Canada: British Columbia
Commemorative Silver
Dollar,
1958
This silver dollar, with its bold design of mountains behind
a totem pole typical of Pacific coast Native Canadians, marks
the centennial of British Columbia's establishment as a Crown
Colony. In the early 1840s what is now British Columbia was part
of the Oregon country and was controlled by the Hudson's Bay
Company.
By a treaty signed in 1846, however, the territory was divided
along the 49th parallel. The United States was given title to
the southern part of the territory, which had been settled by
pioneers
from the eastern United States; Britain was ceded all the land
above it, including Vancouver Island, which became a Crown Colony
in 1849. The colony grew very slowly at first; in 1855 the European
population of the island numbered fewer than 800 and the Europeans
on the mainland were associated with trading posts. This
situation
changed almost overnight when, in the spring of 1858, gold was
discovered on the Fraser River and thousands of prospectors
(mostly
from California) flooded the mainland. James Douglas, the
Governor
of Vancouver Island, acted quickly to protect British sovereignty
and in November 1858 the new Crown Colony of British Columbia
was proclaimed. The two colonies were amalgamated in 1866. By the
late 1860s the gold rush was over and most of the prospectors
were gone, but the foundations of Canada's west coast province
had been laid and British Columbia joined Confederation in 1871.
This coin is part of the Bank of Canada's National Currency
Collection.
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