. There were galvanizing precedents in other countries, in the United Kingdom, the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty was created in 1894 to protect that countrys historic and natural heritage. Domestically, Lord Dufferin, the Governor General from 1872 to 1878, initiated some of the earliest, high-profile efforts to preserve Canadas historic sites. He was instrumental in stopping the demolition of the fortifications of Quebec City, at the same time, the federal government was looking for ways to extend the National Park system to Eastern Canada. In 1914, the Parks Branch undertook a survey of sites in Canada. Fort Howe in Saint John, New Brunswick was designated a historic park in 1914. The fort was not a site of significant national historic importance, Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia was also designated in 1917. At the same time, the Department of Militia and Defence was anxious to transfer old forts, harkin, the first Commissioner of Dominion Parks, to develop a departmental heritage policy. On Harkins recommendation, the government created the Advisory Board for Historic Site Preservation in 1919 in order to advise the Minister on a new program of National Historic Sites. Brigadier General Ernest Alexander Cruikshank, an authority on the War of 1812 and the history of Ontario, was chosen as the Boards first chairman. Due to a lack of resources, the HSMBC limited itself to recommending sites for designation, of the 285 National Historic Sites designated by 1943,105 represented military history,52 represented the fur trade and exploration, and 43 represented famous individuals. There was also a strong bias in favour of commemorating sites in Ontario over other parts of the country, at one point, some members of the HSMBC concluded that there were no sites at all in Prince Edward Island worthy of designation. Lawrence, and in Niagara, promoting a loyalist doctrine of unity with Britain. Proposals to designate sites related to the immigration of Jews, Blacks and Ukrainians to Canada were rejected, such was the view of Canadian history by the Board in the first half of the 20th century. As time passed and the system grew, the scope of the program, by the 1930s, the focus of the heritage movement in Canada had shifted from commemoration to preservation and development
7.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
8.
Maquinna
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For the underwater mud volcano, see Maquinna. Maquinna was the chief of the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Nootka Sound and his people are today known as the Mowachaht and reside today with their kin, the Muchalaht, at Gold River, British Columbia, Canada. Maquinna was a chief whose summer coastal village, Yuquot, became the first important anchorage in the European jockeying for power. Yuquot became known as Friendly Cove after the British explorer Captain James Cook visited in 1778, Cook did not record the name of the chief of Yuquot, who may not have been Maquinna in 1778, even though writers have often assumed it was. Imperial Spain had sent two voyages to the region before Cooks visit, including Juan Pérez, who in 1774 had anchored in or near the entrance of Nootka Sound. In 1788, John Meares explored Nootka Sound and the coasts and claimed to have bought some land from Maquinna. In 1789, Esteban José Martínez of the Spanish Navy occupied and claimed Nootka Sound for Spain and he built Fort San Miguel and a settlement called Santa Cruz de Nuca. Ensuing events led to Martínezs seizure of the British subject James Colnett and several British ships, the Spanish settlement and fort were abandoned at the end of 1789 and rebuilt one year later, in 1790, by Francisco de Eliza and Pere dAlberní i Teixidor. Both were abandoned in 1795 after the third Nootka Convention came into force, Maquinna and his people reoccupied their coastal village. The title by which he is described, Hyas Tyee, which was to find its way into the vocabulary of the Chinook Jargon, is the same as used for king. Maquinna also had an army of 300–400 men, callicum expressed his anger at the Spanish seizure of British ships in 1789 and was shot dead by Esteban José Martínez or one of Martínezs sailors. Maquinna is notable also for having kept European slaves on a number of occasions. The most notable account is told in the writings of John R. Jewitt, one of two slaves kept for years after the crew of the ship Boston was massacred by Maquinna. A Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt refers to Maquinna throughout as king, Jewitt learned the language of the people and was accordingly treated very well by Maquinna during his years in Nootka. He was able to directly from Maquinna that the ship Boston was taken in response to several depredations committed by earlier American. The one slave who had not tried to escape was eventually sold to Chief Wickaninnish, Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, by Robin Fisher On-line original edition of The Adventures and Sufferings of John R. P. V
9.
Nuu-chah-nulth
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The Nuu-chah-nulth, also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifteen related tribes whose traditional home is on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the Nuu-chah-nulth are related to the Kwakwakawakw, the Haisla, and the Nitinaht. The Nuu-chah-nulth language is part of the Wakashan language group, the Makah people in northwest Washington were historically also Wakashan speakers. When James Cook first encountered the villagers at Yuquot in 1778, Cook interpreted this as the natives name for the inlet—now called Nootka Sound. The term was applied to the indigenous inhabitants of the area. In 1978 the tribes of western Vancouver Island chose the term Nuu-chah-nulth and this was the culmination of the 1967 alliance forged among these tribes in order to present a unified political voice to the levels of government and European-Canadian society. The Makah of northwest Washington, located on the Olympic Peninsula in their own reservation, are related to the Nuu-chah-nulth. The Nuu-chah-nulth were among the first Pacific peoples north of California to encounter Europeans, competition between Spain and the United Kingdom over control of Nootka Sound led to a bitter international dispute around 1790, called the Nootka Crisis. It was settled under the Nootka Conventions of the 1790s, when Spain agreed to abandon its claims to the North Pacific coast. Negotiations to settle the dispute were handled under the aegis and hospitality of Maquinna, a few years later, Maquinna and his warriors captured the American trading ship Boston in March 1803. He and his men killed the captain and all the crew, after gaining release, John R. Jewitt wrote a classic captivity narrative about his nearly 3 years with the Nuu-chah-nulth and his reluctant assimilation to their society. This 1815 book is entitled Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R, in 1811 the trading ship Tonquin was blown up in Clayoquot Sound. Tla-o-qui-aht and his warriors had attacked the ship in revenge for an insult by the ships captain, the captain and almost all the crew were killed and the ship abandoned. The next day warriors reboarded the empty ship to salvage it, however, a hiding crew member set fire to the ships magazine and the resulting explosion killed many natives. Only one crew member, a pilot / interpreter hired from the nearby Quinault nation, from earliest contact with European explorers up until 1830, more than 90% of the Nuu-chah-nulth died as a result of infectious disease epidemics, particularly malaria and smallpox. Europeans carried these endemic diseases but the First Nations had no immunity to them, the high rate of deaths added to the social disruption and cultural turmoil resulting from contact with Westerners. In the early 20th century, the population was estimated at 3,500, total population for the 13 tribes in the Nuuchahnulth nation is 8,147, according to the Nuuchahnulth Tribal Council Indian Registry of February 2006. The Ditidaht First Nation, while politically and culturally affiliated with the Nuu-chah-nulth, are referred to
10.
Nuu-chah-nulth language
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Nuu-chah-nulth is a Southern Wakashan language related to Nitinaht and Makah. The provenance of the term Nuu-chah-nulth, meaning along the outside dates from the 1970s, the name given by earlier sources for this language is Tahkaht, that name was used also to refer to themselves. It is the first language of the peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast to have documentary written materials describing it. In the 1780s Captains Vancouver, Quadra, and other European explorers and traders frequented Nootka Sound, from 1803–1805 John R. Jewitt, an English blacksmith, was held captive by chief Maquinna at Nootka Sound. He made an effort to learn the language, and in 1815 published a memoir with a glossary of its terms. The 35 consonants of Nuu-chah-nulth, Of the alveolar consonants, nasal, glottalized sonorants are realized as sonorants with pre-glottalization. The approximant /ʕ/ is more often epiglottal and functions phonologically as a stop, in the environment of glottalized resonants as well as ejective and pharyngeal consonants, vowels can be laryngealized which often means creaky voice. In general, syllable weight determines stress placement, short vowels followed by non-glottalized consonants, in sequences where there are no heavy syllables or only heavy syllables, the first syllable is stressed. Nuu-chah-nulth has phonemic short and long vowels, traditionally, a third class of vowels, known as variable length vowels, is recognized. These are vowels that are long when they are found within the first two syllables of a word, and short elsewhere, the Nuu-chah-nulth language contributed much of the vocabulary of the Chinook Jargon. Nootkan words in Chinook Jargon include hiyu, from Nuu-chah-nulth for ten, siah, a dictionary of the language, with some 7,500 entries, was created after 15 years of research. It is based on work with current speakers and notes from linguist Edward Sapir, taken almost a century ago. The dictionary, however, is a subject of controversy, with a number of Nuu-chah-nulth elders questioning the accuracy of the terminology, Nuu-chah-nulth were formerly known as Nootka by colonial settlers. Some of the following are not part of the Nuu-chah-nulth political organization, however. The term nuučaanułatḥ is also used, meaning people all along the mountains, ahousaht - People living with their backs to the land and mountains. Ucluelet - People with a landing place for canoes. These are just a few used to this day, hisaawista – Captured by clubbing the people who lived there to death, Esowista Peninsula. Yuquot – Where they get the north winds, Yuquot nootk-sitl – Go around, maaqtusiis – A place across the island, Marktosis kakawis – Fronted by a rock that looks like a container
11.
Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council
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The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The organization is based in Port Alberni, British Columbia, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council began as the West Coast Allied Tribes in 1958, but then incorporated as a non-profit society called the West Coast District Society of Indian Chiefs in 1973. In 2009, the name was changed to the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, the northern boundary of Nuu-chah-nulth territory begins on the west coast of Vancouver Island at Brooks Peninsula and the southern boundary is at Port Renfrew. The territory extends inland about halfway across the island to encompass Gold River, there are fourteen tribes that comprise the Nuu-chah-nulth Nations. These tribes share many aspects of their culture, language and traditions, each Nation can have several houses that are centered on a Ha’wiih who is responsible for their Ha’houlthee. Similarly the closely related Ditidaht of the Ditidaht First Nation and the Makah of the side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca are not members of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. The NTC provides programs and services to approximately 8,000 registered members, the Central Region is by far the largest component of the NTC at the present time. The role of the NTC is to represent its member nations and provide a variety of programs and it can coordinate projects, oversee issues that overlap jurisdictions and can take advantage of economies of scale or cross regional planning opportunities. As well, it can act as a board and coordinator on many issues of common concern. The NTC operates many programs that further the wellbeing of the communities within their sphere of influence. Some programs are administered by NTC staff on behalf of the bands, as treaties are negotiated or as capacities build within individual nations, new funding agreements are being negotiated annually. This is shifting the emphasis away from centralized programs towards a degree of band-management. The Nuu-cha-nulth Tribal Council draws on the resources of fourteen tribes to provide staff, not all staff, however, are members of its member nations. The NTC is presided over by a President, Vice-President and an Executive Director, to ensure all areas have access to the administrative body, staff positions are organized to ensure staff coverage for all regions. These include office managers for the Southern and Central Region and Northern Region, secretaries, receptionists, the NTC Board of Directors is composed of the elected Chiefs from each Nation. Sharmalene Mendis-Millard, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, in Daniel Arbour, Brenda Kuecks & Danielle Edwards, Nuu-chah-nulth Central Region First Nations Governance Structures 2007/2008, Vancouver, September 2008. Pacheedaht First Nation Makah Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Corporation List of tribal councils in British Columbia Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council homepage
12.
First Nations
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The First Nations are the predominant Aboriginal peoples of Canada south of the Arctic. Those in the Arctic area are distinct and known as Inuit, the Métis, another distinct ethnicity, developed after European contact and relations primarily between First Nations people and Europeans. There are currently 634 recognized First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. Under the Employment Equity Act, First Nations are a group, along with women, visible minorities. First Nations are not defined as a minority under the Act or by the criteria of Statistics Canada. Within Canada, First Nations has come into general use—replacing the deprecated term Indians—for the indigenous peoples of the Americas, individuals using the term outside Canada include supporters of the Cascadian independence movement, as well as U. S. tribes within the Pacific Northwest. The singular, commonly used on culturally politicized reserves, is the term First Nations person, North American indigenous peoples have cultures spanning thousands of years. Some of their oral traditions accurately describe historical events, such as the Cascadia earthquake of 1700, written records began with the arrival of European explorers and colonists during the Age of Discovery, beginning in the late 15th century. European accounts by trappers, traders, explorers, and missionaries give important evidence of early contact culture, in addition, archeological and anthropological research, as well as linguistics, have helped scholars piece together understanding of ancient cultures and historic peoples. Combined with later development, this relatively non-combative history has allowed First Nations peoples to have an influence on the national culture. Collectively, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples constitute Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Indigenous peoples of the Americas, First Nations came into common usage in the 1980s to replace the term Indian band in referring to groups of Indians with common government and language. Elder Sol Sanderson says that he coined the term in the early 1980s, others say that the term came into common usage in the 1970s to avoid using the word Indian, which some Canadians considered offensive. No legal definition of the term exists, some Aboriginal peoples in Canada have also adopted the term First Nation to replace the word band in the formal name of their community. While the word Indian is still a term, its use is erratic. Some First Nations people consider the term offensive, while others prefer it to Aboriginal person/persons/people, the term is a misnomer given to indigenous peoples of North America by European explorers who erroneously thought they had landed on the Indian subcontinent. The use of the term Native Americans, which the United States government and it refers more specifically to the Aboriginal peoples residing within the boundaries of the United States. The parallel term Native Canadian is not commonly used, but Natives and autochthones are, under the Royal Proclamation of 1763, also known as the Indian Magna Carta, the Crown referred to indigenous peoples in British territory as tribes or nations. The term First Nations is capitalized, unlike alternative terms, bands and nations may have slightly different meanings
13.
James Cook
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Captain James Cook FRS RN was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. Cook joined the British merchant navy as a teenager and joined the Royal Navy in 1755 and he saw action in the Seven Years War, and subsequently surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec. This helped bring Cook to the attention of the Admiralty and Royal Society, in three voyages Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas of the globe. He mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean in greater detail, as he progressed on his voyages of discovery he surveyed and named features, and recorded islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. He displayed a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage, Cook was attacked and killed while attempting to kidnap the native chief of Hawaii during his third exploratory voyage in the Pacific in 1779. He left a legacy of scientific and geographical knowledge which was to influence his successors well into the 20th century, and numerous memorials worldwide have been dedicated to him. James Cook was born on 7 November 1728 in the village of Marton in Yorkshire and baptised on 14 November in the church of St Cuthbert. He was the second of eight children of James Cook, a Scottish farm labourer from Ednam in Roxburghshire, in 1736, his family moved to Airey Holme farm at Great Ayton, where his fathers employer, Thomas Skottowe, paid for him to attend the local school. In 1741, after five years schooling, he work for his father. For leisure, he would climb a hill, Roseberry Topping, enjoying the opportunity for solitude. Cooks Cottage, his parents last home, which he is likely to have visited, is now in Melbourne, having moved from England and reassembled, brick by brick. In 1745, when he was 16, Cook moved 20 miles to the village of Staithes. Historians have speculated that this is where Cook first felt the lure of the sea while gazing out of the shop window. After 18 months, not proving suitable for work, Cook travelled to the nearby port town of Whitby to be introduced to friends of Sandersons, John. The Walkers, who were Quakers, were prominent local ship-owners in the coal trade and their house is now the Captain Cook Memorial Museum. Cook was taken on as a merchant navy apprentice in their fleet of vessels. His first assignment was aboard the collier Freelove, and he spent several years on this and various other coasters, sailing between the Tyne and London. As part of his apprenticeship, Cook applied himself to the study of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, navigation and his three-year apprenticeship completed, Cook began working on trading ships in the Baltic Sea
14.
Santa Cruz de Nuca
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Santa Cruz de Nuca, was a Spanish settlement and the first European colony in British Columbia. The colony was established in 1789 and existed until 1795 when it was abandoned following the Nootka Crisis that almost led to war between Britain and Spain, the colony was protected by the adjacent Fort San Miguel. Santa Cruz de Nuca was the only Spanish settlement in what is now Canada, Yuquot was the summer home of Chief Maquinna and the Mowachaht/Muchalaht people for generations, housing approximately 1,500 natives in 20 traditional wooden longhouses. Captain James Cooks visit to Nootka Sound in 1778 was the second known European sighting of Yuquot after Juan José Pérez Hernández in 1774. Likewise, the exploration of the northwest coast by James Cook of the British Navy, to protect and strengthen its claim, New Spain sent a number of expeditions to the Pacific Northwest between 1774 and 1793. In 1788, John Meares, an English navigator and explorer sailing under falsified papers, sailed from China and explored Nootka Sound and the neighbouring coasts. He, among other claims subsequently discredited by George Vancouver in 1792, claimed to have some land from a local chief named Maquinna. In 1789, the Spanish commander Esteban José Martínez led an expedition that arrived at Nootka Sound on May 5,1789 and this territory was already considered as part of New Spain by the Spanish due to the previous explorations of the region. On May 15,1789 Martínez chose the location of his fortification, work progressed so that on May 26 they were able to place their artillery followed by the construction of barracks and a powder storeroom. The new Santa Cruz de Nuca settlement included houses and a hospital, during the summer of 1789 a number of fur trading vessels, British and American, arrived at Nootka. The American captains headed warnings and left, on June 24,1789 a salvo was fired from the new fort and the Spanish ships in what Martínez considered an official act of possession of Nootka Harbour. On July 29,1789 new orders arrived from Viceroy Flores directing Martínez to abandon Fort San Miguel, the artillery from the fort was loaded back aboard the Princesa and he left Friendly Cove on October 30,1789. The fort was dismantled, but anticipating a reoccupation, Martínez buried crates of bricks, Martínez arrived at Nootka Sound on May 5,1789. He found three ships already there, two were American, the Columbia Rediviva and the Lady Washington, which had wintered at Nootka Sound. The British ship was the Iphigenia and it was seized and its captain, William Douglas, arrested. After a few days Martínez released Douglas and his ship and ordered him to leave, on June 8, the North West America, under Robert Funter, arrived at Nootka Sound and was seized by Martínez. The sloop was renamed Santa Gertrudis la Magna and used for exploring the region, José María Narváez was given command and sailed far into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Martínez later claimed that Funter had abandoned the vessel, on June 24, in front of the British and Americans present at Nootka Sound, Martínez performed a formal act of sovereignty, taking possession of the entire northwest coast for Spain
15.
Fort San Miguel
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Fort San Miguel was a Spanish fortification at Yuquot on Nootka Island, just west of north-central Vancouver Island. It protected the Spanish settlement, called Santa Cruz de Nuca and it was first built by Esteban José Martínez in 1789 but dismantled in October of that year. It was then rebuilt and enlarged in 1790 then Nootka Sound was reoccupied by Francisco de Eliza, the fort was essentially an artillery land battery for the defence of the harbour and buildings. The Spanish settlement, called Santa Cruz de Nuca, was the first colony in British Columbia, on May 15,1789 Martínez chose the location of his fortification at the entrance of Friendly Cove on Hog Island. Work progressed so that on May 26 they were able to place their artillery followed by the construction of barracks, on June 24,1789 a salvo was fired from the new fort and the Spanish ships in what Martínez considered an official act of possession of Nootka Harbour. On July 29,1789 new orders arrived from Viceroy Flores directing Martínez to abandon the station, the artillery from the fort was loaded back aboard the Princesa and he left Friendly Cove on October 30,1789. The fort was dismantled, but anticipating a reoccupation, Martínez buried crates of bricks and they sailed to Nootka with the Francisco de Eliza expedition. The construction of the battery was difficult and it was built on top of a rocky island—tall but small. Embrasures had to be built to support the guns and it then took four days to emplace eight large cannons. Later, six smaller cannons were also emplaced, the battery did not have enough space for the remaining eight large cannon Eliza had brought, so they were stored ashore. The Spanish soldiers left the fort in 1792, in 1795 it was finally abandoned under the terms of the third Nootka Convention. Before being occupied by Spain the site had been the Mowachaht summer village of Yuquot and it was reoccupied by the Mowachaht under Chief Maquinna. Remnants of the Spanish post, including its garden, were still visible when John R. Jewitt. 1844 map of Friendly Cove by Eugene Duflot De Mofras, showing San Miguel Island, Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps
16.
Maritime fur trade
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The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese goods, which were then sold in Europe and the United States. The maritime fur trade was pioneered by Russians, working east from Kamchatka along the Aleutian Islands to the southern coast of Alaska, British and Americans entered during the 1780s, focusing on what is now the coast of British Columbia. The trade boomed around the beginning of the 19th century, a long period of decline began in the 1810s. As the sea otter population was depleted, the fur trade diversified and transformed, tapping new markets and commodities, while continuing to focus on the Northwest Coast. It lasted until the middle to late 19th century, Russians controlled most of the coast of what is now Alaska during the entire era. The coast south of Alaska endured fierce competition between, and among, British and American trading vessels, the British were the first to operate in the southern sector, but were unable to compete against the Americans, who dominated from the 1790s to the 1830s. The British Hudsons Bay Company entered the coast trade in the 1820s with the intention of driving the Americans away and this was accomplished by about 1840. In its late period, the fur trade was largely conducted by the British Hudsons Bay Company. Historically, the fur trade was not known by that name. The term North West was rarely spelled as the single word Northwest, a triangular trade network emerged linking the Pacific Northwest coast, China, the Hawaiian Islands, Britain, and the United States. The trade had an effect on the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest coast, especially the Aleut, Sugpiaq, Tlingit, Haida, Nuu-chah-nulth. A rapid increase of wealth occurred among the Northwest Coast natives, along with increased warfare, potlatching, slaving, however, the indigenous culture was not overwhelmed by rapid change, but actually flourished. Native Hawaiian society was similarly affected by the influx of Western wealth and technology. The wealth generated by the fur trade was invested in industrial development. The sea otter was the most hunted during the Maritime Fur Trade during the 17th and 18th centuries, Sea otters possess a thicker fur than any other mammal, and the sea otters habit of grooming their coat prevents molting. The reason for their exploitation was due to dark and silver tipped fur. The popularity and demand in fashion of sea otter pelts in China was one of the reasons why it was hunted to the point of disappearance and these mammals of the Pacific are currently listed as Threatened under the Canadian Species at Risk Act. Sea otter distribution extends from the north of Japan all the way to the vicinity of Cedros Island, the species stayed approximately within the arc of the Northern Pacific until the pressure of the maritime trade forced them to move north
17.
Nootka Crisis
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Spain seized some British commercial ships engaged in the fur trade in an uncolonized coastline area to which Spain claimed ownership. Britain rejected the Spanish claims and used its superior naval power to threaten a war. Spain, a rapidly fading military power, was unable to depend upon its longtime ally, France, Nootka Sound is a network of inlets on the west coast of Vancouver Island, today part of Canadas British Columbia. The crisis revolved around sovereignty claims and rights of navigation and trade, between 1774 and 1789, Spain sent several expeditions to the Pacific Northwest to reassert its long-held navigation and territorial claims to the area. By 1776, these expeditions had reached as far north as Bucareli Bay, territorial rights were asserted according to acts of sovereignty - customary of the time. However, some later, several British fur-trading vessels entered the area which Spain had laid claim to. A complex series of events led to these British vessels being seized by the Spanish Navy at Nootka Sound, when the news reached Europe, Britain requested compensation, and the Spanish government refused. Both sides prepared for war and sought assistance from allies, the crisis was resolved peacefully but with difficulty through a set of three agreements, known collectively as the Nootka Conventions. British subjects were then enabled to trade up to ten leagues from parts of the coast already occupied by Spain, Spain surrendered to Britain many of its trade and territorial claims in the Pacific, ending a two hundred-year monopoly on Asian-Pacific trade. The outcome was a victory for mercantile interests of Britain and opened the way to British expansion in the Pacific, Spain no longer played a role north of California and transferred its historic claims to the United States in the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819. The events at Nootka Sound, apart from the international crisis, are sometimes called the Nootka Incident, the Nootka Sound Incident. The larger Nootka Crisis is known variously by names such as the Nootka Sound Crisis, the Nootka Sound Controversy, the Great Spanish Armament, northwestern North America was little explored by European ships before the mid-18th century. But by the end of the several nations were vying for control of the region, including Britain, Spain, Russia. For centuries Spain had claimed the entire Pacific coast of North and South America and this claim was based on a number of events. This was further defined in the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, as the years went by new criteria for determining sovereignty evolved in European international law, including prior discovery and effective occupation. Spain made claims of discovery for the northwest coast of North America through voyages of Cabrillo in 1542, Ferrer in 1543. Before the early 17th century, these voyages had not reached north of the 44th parallel and these voyages, intended to ascertain the Russian threat and to establish prior discovery claims, were supplemented by the effective settlement of Alta California. Starting in 1774, Spanish expeditions were sent to northern Canada and Alaska to reassert Spains claims, by 1775 Spanish exploration had reached Bucareli Bay including the mouth of the Columbia River between present-day Oregon and Washington, and Sitka Sound
18.
George Vancouver
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He also explored the Hawaiian Islands and the southwest coast of Australia. George Vancouver was born in Kings Lynn on 22 June 1757 as the sixth, and youngest, child of John Jasper Vancouver, a Deputy Collector of Customs, and Bridget Berners. In 1771, at the age of 13, George Vancouver entered the Royal Navy as a young gentleman and he was selected to serve as a midshipman aboard HMS Resolution, on James Cooks second voyage searching for Terra Australis. He also accompanied Cooks third voyage, this time aboard Resolutions sister ship, Discovery, upon his return to Britain in October 1780, Vancouver was commissioned as a lieutenant and posted aboard the sloop Martin initially on escort and patrol duty in the English Channel and North Sea. He accompanied the ship when it left Plymouth on 11 February 1782 for the West Indies, on 7 May 1782 he was appointed fourth Lieutenant of the HMS Fame which was at the time part of the British West Indies Fleet and assigned to patrolling the French-held Leeward Islands. Vancouver returned to England in June 1783, in the late 1780s the Spanish empire commissioned an expedition to the Pacific Northwest. However, the 1789 Nootka Crisis intervened, spain and Britain came close to war over ownership of the Nootka Sound on contemporary Vancouver Island, and of greater importance, the right to colonize and settle the Pacific Northwest coast. Henry Roberts and Vancouver joined Britains more warlike vessels, Vancouver went with Joseph Whidbey to HMS Courageux. When the first Nootka Convention ended the crisis in 1790, Vancouver was given command of Discovery to take possession of Nootka Sound, departing England with two ships on 1 April 1791, Vancouver commanded an expedition charged with exploring the Pacific region. In its first year the expedition travelled to Cape Town, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti and he formally claimed at Possession Point, King George Sound Western Australia, now the town of Albany, Western Australia for the British. Proceeding to North America, Vancouver followed the coasts of present-day Oregon and Washington northward, in April 1792 he encountered American Captain Robert Gray off the coast of Oregon just prior to Grays sailing up the Columbia River. Vancouver entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca, between Vancouver Island and the Washington state mainland on 29 April 1792 and his orders included a survey of every inlet and outlet on the west coast of the mainland, all the way north to Alaska. Most of this work was in small craft propelled by sail and oar, maneuvering larger sail-powered vessels in uncharted waters was generally impractical and dangerous. Mount Rainier – after his friend, Rear Admiral Peter Rainier, Discovery Bay, Discovery Island and Port Discovery. Vancouver was the second European to enter Burrard Inlet on 13 June 1792 and it is the present day main harbour area of the City of Vancouver beyond Stanley Park. George Vancouver surveyed Howe Sound and Jervis Inlet over the nine days. Then, on his 35th birthday on 22 June 1792, he returned to Point Grey, here he unexpectedly met a Spanish expedition led by Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés y Flores. For three weeks they cooperatively explored the Georgia Strait and the Discovery Islands area before sailing separately towards Nootka Sound, after the summer surveying season ended, in August 1792, Vancouver went to Nootka, then the regions most important harbour, on contemporary Vancouver Island
19.
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra
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Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra was a Spanish naval officer born in Lima, Peru. Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra joined the Spanish Naval Academy in Cádiz at 19, in 1773 he was promoted to Ship Ensign, and in 1774 to Ship Lieutenant. Bodega y Quadra was born in Lima, Peru to Tomás de la Bodega y de las Llanas of Biscay, Spain and Francisca de Mollinedo y Losada of Lima and his family was of Basque origin. In 1775 under the command of Lieutenant Bruno de Heceta, the Spanish explored the Pacific Northwest and this followed the first Spanish expedition by Juan Pérez in 1774, who had failed to reach and claim the upper northwest coast for Spain. The expedition consisted of two ships, the Santiago, commanded by Hezeta himself, and the schooner Sonora, commanded by his second in command, Bodega y Quadra was given the lesser position of second officer on the Sonora despite the fact that he outranked the others. So he was passed over for promotions, the Spaniards were given orders to explore the coast and to go ashore so that the newly discovered territories would be recognized as Spanish lands. Most important for the expedition was the identification of colonial Russian settlements, the ships left San Blas, New Spain, on 16 March 1775. Illnesses, storms, poor sailing capacities of the Sonora, on 13 July 1775, they reached the vicinity of Point Grenville and Destruction Island in the present day U. S. state of Washington. While searching for a place for the ships to anchor. He immediately realized his mistake and signaled the Santiago to not follow, the wind direction and changing tide trapped the Sonora between Sonora Reef and Point Grenville. The Santiago anchored a few miles to the south, in Grenville Bay, the Sonora attracted the attention of a nearby Quinault village. Many Quinault visited the schooner, trading with the crew and giving gifts of food, early the next day an armed party from the Santiago went ashore and quickly conducted a possession ceremony, which was observed by some Quinaults. Later that morning, Bodega y Quadra decided to send six sailors ashore to collect water, a large number of Quinaults appeared, attacked, and killed the shore party. Bodega y Quadra was unable to help as the party had taken the only boat. At noon he weighed anchor, hoping to escape the shoals at high tide, progress was slow as the wind was low and the crew significantly reduced. Nine large canoes carrying about 30 Quinaults carrying bows and shields followed and they made signs of friendship which Bodega y Quadra rejected. Bodega wanted to avenge his lost sailors, but, was overruled by Heceta, Quinault ethnologists have come up with theories about the sudden attack, one being that the land-claiming ceremony was understood for what it was. Of particular note was the placement of a cross on the beach
20.
John Meares
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John Meares was a navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war. Meares father was Charles Meares, formerly an attorney of great eminence, in 1771, Meares joined the Royal Navy as a captains servant and was commissioned a lieutenant in 1778. The East India Company held a monopoly on British trade in the Pacific and required all British traders to be licensed with the company, Meares did not license his ships with the East India Company and instead tried to conceal the illegal activity by using the flag of Portugal. Meares registered his ships in Macau, a Portuguese colony in China, non-British ships were not required to have licences from the East India Company. He sailed from Calcutta on 12 March 1786, in the Nootka and he spent the winter of 1786-1787 in Prince William Sound with poor provisions, his men suffered from the weather and scurvy. Twenty three of his men died of scurvy and the ten were saved only by the timely arrival of Captain George Dixon. Meares gave Dixon his bond never to trade in the Northwest again, showing no gratitude to Dixon, Meares proceeded to sue him for allegedly overcharging him for the supplies that saved his life. In 1788, Meares started a new expedition with two vessels and more false papers, the ships sailed under the Portuguese flag and were given Portuguese names, the Felice Adventurero, captained by Meares, and the Iphigenia Nubiana, under William Douglas. The names are spelled in various ways, such as Feliz Aventureira and they sailed from China on 22 January 1788 and arrived at Nootka Sound, on Vancouver Island, in May. Using Nootka Sound as a base of operations he spent the summer trading for furs along the coasts of present-day British Columbia and these claims would become a key point in Britains position during the Nootka Crisis. Spain strongly disputed both claims, and the facts of the matter have never been fully established. Maquinna himself later called Meares a liar and denied selling him any land, the land and building aside, there is no doubt that Mearess men, and a group of Chinese workers they brought, built the sloop North West America. It was launched in September 1788, the first non-indigenous vessel built in the Pacific Northwest, in September Meares left, sailing the Felice Adventurero to China. The Iphigenia Nubiana and North West America wintered in the Hawaiian Islands, while on the island of Kauai, Meares picked up a Hawaiian chief or prince of Attooi by the name of Tianna, whom he took aboard his ship. He took Tianna to Guangzhou, China, where Meares found a Hawaiian women by the name of Winée, eventually, Meares returned Tianna to his homeland but Winée died of illness on the voyage home. Winée and Tianna are considered the two first Hawaiians to have traveled abroad, later, Meares gained possession of Barkleys nautical gear and his journal. During the winter of 1788-89 Meares was in Guangzhou, China, plans were made for more ships to sail to the Pacific Northwest in 1789, including the Princess Royal, under Thomas Hudson, and the Argonaut under James Colnett. The consolidation of the fur trading companies of Meares and the Etches resulted in James Colnett being given the overall command, Meares instructed Colnett to establish a permanent fur trading post at Nootka Sound based on the foothold accomplished by Meares the year before
21.
Strait of Juan de Fuca
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The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about 95 miles long that is the Salish Seas outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the center of the Strait, barkley was the first non-indigenous person to find the strait, unless Juan de Fucas story was true. The strait was explored in detail between 1789 and 1791 by Manuel Quimper, José María Narváez, Juan Carrasco, Gonzalo López de Haro, the USGS defines the Strait of Juan de Fuca as a channel. It extends east from the Pacific Ocean between Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, to Haro Strait, San Juan Channel, Rosario Strait, and Puget Sound. The Pacific Ocean boundary is formed by a line between Cape Flattery and Tatoosh Island, Washington, and Carmanah Point, British Columbia, the northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula forms the southern boundary of the strait. In the eastern entrance to the Strait, the Race Rocks Archipelago is located in the current zone halfway between Port Angeles, Washington, and Victoria, BC. While the climate is oceanic in nature, the dry summers result in the Mediterranean classification in the Köppen system. Rainfall ranges from over 100 inches conditions at the west end to as little as 16 inches at the east end and this strait remains the subject of a maritime boundary dispute between Canada and the United States. The dispute is only over the boundary extending 200 miles west from the mouth of the strait. The maritime boundary within the strait is not in dispute, both governments have proposed a boundary based on the principle of equidistance, but with different basepoint selections, resulting in small differences in the line. Resolution of the issue should be simple, but has been hindered because it might influence other unresolved maritime boundary issues between Canada and the United States, the proposed equidistant boundary currently marks the northern boundary of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. British Columbias position is based on the principle of natural prolongation which developed in international law and it poses a dilemma for the federal government of Canada. In this Atlantic Ocean context, Canada favours an outcome based on the principle of equidistance. C, making Salish Sea official required a formal application to the Geographical Names Board of Canada. This latter definition was made official in 2009 by geographic boards of Canada, the United States Board on Geographic Names approved the name on November 12,2009. Some Pacific Coast murres paddle north to the bays of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to feed on herring. A live weather station of the Race Rocks
22.
History of the west coast of North America
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The west coast of North America today is home to some of the largest and most important companies in the world, as well as being a center of world culture. As used in article, the term west coast of North America means a contiguous region of that continent bordering the Pacific Ocean. The eastern Islands of the Pacific Ocean off the west coast, the west coast of North America likely saw the first sustained arrival of people to the continent. For example, it has estimated that in 1492, one-third of all Native Americans in the United States were living in California. In the western half of Mesoamerica, the oldest known settlements date to approximately 2000 BCE, a succession of cultures started with the very early Capacha culture, which appeared on the Pacific coast of modern Mexico about 1450 BC and spread into the interior. Each of these cultures rose, flourished, and was conquered by a more militarily developed culture. While not all of these civilizations had large settlements along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, regional communications in ancient Mesoamerica—and especially along the west coast—have been the subject of considerable research. There is evidence of trade routes starting as far north as the Mexico Central Plateau and these trade routes and cultural contacts then went on as far as Central America. These networks operated along the west coast with various interruptions from pre-Olmec times, in 1513, Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to reach the west coast of North America, on the Pacific coast of the Panama isthmus. From the point of view of European powers in the age of sailing ships, the arduous journey around Cape Horn at the tip of South America and then north meant nine to twelve months of dangerous sailing. Explorers flying the flag of Spain reached the New World beginning in 1492 with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. Spanish expeditions colonized and explored vast areas in North and South America following the grants of the Pope and these formal acts gave Spain the exclusive rights to colonize the entire Western Hemisphere, including all of the west coast of North America. The first European expedition to reach the west coast was led by the Spaniard Vasco Núñez de Balboa. In an act of enduring importance, Balboa claimed the Pacific Ocean for the Spanish Crown, as well as all adjoining land. This act gave Spain exclusive sovereignty and navigation rights over the entire west coast of North America, the commonly held belief at the time was that the west coast of North America was in modest sailing distance of Asia to the west, or the two might actually physically connect. Confirmation of the connection, and discovery of this Strait of Anián, were key elements in Spains efforts to establish direct trade routes with China. See Early knowledge of the Pacific Northwest, the Pacific Coast of Mexico and Central America was not especially conducive to economic development during this era. The northern Mexican coast was too dry for substantial agriculture or ranching that would support settlements
23.
Bamberton
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This article is about the town. For the provincial park also called Bamberton, see Bamberton Provincial Park, Bamberton is an industrial site located on the Saanich Inlet, just south of Mill Bay, around 45k kilometres north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. The community of Bamberton was first developed in 1912 when the Associated Cement Company plant was built, Bamberton was owned by the cement company and occupied by the plant, its employees and their families until the plant closed in 1980. Since the plant closed, ownership of Bamberton has changed multiple times. In 2015 the Malahat First Nation purchased Bamberton and announced a partnership with Steelhead LNG, with them, they have proposed the creation of a Liquefied natural gas facility at the Bamberton site. Aboriginal people began to inhabit Vancouver Island around 2000 BCE, the Malahat, Tseycum, Tsartlip, Tsawout, and Pauquachin came to reside along the Saanich Inlet. The land of the Saanich Inlet is a part of the culture of First Nations people for both spiritual practice and economic subsistence. From the late 1700s to the mid 1800s, devastating First Nations population declines occurred throughout B. C. due to disease outbreak, in 1852, the Saanich First Nations communities signed the Douglas Treaties selling their land to the Colony of Vancouver Island. Although Bamberton was, and continues to be, privately owned, neighbouring First Nations groups view the land and they have always believed that they have claim to the land and a say in its use, and continue to fight for this right under Malahat ownership. Bamber, a cement manufacturer from Gravesend, England, who was owner of the land upon which Bamberton is located and was the managing director of British Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd. The cement works had their origin across the Saanich Inlet at Tod Inlet in 1904 when the Vancouver Portland Cement Company established operations on the now occupied by the Butchart Gardens. Both companies were operated by B. C, the outbreak of World War I ended the real estate boom leaving both plants idle for seven years. The plant at Bamberton resumed operations in 1921, by 1927 the Bamberton plant was producing 3,000 barrels per day and used 40,000 tons of Vancouver Island coal each year. It was an isolated, self-contained community owned by the company operated the mill. At its peak, it employed 180 men all of whom resided on company property, the community was well equipped and included a recreation hall with a dance floor as large as that of the The Empress. Over the last 20 years of production declined, costs increased. Operations came to an end 1980, in October 1982 the owner, then Genstar Cement Company, put the property up for sale. Several mixed residential and commercial developments have been proposed for Bamberton, throughout the late 80s and the 90s The Trust for Sustainable Development worked with Greystone Properties on a plan proposed for 12,000 future residents
24.
Bamfield
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Bamfield is a community that is surrounded by Crown Land, Indian Reserves, and portions of the Pacific Rim National Park, located on Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The community, with a population of 155 as of 2011, is divided by Bamfield Inlet, Bamfield was populated by Huu-ay-aht of the Nuu-chah-nulth, the local indigenous people. Europeans founded a fishing community sometime in the late 1800s. Most of the people now live in the neighbouring village of Anacla about 5 kilometres from Bamfield. Bamfield was named after the first government agent of the area, the name Bamfield with an m is said to be either due to how the local first nations people had trouble pronouncing the letter n in his name, or a mistake made by the postal organization. The cable initially went to Fanning Island, a coral atoll in the mid-Pacific, and from there continued to Fiji, New Zealand. A second building, made of concrete, was built on the site in 1926 to replace the old wood structure and this building, designated a historic site in 1930, is now used by the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre. A Marine and Fisheries lifesaving station on the Pacific coast was established at Bamfield in 1907 and it was the first lifesaving station on Canadas Pacific Coast. In 1953 the cable was extended up the Alberni Inlet to Port Alberni, following the closure, only the large concrete building, two cable storage tanks and an adjacent building survived, as all the rest were demolished. In 1968, the National Research Council asked five western Canadian universities to propose the best location for a biology station on the Pacific Coast. Although Victoria was the winner, a feasibility study tendered in 1969 recommended Bamfield as the better location. In 1971, development began to convert the site into a research station, with most of the physical facilities completed, the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre began operations by the end of 1972. It became the largest employer in the community since, commercial fishing was based in Bamfield up to the mid-1980s. Bamfield is now home to sport fishing lodges, which pursue primarily salmon. The trail runs 77 km kilometres along extremely rugged terrain, today Bamfield is primarily a tourist destination, either for the West Coast Trail, ocean kayaking or sport fishing. The research activities at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre attracts hundreds of researchers every year, the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre also offers credited university courses through its five associated universities. An out reach program, which provides multi-day immersion field trips for school, college and adult learners, the town is featured in the first episode of CBC Televisions 2015 comedy/reality series Still Standing. Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre previously Bamfield Marine Station Bamfield Chamber of Commerce Community Portal Bamfield Inlet webcam Bamfield
25.
Bowser, British Columbia
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Bowser is a community on the east coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has a population of 1,600, Bowser is in the Regional District of Nanaimo and in its Electoral Area H, one of eight in the District. The community was named after William J. Bowser, Premier of British Columbia from 1915 to 1916. Bowsers local hotel was famous in the 1930s for a dog trained by his owners to deliver beer bottles to tables, receive the payment, and deliver change, a feat listed in Ripleys Believe It Or Not. A regular customer of the Bowser Hotel was Jack Holt, a veteran of the Boer War who was Bowsers postmaster from the period during World War I until the late 1950s, Bowser. Encyclopedia of British Columbia.2000 Bowser, British Columbia, Canada. Accessed Friday, March 17,2006 <https, //web. archive. org/web/20060321092833/http, //www. britishcolumbia. com, 80/regions/towns/. townID=45> Lighthouse Country travel guide from Wikivoyage
26.
Brentwood Bay, British Columbia
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Brentwood Bay, is a small neighbourhood in the municipality of Central Saanich, on the Saanich Peninsula. It lies north of the city of Victoria and south of Sidney on the tip of Vancouver Island. Situated on the Saanich Inlet, it includes the Butchart Gardens, the Victoria Butterfly Gardens, the region also plays host to various wineries and restaurants, and also features hiking and a variety of wildlife in Gowlland Tod Provincial Park. Brentwood Bay is part of the Central Saanich Municipality, one of 13 that make up the Greater Victoria area and it is located on Highway 17A just west of Highway 17, the main route running the length of the Saanich Peninsula. It is also served frequently by the Brentwood-Mill Bay ferry, the MV Mill Bay, black Point starring David Caruso in 2001 The Mermaid Chair starring Kim Basinger in 2004 Gracepoint television series in 2014 - Remake of UK Broadchurch 2013 Brentwood Bay on BritishColumbia. com
27.
Campbell River, British Columbia
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Campbell River claims a population of 35,138 and has long been touted as the Salmon Capital of the World. Campbell River and Region is in proximity to the neighboring communities of Quadra. The first settlers known in the area were members of the Island Comox, captain George Vancouver reached Campbell River in 1792 aboard the ships HMS Discovery and HMS Chatham. The channel between Quadra Island and Campbell River is named Discovery Passage after HMS Discovery, the captain and his botanist, Mr Archibald Menzies, discovered a small tribe of 350 natives who spoke the Salish language. Dr Samuel Campbell was the surgeon, and historians believe his name was given to the river by Richards. The community took the name of Campbell River when its post office was constructed in 1907, likewise, the name of HMS Discovery’s First Lieutenant Zachary Mudge is preserved in the nearby Cape Mudge. Sports fishermen travelled to the area as early as the 1880s, especially after the tales from noted anglers such as Sir Richard Musgrave and Sir John Rogers. The formation of the Campbell River Tyee Club in 1924, over concern regarding over-fishing of the salmon stocks, painter, for instance, moved to Campbell River the following year and opened his Painters Lodge in 1929. Painters Lodge attracted clientele from Hollywood and regular patrons included Bob Hope, commercial fishing was a large industry for many years. Industrial logging took off in the 1920s with Merrill Ring and Company, Bloedel, Stewart and Welch, a large forest fire started near Buttle Lake and burned much of the valley in 1938. Rock Bay, Menzies Bay, and Englewood all were big logging camps, Campbell River prospered after 1912 and it became a supply point for northern Vancouver Island, Quadra Island and Cortes Island. After the Second World War, Campbell River became a town and industrial centre with the building of the Elk River pulp mill. Logging and mining in the area prospered, There is a lead zinc mine nearby, and coal mines, while a large copper mine operated to the north. Campbell River enjoys a Warm-summer Mediterranean Climate Csb, with temperatures usually between -2°C and 23°C year-round. The most precipitation is measured in November, at 231 millimeters on average, while January sees the most average snow,152 millimeters, only 10 millimeters will be seen actually accumulating. In the winter months occasional Arctic bursts from the interior of British Columbia can make their way onto the coast bringing temperatures below zero, if a Pacific low reaches the coast a large snowfall can occur. Snowfalls in excess of 45 centimetres have been recorded in a 24-hour period, Campbell River has a variety of growing industries that enhance the oceanside community. The existing small businesses including those in succession planning stage as well as new business start-ups have significant potential for growth, business ownership in Campbell River presents an opportunity to market self-employment to youth, immigrants from other parts of Canada and International locations
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Central Saanich
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Central Saanich is a district municipality in Greater Victoria and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District. It is located on the Saanich Peninsula, the district began as a farming community, and many hobby farms, along with a handful of small working farms and vineyards, still exist. The areas best-known tourist attractions are the Butchart Gardens, located in the Brentwood Bay area, the mayor of Central Saanich is former district councillor Ryan Windsor. Municipal councillors last elected in 2014 include Niall Paltiel, Carl Jensen, Alicia Cormier, Bob Thompson, Christopher Graham, Brentwood Bay Island View Saanichton Keating Tanner Ridge Jamie Benn, ice hockey winger for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League. Wife and husband Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane, both award-winning Canadian poets
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Chemainus
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Chemainus /ʃʌˈmeɪnəs/ is a community located in the Chemainus River Valley on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Founded as a logging town in 1858, the Chemainus is now famous for its 39 outdoor murals. This outdoor gallery has given birth to many businesses, including a theatre, antiques dealers, the tourist industry stemming from the murals helped rejuvenate the town after its large sawmill closed in the early 1980s and was replaced by a smaller but far more efficient mill. The name Chemainus comes from the shaman and prophet Tsa-meeun-is. Legend says that the man survived a wound in his chest to become a powerful chief. His people took his name to identify their community, the Stzuminus First Nation, the railroad arrived in the 1880s and by the early 1920s the towns population had ballooned to 600 persons. Chemainus was eventually designated a populated area by Statistics Canada comprising the more built-up residential and commercial neighbourhoods. Its population had grown to 3035 residents by 2011. A larger more inclusive Chemainus area is regarded as comprising part of the District of North Cowichan that lies north of the Chemainus River. This is the covered by the Chemainus Advisory Committee set up as a consultation body by North Cowichan. Chemainus Secondary School is located in the town, and serves as a school for students living in Chemainus, Crofton. A BC Ferry terminal is located in Chemainus, which service to Thetis Island. On 13 January 2006, a Boeing 737 aircraft was sunk off the coast in order to build an artificial reef, the sinking was documented in Sinking Wings, an episode of the Discovery Channel Series, Mega Builders. In the 1980s, British Columbias forest industry experienced a period of recession, largely caused by a substantial decrease in demand. Fordism is a system of methods based on principles of specialized mass production technologies. However, due to rising competition, energy crises, stagflation and recession. Consequently, a new system of production, characterized by greater flexibility. This transition placed a burden on coastal single-industry forest communities like Chemainus due to rising unemployment
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Cobble Hill, British Columbia
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Cobble Hill is a small community on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. According to the 2006 census, there are 1,775 people living in Cobble Hill, the town features many hiking trails and paths cover the hills and forests of this area, which is well known for its mountain biking opportunities. More recently the area has become famous for its vineyards, which have won awards for their wines, the settlement was served by the Via Rail Victoria – Courtenay train until Southern Railway of Vancouver Island service was suspended indefinitely in 2011. Parts of the 1994 version of Little Women from the novel by Louisa May Alcott were filmed here, frances Oldham Kelsey - FDA pharmacologist. Kelsey was most famous as the reviewer for the U. S. Food and her concerns proved to be justified when it was shown that thalidomide caused serious birth defects. Cobble Hill Mountain Kinsol Trestle Arbutus Ridge Seaside Community for Active Adults Vancouver Island - Cobble Hill
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Colwood, British Columbia
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Colwood is a city located on Vancouver Island to the southwest of Victoria, capital of British Columbia. Colwood was incorporated in 1985 and has a population of approximately 15,000 people, Colwood lies within the boundaries of the Victoria Census Metropolitan area or Capital Regional District, in a region called the Western Communities, or the West Shore. It is one of the 13 component municipalities of Greater Victoria, one of Colwoods best known landmark is Hatley Castle, now home to Royal Roads University. It is a Scottish Baronial mansion and grounds originally built as a residence for James Dunsmuir, but they decided to stay in London and Windsor, near the European front. The government transferred the estate to the Canadian Armed Forces and it adapted the site for use as Royal Roads Military College, a naval training facility from 1941-mid-1990s. The military college was closed in the 1990s, and the estate is now the campus of the public Royal Roads University, the original residence is surrounded by extensive formal gardens, including a featured Japanese garden. The Fisgard Lighthouse in Colwood is one of Canadas National Historic Sites, built by the British in 1860, when Vancouver Island was not yet part of Canada, Fisgards red brick house and white tower has stood faithfully at the entrance to Esquimalt Harbour. Once a beacon for the British Royal Navys Pacific Squadron, today Fisgard still marks home base for the Maritime Forces Pacific of the Royal Canadian Navy, Colwood is also home to historic Fort Rodd Hill, another Canadian National Historic Site. Built by the British in the 1890s, this coast artillery fort was designed to defend Victoria, visitors come to explore the three gun batteries, underground magazines, command posts, guardhouses, barracks and searchlight emplacements that are the vestiges of a bygone era. Set on a wide open waterfront park near the Fisgard Lighthouse, visitors can see the sea and mountain views, go for bird watches, as it lies geographically to the south of Victoria, Colwood is western Canadas southernmost city. The median household income in 2005 for Colwood was $68,798, Colwood is a part of the School District 62 Sooke. There are six schools, John Stubbs, Colwood, Hans Helgesen, David Cameron, Sangster. There is one school, Dunsmuir. There is also a school program called Pacific Secondary School. A new high school, Royal Bay Secondary School, opened in 2015, Colwood is also home to Royal Roads University. Esquimalt Lagoon is a beach and wildlife preserve with a view of Hatley Castle, a small plaque on a concrete cairn in the shore of the Esquimalt Lagoon outlines its history. Royal Roads - To seaward lies an anchorage or roadstead first used in 1790 by the Spanish, unloading place for large vessels serving Victoria in days of sail, it was once a scene of disaster. On April 1,1883 a southeasterly gale swept the haven, beaching the ships Southern Chief, Gettysburg, Connaught, erected by the Themopylac Club 1973
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Comox, British Columbia
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Comox is a town of 13,000 people located on the southern coast of the Comox Peninsula in the Georgia Strait on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The warm dry summers, mild winters, fertile soil and abundant sea life attracted First Nations thousands of years ago, when the area was opened for settlement in the mid-19th century, it quickly attracted farmers, a lumber industry and a fishing industry. For over fifty years, the village remained isolated from the world other than by ship until roads. The town is home to a Royal Canadian Air Force base CFB Comox. The mild climate has attracted many retirees to the area in the 21st century, resulting in a rate of growth. The nearby Comox Glacier is visible from parts of the town and is the areas signature landmark. Archaeological evidence suggests there was an active Coast Salish fishing settlement at Comox for at least 4,000 years. At the time of first contact with Europeans, the Pentlatch Nation and these wooden stakes can still be seen at low tide—local archaeologist Nancy Greene has estimated that up to 200,000 wooden stakes still remain in the mud flats. Several of these stakes were carbon dated, revealing the oldest to be made from a hemlock tree c.750 CE. Some scientists estimate that the weirs could have supported a population of several thousand people, the Pentlatch also harvested the abundant shellfish in Comox Bay. Centuries of discarded shells resulted in a strata of shell fragments along the shoreline of present-day Comox now known as the Great Comox Midden. By the 19th century, the Kómoks had been out of their lands by a particularly fierce group of Kwakwakawakw, the Lekwiltok. The Kómoks migrated south to present-day Comox, where they allied with the resident Pentlatch against their common enemy, in 1862, a smallpox epidemic swept across Vancouver Island, killing an estimated 30% of First Nations people. A census of First Nations in the Comox Valley taken in 1876 revealed that the local First Nations population had dwindled to only 88 Kómoks and 21 Pentlatch and he named the region Nova Albion—Latin for New Britain. Drakes detailed logs—and the exact location of Nova Albion— were later lost in a 17th-century fire, in 1791, a Spanish expedition led by Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés y Flores produced a crude chart of the Strait of Georgia and possibly visited Comox. Captain George Vancouver arrived the year, tasked by the British government with charting the northwest coast of North America. Vancouver, in concert with the Spanish expedition, entered the Courtenay River estuary between the locations of Courtenay and Comox and charted the shoreline of Comox. By the middle of the 19th century, European and American settlements had sprung up in the Vancouver area and on southern Vancouver Island
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Courtenay, British Columbia
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Courtenay is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the largest city in the commonly known as the Comox Valley, and it is the seat of the Comox Valley Regional District. Courtenay is just 4 km west of the town of Comox,7 km northeast of the village of Cumberland,5 km northwest of the settlement of Royston. The city, along with Nanaimo and Victoria, is home to The Canadian Scottish Regiment, for thousands of years before the first contact with European explorers, Courtenay had been the home to the Comox people now the Kómoks First Nation. The Kómoks people were able to utilize the rich agricultural land to crops and proximity to the local waterways allowed for fishing. In the Comox language, K’omoks means plenty – resulting in the Valley being known as the Land of Plenty. In 1792, Captain George Vancouver, anchored HMS Discovery in what soon would be known as the Comox Harbour, in recent years, there has been some speculation whether or not Vancouver was the first explorer to make contact with the people in this area. According to research by Sam Bawlf, it could be that Sir Francis Drake made first contact with them in 1579, the settlement of Courtenay began in the spring of 1862. The first settlers were miners from Nanaimo who were drawn to the area. The early settlers relied on the knowledge and help of the local First Nations people and they hired them for general labour and farm work, although they were paid low wages as were most non-white people during that time. Many of the settlers ended up marrying or living with First Nations women who provided trading, in 1864, Robert Brown, leading the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition, discovered coal deposits in the Comox Valley, and by 1888 Robert Dunsmuir purchased mining claims in the area. He eventually established a mine in Union, later renamed Cumberland, which brought an influx of settlers, during the establishment of the mining and farming industry, the downtown of Courtenay developed on both sides of the Courtenay River, initially on the east side then the west. The two sides were connected by a bridge in 1874. Courtenay was officially incorporated as a town on 1 January 1915, from then on, Courtenay continued to grow providing the necessary services for the growing population. On 12 July 1915, a fire ripped through 5th Street destroying much of the south side of the downtown. After much of the street was rebuilt, another hit the south side of 5th Street. On 14 June 1946, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck just west of Courtenay, the earthquake was felt as far north as Prince Rupert and as far south as Portland, Oregon. Many of the chimneys were destroyed, and there was some significant damage to the post office
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Cowichan Bay
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Cowichan Bay is a bay and community located near Duncan, in British Columbia. The mouth of the Cowichan River is near Cowichan Bay, mount Tzouhalem and its hiking trails and ecological reserve stands to the north. The bay is known for its fishing and scenic value, the areas main industries are fishing and tourism. For many thousands of years Cowichan Bay was home to First Nations people who harvested the wealth of salmon and shellfish found in its many coves, tidal flats, a rare steatite anthropomorphic bowl was discovered on Cowichan Bay in the late nineteenth century. One of only about 50 so far found and estimated to originate from the Marpole Culture, Cowichan Bay was the gateway for European settlement of the Cowichan and Chemainus valleys from the early 1860s. A steamer service from Victoria was the link for goods. From the early 1900s Cowichan Bay attracted sportsmen from all over the British Empire for superb salmon fishing in the Bay and the Cowichan and Koksilah rivers. It was, for a time, the Salmon Capital of the World offering not just fishing, but fine sailing waters, a regatta and, next to Wimbledon. The village of Cowichan Bay is a tourist attraction in the summer because of its cozy fishing-village feel, the community began a transformation in 2004 when Jonathan Knight opened True Grain Bread, a European inspired bakery at the centre of the seaside village. His organic breads and pretzels and a focus on local and sustainable business practices quickly made a name for the bakery, Cowichan Bay offers visitors a chance to see their impressive wildlife through kayak tours and rentals and whalewatching tours. Depending on the time of year it is not uncommon to see eagles, seals. A noted deepwater port where tankers and container ships can still be seen at anchor regularly, Cowichan Bay has been plagued by derelicts abandoned at anchor and left to rot. Cowichan Bay services are provided by the Cowichan Valley Regional District, in 2009, Cowichan Bay became Canada and North Americas first Cittaslow community. Arthur Vickers - Artist, story teller, the History E-Book on Cowichan Bay Cowichan Bay Fire Rescue Website Cowichan Bay Improvement Association Cowichan Valley Regional District
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Crofton, British Columbia
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Crofton, British Columbia, Canada, is a small coastal town that is part of the District of North Cowichan on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The population is estimated at 1,100 people and it is about 74 km north of Victoria. Residents of Crofton are known as Croftonites, according to tradition, the first people to live in the area around Osbourne Bay where Crofton is now situated were native peoples known as the Chestermen. Their name has been interpreted as meaning people of the mountain and is possibly a derivative of the Japanese word yama or hill, the Chestermen died out many hundreds of years before the Europeans arrived in the area. In the 19th century, the area was cleared and settled by several homesteaders and they farmed the land and cut lumber, as provided by the government. In 1873, what would become Crofton was incorporated as the District of North Cowichan, Crofton was founded in 1902 by Henry Croft, who owned the nearby copper mine in Mt. Sicker. He built a smelter on the coast and exported the refined copper, unfortunately the residue leftover from the smelter blackened the local beaches and the small glass particles often stuck to peoples feet and hands. In 1906 Henry Croft sold the smelter to Britannia Mine, the smelter closed in January 1908, and soon after, rumours began that a large sawmill would be built. Nothing came of the rumours and when Henry Croft died in 1917, in the late 20s early 30s a Railway was brought in from the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway Line to Crofton & the Osbourne Bay Wharf was built. Logging trains brought raw logs out of the bush to be barked in the water & loaded on ships for export, Lumber was also shipped out of there by Industrial Timbers Ltd, Western Forest Industries & MacMillian Blodell Lumber Co. The mill opened in December 1957, and continues to operate today, BCFP sold out to Fletcher Challenge in late 80s & owned it until 2001. The mill was purchased by Norwegian company Norske Skog and subsequently by Catalyst Paper in 2006, in 2001 a layer of ash fell upon the town staining nearly every house. The ash was determined to be a result of burning at the mill. Due to its fault in the incident, the owners paid the expenses for the extensive clean-up of Crofton. In 1955 the smelter wharf was converted to a ferry dock & service to Saltspring Island began, BC Ferries now operates the route daily Early in the 1990s the Crofton Community Centre Society decided to create a scenic walkway along the Crofton shoreline. In 2002, Croftons 100th anniversary, phase one of the seawalk was completed, as of 2014 all three phases are completed. The seawalk stretches from the wharf and ferry terminal to Crofton Beach, Crofton remains a small town after 100 years of existence. In 2000 the town water supply was changed from Crofton Lake to the Cowichan River, in September 2006 Crofton was included in a regional bus system connecting it to nearby Duncan and Chemainus
