No conversation about Victoria’s history is complete without mentioning the pivotal figure of Sir James Douglas, who (a) founded of (Fort) Victoria, before (b) becoming governor of the colony of Vancouver Island, and (c) eventually governor of the province - performing the latter two roles at the same time!
Douglas’s legacy is one of diplomacy, building the early infrastructure of the city, and of the enduring influence he had upon the political and cultural identity of British Columbia.
Born in 1803 in British Guiana to a Scottish father and a Creole mother of African descent, James Douglas began his career with the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) at age 16. After working at four HBC forts, Douglas earned a reputation for staunch determination and sound leadership, so in 1843 the HBC sent him, along with 19 men, to Vancouver Island to begin construction of Fort Victoria.
The site (where Bastion Square is today) was chosen for its deep harbour and access to fresh water; however, this location was already being used by the Lekwungen-speaking Songhees people. Douglas negotiated a series of agreements—later called the Douglas Treaties — with the First Nations, offering goods for land use. These treaties were among the only colonial agreements in B.C. history that acknowledged Indigenous rights and titles.
Douglas initiated the treaties because he recognized the essential role of Indigenous peoples in the region. He employed their labour, traded with them, and valued their extensive knowledge of the land. Although Douglas operated within a colonial system of land acquisition and settlement, he approached his relationships with the Indigenous with more diplomacy and respect than many of his contemporaries, going so far as to marry a woman who was part Cree - Amelia Connolly. Their marriage of mutual respect and cultural blending was emblematic of the fur trade society that predated stricter British social norms. Together, they raised 13 children in Victoria.
When the British Crown declared Vancouver Island a colony in 1849, James Douglas became its leader, before he was eventually appointed as its governor in 1851. Envisioning Victoria as a structured, civilized outpost of the British Empire, Douglas began building the institutions and infrastructure to support this vision.
With the onset of the Fraser River gold rush in 1858, Douglas was promoted again; this time becoming governor of the newly created Colony of British Columbia. He'd hold both of these governorships until his retirement in 1864 - just one year after Queen Victoria knighted him. Seven years later, in July 1871, the two colonies joined Confederation to become part of Canada.
One of James Douglas’s most lasting contributions was marking the start of a representative government in British Columbia with the 1856 construction of the colony’s first Parliament buildings. Known as the Birdcages (because of their quaint ornate lattice design), the six buildings housed Parliament for the next 50 years (before construction began on the current Parliament Buildings in 1893). Despite being leaky and cold, these wooden buildings provided B.C.’s first parliament an official place to gather.
Sir James Douglas died in 1877 and was buried in Victoria’s Ross Bay Cemetery. However, his legacy lives on through landmarks such as Douglas Street, his statue on the side of the Parliament Buildings, and by an obelisk (erected 1879) bearing his name on the parliamentary lawn. But that’s not all:
You’ll also find his and his wife’s names (Lady Amelia Douglas) on 2 of over 500 engraved bricks naming the original HBC employees and indigenous leaders, in Bastion Square (where he built Fort Victoria for HBC).
Remembered for trying to balance the wants of the Crown with the needs of indigenous communities, Sir James Douglas changed the face of British Columbia forever; and for better or worse, he’ll always be the father of our province.
To learn more about Sir James Douglas, and visit the Parliament Buildings, and Bastion Square (where Fort Victoria once stood) why not join one of HIDDEN VICTORIA’s historical tours? Our passionate guides love to share local history with our guests!