Born the son of a Glasgow merchant James Douglas worked his way through the ranks to become the governor of British Columbia.

Early Life

James Douglas was born in Demerara, British Guiana on August 15, 1803, the illegitimate son of John Douglas, a merchant from Glasgow and Miss Ritchie a mulatto servant on the Douglas sugar plantation. When still young his father took him to Glasgow to be educated at Lenark. He proved to be a conscientious student. At the age of sixteen, Douglas left Scotland for the wilds of Canada to seek his fortune as a clerk with the North West Company. His first post was at Fort William, Ontario where he spent the winter of 1819-20. With the coming of spring he moved to Ile a la Crosse, where he would spend the next five years, joining the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821.

Following his tenure at Ile a la Crosse, Douglas was promoted to assistant of Chief Factor William Connolly in Fort St. James where he would stay until 1830. It was not long before the talents of the resourceful young man were recognized and Connolly began entrusting more to his able assistant. In l826, it was Douglas who was part of the brigade that carried the returns to Fort Vancouver. A year later he was entrusted with establishing Fort Connolly on Bear Lake. In 1828 he married "after the custom of the country" (that is without the benefit of clergy) Amelia, daughter of Chief Factor Connolly

Chief Factor

Douglas’ rise in the company was rapid. After leaving Fort St. James he became the accountant at Fort Vancouver, then assistant to Dr. John McLoughlin, the superintendent of the Columbia District. Here he and Amelia finally found a clergyman and their marriage was solemnized. The next step was chief trader followed, at the age of thirty-six, by the exalted title of Chief Factor.

It did not take Douglas long to make his presence felt throughout his domain and into the realms of other powers. The Russians in Alaska and the Americans in Washington Territory knew, dealt with and respected James Douglas.

An accomplished diplomat, he also tried his hand exploring, claiming the south end of Vancouver Island as virgin territory for the Hudson's Bay Company. A year later he returned to supervise the construction of Fort Victoria.

Governor of Vancouver Island

Richard Blanshardwas the first Governor of Vancouver Island but he stayed for barely more than a year before turning the reins of power over to Douglas. Had a lesser man than Douglas been Governor in those times, British Columbia might well have become an American state. With the discovery of gold In the Fraser River in l858, thousands of hopeful Americans poured into central British Columbia. Soon they outnumbered the British subjects and it was feared they would attempt to take over.

Douglas was equal to the task. Having seen the loss of the Oregon Territory he was determined the same would not happen in his colony. His resources were not huge. He had only a contingent of Royal Engineers, a few Royal Navy warships, a handful of magistrates and a massive amount of guts. He managed to preserve British law and order and foil any attempts to make British Columbia American.

Governor of British Columbia

With the establishment of the colony British Columbia, Douglas took up a dual Governorship, under the condition that he break all ties with the Hudson's Bay Company. Though not a man of democratic leanings, and unaccustomed to dealing with elected officials,Douglas agreed.

Within a short time of the discovery of gold, Victoria had become a boom town. Her population had swollen to thirty thousand, real estate prices skyrocketed and food became scarce. As in the case of any population gathered hastily, lawlessness was apparent but never got out of control, due in large part to the firm grip of Douglas.

Becoming Sir James

In 1863 Queen Victoria, in recognition of his services, knighted James Douglas when his term of office as governor of Vancouver Island expired. A year later he also retired as governor of British Columbia and sailed for a well deserved rest on a tour of Europe.

He returned to Victoria in l865 to spend the rest of his life quietly with his wife Amelia. The marriage has been a very prolific one, though continually marred by personal tragedy. Amelia gave birth to thirteen children but only one son and five daughters survived childhood.

As a person, Sir JamesDouglas was conservative, methodical and never spontaneous.Unlikemany great men who do not live to see the results of their handiwork, Douglas witnessed much of the fruit whose seed he had sown. He was indeed the Father of British Columbia. He saw it grow from a few scattered trading posts to a province in the Dominion of Canada.

The citizens of Victoria also owed him much. Among his many accomplishments were the building of the original fort, the creation of a parkatBeacon Hill, the institution of the first town plan, the organization of the Victoria militia, and the establishment of a common school system. He made a modest grant towards the building of the first hospital after having previously established a Naval hospital in Esquimalt

The last years of his life were uneventful for he no longer played any part in the development of the colony. Douglas spent his last days in his house on Michigan Street on a site now occupied by the Royal Provincial Museum. He died on August 2, 1877 of heart failure. His funeral was the largest ever in British Columbia history for everyone who knew him, whether European or First Nations, held him in the highest regard. An era had come to an end.

Bibliography

Alison F. Gardner, James Douglas. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1976

Derek Pethick. Victoria: The Fort, Mitchell Press, 1968

Bruce Hutchison. The Fraser. Clarke, Irwin & Co. 1950