British Columbia by
In this fifth volume in Oxford's Illustrated History of Canada series, Patricia Roy and John Thompson present a compact narrative survey of British Columbia's economic, political, and social history, generously illustrated with roughly 150 paintings, drawings, and maps that shed their own light on the province's history. British Columbia, as we know it geographically and politically today, did not exist until 1858. The boundaries of the present-day province were defined in a piecemeal and haphazard manner, and are still disputed by the First Nations, who have never accepted the 1927 agreement between the federal and the provincial governments that defined the extent of their territories within the province. Historians can never entirely escape superimposing the tidy political map of contemporary British Columbia over an untidy geography, and an equally untidy history. Human conflict and human diversity mark British Columbia's past. Based on current scholarship, this volume provides a detailed account of the multitude of experiences within British Columbia. British Columbia: Land of Promises continues the tradition of sound scholarship and easy readability of the previous volumes in Oxford's Illustrated History of Canada series. Previous volumes were praised for being "richly illustrated, readable, detailed and opinionated" (London Free Press), and "attractive as individual volumes to those who want an introduction to a particular region, and as part of a series to those who are looking for a new, general history of Canada."(Quill and Quire)
The Dunsmuir Saga by
The Dunsmuir Saga brings to life three generations of the legendary Dunsmuir family of Vancouver Island. Robert Dunsmuir -- canny, acquisitive and imaginative -- became the richest man in British Columbia; his sons struggled to consolidate the family fortune; his grandchildren spent it. Award-winning author Terry Reksten brings the members of the Dunsmuir family and their colourful saga to life with her lively writing, vivid anecdotes and careful research. A selection of 50 historical photographs depicts the Dunsmuirs and their grand style of life.
Emily Carr by
A new look at the art of Emily Carr that explores the profound impact of her time spent in France early in her career, by two of our most distinguished writers on art. In 1911, Emily Carr returned from a sixteen-month trip to France with a new understanding of French Modernism and a radically transformed painting style, one that broke free from the artistic shackles of her conservative training and embraced a new means of expression. Her studio experiences in Paris, her en plein-air painting in the French countryside, and her encounters with such artists as expatriate English painter William Henry Phelan Gibb, Scottish painter John Duncan Fergusson, and New Zealand watercolourist Frances Hodgkins had a profound impact on her work.Emily Carr: Fresh Seeing focuses on the dramatic changes in her painting style, showcasing the paintings, drawings, and watercolours that she produced in France, as well as the works she created upon her return to the West Coast of Canada in 1912. The text of her 1930 speech "Fresh Seeing," in which Carr sought to explain Modern art to her baffled public, is included alongside an essay by writer and critic Robin Laurence. Also featured are essays by Carr scholar Kathryn Bridge, who examines the artist's travels and studies with post-Impressionist artists in Paris, Crécy-en-Brie, St. Efflam, and Concarneau; collector Michael Polay, who details the inclusion of two of Carr's paintings in the famed Salon d'Automne alongside pieces by Marcel Duchamp, Henri Matisse, and many other internationally renowned artists; and Audain Art Museum curator Kiriko Watanabe, who recounts Carr's return to the West Coast and the paintings that resulted from her ambitious sketching expeditions to the Upper Skeena River, Haida Gwaii, and Alert Bay in the summer of 1912.
Go Do Some Great Thing by
Living in pre-Civil War Philadelphia, young Black activist Mifflin Gibbs was feeling disheartened from fighting the overwhelming tide of White America's legalized racism when abolitionist Julia Griffith encouraged him to "go do some great thing." These words helped inspire him to become a successful merchant in San Francisco, and then to seek a more just society in the new colony of Vancouver Island, where he was to become a prominent citizen and elected official. Gibbs joined a movement of Black American emigrants fleeing the increasingly oppressive and anti-Black Californian legal system in 1858. They hoped to establish themselves in a new country where they would have full access to the rights of citizenship and would be free to seek success and stability. Some six hundred Black Californians made the trip to Victoria in the midst of the Fraser River Gold Rush, but their hopes of finding a welcoming new home were ultimately disappointed. They were to encounter social segregation, disenfranchisement, limited employment opportunities and rampant discrimination. But in spite of the opposition and racism they faced, these pioneers played a pivotal role in the emerging province, establishing an all-Black militia unit to protect against American invasion, casting deciding votes in the 1860 election and helping to build the province as teachers, miners, artisans, entrepreneurs and merchants. Crawford Kilian brings this vibrant period of British Columbia's history to life, evoking the chaos and opportunity of Victoria's gold rush boom and describing the fascinating lives of prominent Black pioneers and trailblazers, from Sylvia Stark and Saltspring Island's notable Stark family to lifeguard and special constable Joe Fortes, who taught a generation of Vancouverites to swim. Since its original publication in 1978, Go Do Some Great Thing has remained foundational reading on the history of Black pioneers in BC. Updated and with a new foreword by Adam Rudder, the third edition of this under-told story describes the hardships and triumphs of BC's first Black citizens and their legacy in the province today. Partial proceeds from each copy sold will be donated to the Hogan's Alley Society.
Home Truths : highlights from BC history by 
Iljuwas Bill Reid : life & work by
"The life and work of Canadian artist Bill Reid"-- Provided by publisher.
Joseph William McKay: A Métis Business Leader in Colonial British Columbia by
An intriguing look at the accomplishments and contradictions of Joseph William McKay, best known as the founder of Nanaimo, BC, and one of the most successful Métis men to rise through the ranks of the Hudson's Bay Company in the late nineteenth century. When examining the history of British Columbia, one would be hard-pressed to find an Indigenous person who so successfully navigated the echelons of colonial power as did Joseph William McKay (1829-1900). McKay was Métis, born in Quebec, and began his career in Oregon during the dispute over the international boundary in 1845-46. After moving north, he met his mentor James Douglas and, at age twenty-three, was given the job of building the city of Nanaimo from the ground up and establishing its coal mines. McKay made several exploratory trips with Douglas during the Gold Rush, and he surveyed the route for the Overland Telegraph, which ran throughout BC. He rose through the ranks of the Hudson's Bay Company, eventually earning the appointment of Chief Factor, the company's highest rank. This was at a time when few Indigenous employees of HBC were permitted to rise beyond the rank of postmaster. After leaving the company in 1878, McKay began a second career in the Department of Indian Affairs. He was a federal Indian Agent and later the Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs for British Columbia. A product of his time who had found personal success working within the colonial system, McKay is a complicated figure when viewed through a twenty-first-century lens. He advocated on behalf of Indigenous Peoples when he tried to prevent the trespass of CPR crews and European settlers on their ancestral land. Between 1886 and 1888, he personally inoculated more than a thousand Indigenous people with the smallpox vaccine. Yet, he also participated in a system that did untold harm to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people. This fascinating new biography sheds light on an accomplished and complex man.
Old Square Toes and His Lady: The Life of James and Amelia Douglas by
At the pinnacle of his career, Douglas was knighted by order of Queen Victoria. Considering his modest, mixed-race beginnings in South America, his lofty status is, indeed, remarkable. Equally so is the life of his wife, Amelia. She was also of mixed blood, her mother being Cree and her father Irish. But unlike Douglas, who was educated in Scotland, she never left the northern forests until they married. Their ending up as a knight and lady of the British Empire was an unusual achievement.
Old Square-Toes discusses the Douglases' diverse experiences of astonishing contrasts, from crossing North America by canoe to touring Europe by train, from Native uprisings to the frantic gold rush. Besides finding glory, they also faced grief in losing seven of their beloved children. This is a story of the adventure, heartbreak, and devotion that lies at the roots of western Canada.
Simon Fraser by
Winner of the 2009 BC Book Prizes' Roderick Haig-Brown Regional PrizeIn 1808 seeking a navigable route to the western sea for the North West Company, Simon Fraser descended the great river that now bears his name. Most of us learn that much in school----but who was this blunt, tenacious man, and what drove him to make a dangerous journey halfway across an uncharted continent?Journalist and poet Stephen Hume followed in Fraser's footsteps and canoe wake for four years. He studied fading maps and diaries in archives across North America, interviewed the descendants of people who aided Fraser and retraced Fraser's route across British Columbia's vast and varied landscape.Hume found Fraser's own blazes and signs in the wild terrain that the Nor'wester crossed with the help of aboriginal peoples, all the way from the Rocky Mountains to the mouth of the ferocious river we call the Fraser. This is the story of diligent research and reconstruction of his route, the rigours of early nineteenth-century travel and the peoples and places he saw and recorded.Simon Fraser: In Search of Modern British Columbia is the story of Fraser's great journey, but not solely from a historian's or biographer's pen. Hume writes with his usual lyrical power based in a profound knowledge of the landscape and history of BC.