Sir James Douglas

Sir James Douglas (born Aug. 15, 1803, Demerara, British Guiana—died Aug. 2, 1877, Victoria, B.C., Can.) was a Canadian statesman known as “the father of British Columbia.” He became its first governor when it was a newly formed wilderness colony.

Douglas joined the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821 and rose to become senior member of the board, in charge of operations west of the Rocky Mountains. After the establishment of the southwestern boundary with the United States, he moved the company’s headquarters from Oregon to Vancouver Island in 1849. As governor (1851–64) of Vancouver Island when gold was discovered on the Fraser River in 1858, he extended his authority to the mainland in order to preserve Britain’s foothold on the Pacific in the face of an influx of settlers from the United States. His action was approved by the British government, which then created the colony of British Columbia. Douglas became its governor in 1858 after severing his connection with the Hudson’s Bay Company. He was knighted in 1863 and retired in 1864.