Vancouver Island

Located off Canada's Pacific coast and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia Vancouver Island is, at 32,134 square kilometers (12,407 square miles), the largest island on the western side of the Americas.

Related Topics:
Pacific - British Columbia - 32,134

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The island has been inhabited by humans for some eight thousand years. By the late 1700s, the primary First Nations on the island were the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) on the west coast, the Salish on the south and east coasts, and the Kwakiutl in the centre of the island and the north.

Related Topics:
Humans - 1700s - First Nations - Nuu-chah-nulth - Salish - Kwakiutl

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Europeans began to encroach on the island in 1774, when rumours of Russian fur traders caused the Spanish to send a ship, the Santiago north under the command of Juan José Pérez Hernández. In 1775 a second Spanish expedition, under Juan Francisco Bodega y Quadra, was sent. Neither actually landed.

Related Topics:
Europe - 1774 - Russian - Fur trader - Juan José Pérez Hernández - 1775 - Juan Francisco Bodega y Quadra

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After these first peeks, Vancouver Island came to the attention of the wider world after the third voyage of Captain James Cook, who landed at Nootka Sound of the Island's western shore on March 31, 1778 and claimed it for the United Kingdom. The island's rich fur trading potential led the British East India Company to set up a single-building trading post in the native village of Yuquot on Nootka Island, a small island in the Sound.

Related Topics:
James Cook - Nootka Sound - March 31 - 1778 - United Kingdom - British East India Company - Yuquot - Nootka Island

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The island was further explored by Spain in 1789 by Esteban José Martínez, who built Fort San Miguel on one of Vancouver Island's small offshore islets in the Sound near Yuquot. This was to be the only Spanish settlement in what would later be Canada. The Spanish began seizing British ships and the two nations came close to war, but the issues were resolved peacefully in favour of the British with the Nootka Convention in 1792. Coordinating the handover was Captain George Vancouver from King's Lynn in England, who had sailed as a midshipman with Cook, and from whom the island gained its name.

Related Topics:
Spain - 1789 - Esteban José Martínez - Fort San Miguel - Nootka Convention - 1792 - George Vancouver - King's Lynn - England

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The first British settlement on the island was a Hudson's Bay Company post, Fort Camosun, founded in 1843. This became the centre of an important base during the Fraser Gold Rush, and the burgeoning town was incorporated as Victoria in 1862. Victoria became the capital of the colony of Vancouver Island, then retained that status when the island was amalgamated with the mainland nearby. Victoria remains the capital of British Columbia, although long since surpassed in population by the city of Vancouver. Note that Vancouver is not on Vancouver Island (a matter of some confusion), and Victoria is on Vancouver Island, not Victoria Island (a much larger island in the Canadian Arctic). Vancouver Island is an exception to the Oregon Treaty as the portion of the island south of the 49th parallel remains under Canadian control.

Related Topics:
Hudson's Bay Company - 1843 - Fraser Gold Rush - Victoria - 1862 - British Columbia - Vancouver - Victoria Island - Island in the Canadian Arctic - Oregon Treaty

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A British naval base was established at Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1865, and eventually taken over by the Canadian military. It is the second largest Canadian naval base after Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Related Topics:
Esquimalt, British Columbia - 1865 - Halifax, Nova Scotia

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As of 2002, Vancouver Island had an estimated population of 750,000. Slightly less than half of these - 326,000 as of 2002 - live in Victoria, British Columbia. Other major cities on Vancouver Island include Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Parksville, Courtenay, and Campbell River.

Related Topics:
As of 2002 - Victoria, British Columbia - Nanaimo - Port Alberni - Parksville - Courtenay - Campbell River

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Vancouver Island's economy outside Victoria is largely dominated by the forestry industry, with tourism and fishing also playing a large role. Many of the logging operations are for paper pulp, in "2nd growth" tree farms that are harvested approximately every 30 years. In recent years the government of British Columbia has engaged in an advertising program to draw more tourists to beach resorts such as Tofino.

Related Topics:
Forestry - Tourism - Fishing - Logging - Paper pulp - Tree farm - Advertising - Tofino

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Logging operations involving old-growth forests such as those found on Clayoquot Sound are controversial, and have gained international attention through the efforts of activists and environmental organizations.

Related Topics:
Old-growth - Forest - Clayoquot Sound - Activists - Environmental organizations

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Between Vancouver Island and the Canadian mainland there are several AC and DC high voltage power cables (HVDC Vancouver-Island).

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