HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
THE ARRIVAL OF BLACKS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

An overlooked but important aspect of British Columbia's history is the part played by Black settlers in establishing this province. A group of free Black people from California was seeking equality under the law. Most of these California expatriates were not fleeing from slavery, but from increasing restrictions being placed on them as Blacks in the "free state" of California.

During the 1850s California brought in oppressive legislation. Blacks were excluded from state schools; and barred from giving evidence against whites in court. Furthermore, attempts were made to require blacks to be registered and to prevent blacks from immigrating to the state. The final dramatic event that convinced some California blacks that they had no future in the state was the case of Archy Lee, a fugitive slave arrested in 1858. Though the courts freed Lee, because his master had brought him knowingly into a free territory, the message received by the Blacks was that they could not live securely in California.

A meeting was held in Zion Methodist Church in San Francisco and it was decided that a delegation would be sent to Victoria to see how they would be received there. Governor James Douglas (needing more settlers to prevent the island from annexing to the United States of America), had invited and had assured them of a favorable reception. Consequently, on April 20, 1858, some 600 - 800 black Californians including Archy Lee boarded the steamship Commodore and set sail for Victoria, British Columbia.

Victoria and the British Columbia mainland were in a phase of rapid expansion sparked in part by the Caribou gold rush, and so there was ready work and easy assimilation for the new settlers and labourers. Many settled on farms, others developed local businesses, while some were "firsts" among their professions such as teachers, lawyers, dentists, etc. Though racism would be expressed later in the 1860s and after, the early years for the black community in the Victoria and on Vancouver Island were peaceful and prosperous.

For more information on the First Black Pioneers, check your public library, local bookstore, BC Public Archives or check out our links.

Reference:
Walker, James St. G, A History of Blacks in Canada
Department of History, University of Waterloo, Minister of State Multiculturalism, Minister of Supply and Services, 1980.