Since the 1920s, tourism boosters have promoted Victoria, B.C., as a quaint, “jolly good” capital—more English than England itself—an image of the city that has become widely accepted. Tourist advertising, that “magic system” used to convince tourists that a particular destination will provide a rewarding and unique experience, proved remarkably potent in Victoria as the city’s chamber of commerce and government agencies combined their efforts to sell BC’s capital as “a little bit of old England.” Victoria’s colonial roots played a key role in the development of the city’s image but while the English angle undeniably has some basis in reality, it also rests in part on flawed assumptions. English-themed tourism has, until recently, marginalized Victoria’s aboriginal and minority history, and the emphasis on multiculturalism over the last four decades has not prevented its English identity from being retained in the travel literature. In addition, though the tourist industry has generated a great deal of wealth for the city, this wealth has come at a price, creating problems for Victoria and its residents. For good or ill, tourist promoters in search of profit have successfully cultivated a highly appealing and lucrative English image that has made it difficult to view BC’s capital in any other light.

This study of single women in the British Columbia context reveals the importance of marital status as a distinct category of analysis for women’s lives. Marital status fractures the gender of women into identities that are deeply structured by relations of power and privilege, creating some fundamental separations between the married woman and the never-married (‘ever-single’) woman. By taking marital status into account, we can learn more about the historical intersections between women, gender, and society. By setting the heterosexual dyad aside, we can delve more fully into the varied life-sustaining relationships that women forged, especially with other women. We can more thoroughly reconstruct the social contexts of feminist ideas, and the roots of a female citizenship based on a direct rather than deflected relationship to the nation. We can also trace the nascence of an ‘individual’ female subjectivity based in self-reverence rather than self-effacement. And we can decentre the conjugal family, especially the heterosexual dyad, as the essential unit of the Canadian past and the only legitimate site for women’s sexuality. The ‘borderlands’ of British Columbia before the Second World War are an excellent place to examine the lives and identities of ever-single women, given the astonishing number of (ever-)single women present in unique demographic and economic conditions that would seem to militate against singleness. This project looks at four themes: survival, status, relationships, and identity. Material conditions of income and household composition offer us some of the strategies of survival single women employed. Looking at the discursive boundaries of certain social groups emphasizes the centrality of single women to (all levels of) society and the leadership that single women bring to both crafting and policing the borders of status groups. The patterns of relationships that ever-single women built and their voices on being single offer important models for thinking through women’s affective lives that do not privilege the heterosexual dyad. And the emplacement of the ever-single woman as ‘outside heterosexuality’ suggests some ways though the bind of the heterosexual/homosexual dichotomy in thinking about women’s lives and especially the hybrid nature of their autobiographical voices.

This study of single women in the British Columbia context reveals the importance of marital status as a distinct category of analysis for womens lives. Marital status fractures the gender of women into identities that are deeply structured by relations of power and privilege, creating some fundamental separations between the married woman and the never-married (ever-single) woman. By taking marital status into account, we can learn more about the historical intersections between women, gender, and society. By setting the heterosexual dyad aside, we can delve more fully into the varied life-sustaining relationships that women forged, especially with other women. We can more thoroughly reconstruct the social contexts of feminist ideas, and the roots of a female citizenship based on a direct rather than deflected relationship to the nation. We can also trace the nascence of an individual female subjectivity based in self-reverence rather than self-effacement. And we can decentre the conjugal family, especially the heterosexual dyad, as the essential unit of the Canadian past and the only legitimate site for womens sexuality. The borderlands of British Columbia before the Second World War are an excellent place to examine the lives and identities of ever-single women, given the astonishing number of (ever-)single women present in unique demographic and economic conditions that would seem to militate against singleness. This project looks at four themes: survival, status, relationships, and identity. Material conditions of income and household composition offer us some of the strategies of survival single women employed. Looking at the discursive boundaries of certain social groups emphasizes the centrality of single women to (all levels of) society and the leadership that single women bring to both crafting and policing the borders of status groups. The patterns of relationships that ever-single women built and their voices on being single offer important models for thinking through womens affective lives that do not privilege the heterosexual dyad. And the emplacement of the ever-single woman as outside heterosexuality suggests some ways though the bind of the heterosexual/homosexual dichotomy in thinking about womens lives and especially the hybrid nature of their autobiographical voices.

Most scholars who have researched on missionaries in British Columbia have not taken gender into account. This dissertation narrates and analyzes the biographies of the two founding generations of the Sisters of Saint Ann and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It compares their origins in Quebec and Europe, their life histories, their experiences teaching school, and their formation of the next generation of their religious communities in British Columbia. The role of gender in shaping these individuals' lives and identities can be seen in each aspect of the comparison. Both the Oblates and the Sisters experienced the asymmetry of the female and male organizations within the larger church. Over time two Roman Catholic missionary systems evolved in British Columbia: the Sisters' system of educative and caring institutions for the peoples of the province and the Oblates modified reduction system for Aboriginal peoples, known in academic literature as the Durieu system. School teaching, particularly work in residential schools for Aboriginal children, linked the two systems. The French Oblate leaders aimed to masculinize the missions and feminize school teaching. The Canadian Sisters of Saint Ann, however, set most of the educational policies within both their own institutions and those they ran at Oblate Aboriginal missions. Case studies of Oblate brothers and Sisters of Saint Ann work as teachers in 1881 show that the nuns, as members of a separate religious congregation, could negotiate with the patriarchs of the Roman Catholic church, whereas the Oblate brothers could not. Such factors affected generational continuity. The Canadian sisterhood reproduced itself in the region as a local family 'dynasty,' whereas the French Oblate order did not. Taking gender into account in a study of pioneer missionaries in British Columbia does not simply reverse the standard history where the Oblates, as men, appear central, and the Sisters of Saint Ann, as women, appear on the margins. Rather the evidence of gender widens the range of discussion and increases awareness of the complexity of the province's social and educational history.

Although much has been written in the field of family history since Phillipe Aires' Centuries of Childhood (1962), the study of foster care in its various forms has received less attention. Themes concerning orphans and foster children do, however, appear guite often in literature and dramatic works. Two academic articles from Iceland and Brazil respectively discuss historical material relating to foster children and orphans in the 19th century. Themes from these articles, about the role of kin and neighbours in foster care, and the use of orphans to meet labour shortages, are discussed as background to the B.C. study. The constitutional-legal framework and social welfare policies adopted in British Columbia in the 1900-1930 period were under Anglo-American influence, with influences from Ontario being most direct. B.C. established some level of economic security for women and children with the establishment of women's pensions in 1920 and in 1927 the B.C. Survey of Child Welfare made recommendations for supervised foster care, that is, foster care subsidized by government and supervised by social workers. Although the legislation mandated "approved foster homes" as early as 1901, and envisaged temporary placement with children's aid societies (CAS) until such homes could be found, the annual reports and discharge summaries of the CASs, and the records of the Superintendent of Neglected Children show that this option was largely ignored. Not until overcrowding and medical crises forced the issue did CASs turn to foster care as an option.

The pivotal figures in the district administration of British Columbia have been the Government Agents. For over a century, isolated citizens received the services of the state from their local agent. The tasks they performed changed but, like the British District Officer and the French Prefect, their primary supervisory and controlling roles remained intact. Civil service reform, however, broke the 'contract' between the agent, district and the government, and diminished their effectiveness. By 1958, the agent was less a unifying and more a coordinating figure. The agents evolved from prominent persons acting alone, then collegially with other civil servants, to weak agents with reduced status. As the primary objective of government altered from the maintenance of law and order to economic and social development their behaviours changed. Their prestige was also reduced as politicians replaced them as guardians of the public interest. Improvements in transportation and communication made them less independent. Continuity, however, has been an equal characteristics of the agents. They have exercised central control through three functions: maintenance of law and order, advocating and executing government policies, and representing provincial interests. Since 1858, the agents have embodied the power of the state and fulfilled Victoria's wish to control local events. The 1945 civil service reforms, which emphasized standardized procedures and merit in hiring practices, altered irrevocably the character of the agents. Technical skills, not local prestige and knowledge, became the critical factor in new aspirants. Their relationship with government was de-personalized and they identified more with their organization. These personnel processes and a dramatic growth in bureaucratic structures eroded the agents' power base in their districts and the capital and their ability to act as a trustworthy link between Victoria and the regions. The political advantages that saved the agents for decades were missing and they were forgotten. This study is about government decentralization. It chronicles the evolution of unique Canadian public servants who maintained the bond between the governed and the government from colonial to modern times. Finally, it suggests that contemporary observers must consider carefully the expectations politicians have of district public servants. / Graduate

Although much has been written in the field of family history since Phillipe Aires' Centuries of Childhood (1962), the study of foster care in its various forms has received less attention. Themes concerning orphans and foster children do, however, appear guite often in literature and dramatic works. Two academic articles from Iceland and Brazil respectively discuss historical material relating to foster children and orphans in the 19th century. Themes from these articles, about the role of kin and neighbours in foster care, and the use of orphans to meet labour shortages, are discussed as background to the B.C. study. The constitutional-legal framework and social welfare policies adopted in British Columbia in the 1900-1930 period were under Anglo-American influence, with influences from Ontario being most direct. B.C. established some level of economic security for women and children with the establishment of women's pensions in 1920 and in 1927 the B.C. Survey of Child Welfare made recommendations for supervised foster care, that is, foster care subsidized by government and supervised by social workers. Although the legislation mandated "approved foster homes" as early as 1901, and envisaged temporary placement with children's aid societies (CAS) until such homes could be found, the annual reports and discharge summaries of the CASs, and the records of the Superintendent of Neglected Children show that this option was largely ignored. Not until overcrowding and medical crises forced the issue did CASs turn to foster care as an option. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

This thesis deals with the development of the militia of British Columbia during the period 1871-1914 and takes into account the various economic, political, and social factors within British Columbia which affected its growth This includes an examination of the causes, both internal and external, which induced certain individuals or groups of people in the province to agitate for the establishment of militia units, and the Dominion policy towards this agitation. In this latter respect it takes into account the strength and weaknesses of the militia system both in the Dominion as a whole and within the province of British Columbia. It deals briefly with Imperial defence policy in general, and Canadian-Imperial relations concerning the defence of British Columbia, in particular Esquimalt. The various British proposals for the joint defence of the naval station, the Dominion policy concerning such proposals and the negotiations which led to joint defence agreements are considered. The author concludes that policy concerning the defence of British Columbia originated not with the Dominion Government, but with the Imperial authorities. Some examination is made of the effect of a permanent regular garrison upon a volunteer militia in the way of instruction, example, etc., and of Canadian policy towards the establishment of a permanent garrison at Esquimalt. The historical significance of the work lies in the fact that, with the exception of Mr. R.H. Roy’s article, The Early Militia and Defence of British Columbia, 1871- 1885, there has been no examination of the early military history of this province. Canadian military history, including that of the various provinces, has as yet been but slightly examined by historians. It offers a wide field for research. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

The history of the disposal of Crown lands in British Columbia is in reality the history of the economic development of the province. It covers the progress of British Columbia from its days as a hunting and trading preserve of the Hudson's Bay Company through its brief colonial period and formative years as a province down to its years of rapid settlement and development in the decade before 1913. Once the colonial period had passed, the attack upon the natural resources began in earnest. So rich and abundant did those resources of land, mine, forest, and water prove that British Columbia found itself launched into an industrial era almost before adequate legislation had been framed to deal with its land and resources. Legislation was necessary to guide the economic progress of the province and to establish regulations governing the disposal of Crown land and its appurtenant resources of mineral, timber, and water. The laws were framed always with a view to accomplishing three things - encouraging settlement, forestalling speculation, and securing revenue. Since in every case the basis of provincial legislation was to be found in the proclamations and ordinances framed from 1858 to 1864 by Governor Douglas, a survey of colonial regulations is needed to clarify subsequent policy. To assist him in framing proclamations for guiding the progress of the two colonies, Douglas looked to the Colonial Office, the terms under which the Hudson’s Bay Company had held Vancouver Island, and his own judgment. The first regulations adhered closely to principles laid down by the Colonial Office. Douglas was carefully instructed to ward off speculation in public lands by making beneficial use of the criterion of alienation. No agricultural land was to be pre-empted other than by bona fide settlers. Land was not to be sold without some guarantee that it would be improved. Timber leases were to be granted only to the operators of saw Mills. Miners could not divert water from streams unless it was needed at once. By 1871 the principle of beneficial use had been so thoroughly established in law that it was never thereafter abandoned. Practice, however, was at variance with principle and until the McBride ministry had devised adequate administrative machinery after 1909 little could be done to enforce regulations. Secondly, Douglas was instructed to reserve certain rights to the Crown. Gold, wherever found, was so reserved; by 1913, silver, coal, natural gas, and oil had been added. Land for government purposes was similarly reserved to the Crown. As for other principles, Douglas found he could not enforce them in the face of existing conditions. Sale of land by auction did not work, nor did insistence upon immediate payment. Neither principle could prevail for long. To secure money, Douglas soon discovered he must dispose of lands on easy terms. Had the Colonial Office seen fit to heed Douglas's plea to lend credit to the new Pacific colonies to relieve them of the pressing need for money, the subsequent wholesale alienation of large tracts of the best land at very low prices would have been unnecessary. Beneficial use, sale only by auction, cash sales, and survey prior to alienation could all have been firmly established and carefully supervised. As it was, British Columbia did none of these things and indeed, became the only province in Canada where land could be alienated prior to survey. Prom 1871 to 1913 British Columbia followed the pattern set in colonial days. The only reason the province retained ninety per cent of the timber stands was that, before legal safeguards were enacted, timber was regarded more as a nuisance than as an asset. But the necessity for securing revenue by selling or otherwise disposing of Crown lands on as easy terms as possible established a pattern of thinking that was to see the reckless alienation of millions of acres of land to railway promoters between 1883 and 1900. Much of the land was later repurchased. And because of the difficulties which arose between the Dominion and the province over jurisdictional conflicts stemming from the presence of a forty-mile strip of land through the heart of the province granted in exchange for rail connections with eastern Canada, enough ill-feeling was engendered to make the allotting of Indian reserve lands one of the most vexed problems In provincial history. Crown lands in unlimited quantity were disposed of to land and timber speculators and railway promoters from 1871 to 1900. Not until 1900 did provincial governments begin to question the wisdom of such wholesale alienation. Land was so eagerly sought from 1905 to 1913 that effective machinery was finally devised to regulate its disposal on terms most favourable to the province. Pre-emptions were inspected, water rights were clarified, timber lands were placed under reserve for sale of the timber by auction only, extensive surveys of agricultural lands were made, and settlement was at last directed to areas served by communication facilities. By 1913 Crown lands and their natural resources were recognized for what they were - priceless expendable assets and the people’s heritage - no longer to be disposed of heedlessly but rather to be conserved for posterity. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

Coal mining in nineteenth century British Columbia was confined almost exclusively to the tidewater coal measures of Vancouver Island where it was expanded rapidly from 1871 to 1891. This dissertation's purposes are to describe the coal industry's rise, account for its fast growth in the seventies and eighties, and assess the coal trade's general impact upon the region's economy. The approach is thematic, focusing in turn upon coal lands, capital, management, labour, technology, markets, production, and productivity. Standard research, organization, and interpretation methods for economic history are followed, including thorough descriptive use of statistical data. Comparisons are intensive and far-reaching, resulting in a close-knit framework upon which important conclusions are based. No effort has been made, however, to offer extensive biographical information on the coal trade's leading personalities. These studies confirm the coal industry's rapid expansion, and determine that all factors of production can explain that phenomenon with a high degree of certainty, though market demand and management technique do so more readily than other agents. It is shown that management methods and styles evolved quickly, the most effective being the owner-manager type as practiced by Robert Dunsmuir, the industry's most successful proprietor. Risk capital was drawn from various sources, including mainly British direct investments, local savings, partnerships (often involving foreign investors), and ploughed-back profits. Entrepreneurs and promoters were active in attempting to develop coal properties from 1864 on, though only those highly experienced in mining and management succeeded. Chronic worker shortages, coupled with the physical problems associated with coal mining in mountainous terrain, forced coal operators to opt early for labour saving technology imported almost exclusively from Britain. The introduction of large numbers of Oriental colliers by Dunsmuir after 1870, (who were willing to work at half the wages whites would), slowed the technological advance of the industry, but not annual rates of production increases. Considerable friction between white workers and management resulted from the latter's initiatives with Oriental labour, while the owners' policy of severely restricting wage-rates caused further serious labour problems, including a high number of work stoppages. Mine safety, job security, and general working conditions also were contentious issues. B.C.'s early collieries relied heavily upon the California market which often was unsteady, but which accounted for approximately seventy-five percent of all sales during the years 1849-91. Domestic users were mainly shipping companies, light industry, and households. Much of the local market was handled at the pithead. The major coal companies streamlined their channels of distribution by opening their own sales offices in Victoria and San Francisco, and. in the case of Dunsmuir, by also building a collier fleet and a railway of his own. The coal industry had a major influence upon southern Vancouver Island's economy, but not a large impact upon the remainder of the province. No determined "attempts were made by coal proprietors or other capitalists to create secondary industries linked to coal production, though colliery owners did invest in land, transport, and retail-wholesale ventures designed either to service their mining activities or to diversify their personal holdings. Such moves occurred later-on, however, as the main thrust of their initial efforts was to establish and maintain the coal trade with California. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate