Blacks contributed to the beginnings of our province of British Columbia in ways that the current population have forgotten or perhaps never even know about:
- James Douglas, the first governor of BC, was part-Black.
- JD invited 35 Blacks from San Francisco to Victoria in the spring of 1858. He offered immigration to the colony after he learned of the US Supreme Court edict that denied free, native-born blacks citizenship.
- Over the years, JD welcomed over 700 Blacks who settled in Victoria and on Salt Spring Island.
- They bought land, some started businesses, and others took jobs on the farms that provided food for the population.
- Four Blacks were recruited to the Victoria police force to keep the unruly gold miners from getting out of hand.
- During the Pig War in the San Juan Islands, the Blacks formed the Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps, which JD supplied with uniforms and guns.
- Mifflin Gibbs, one of the earliest Black settlers, built and operated a store, making a small fortune from the gold-crazed prospectors. He became a councillor and acting mayor of Victoria in 1866 and put the town's finances in order. Read more of how he influenced the development of BC at http://thetyee.ca/Life/2008/02/07/MifflinGibbs.
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| Mifflin W. Gibbs |
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