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A history of the militia and defences of British Columbia, 1871-1914

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

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/42399
Date January 1956
CreatorsSilverman, Peter Guy
PublisherUniversity of British Columbia
Source SetsUniversity of British Columbia
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText, Thesis/Dissertation
RightsFor non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.

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