Rum, furs, gunpowder, and life on the wild west coast

Abstract

Audio recording and transcript of Anne Royle's April 2002 presentation to the Nanaimo Historical Society about aspects of the early colonial history of coastal British Columbia. In her talk, Royle speaks about how both the Royal Navy and the Hudson's Bay Company were influential on the coast, and she gives details about several important ships. She discusses the coastal rum-running and fur trades, and she also talks about interactions with the Indigenous Peoples of the area. She speaks about the Susan Sturgis affair, and about Fort Simpson during Captain William McNeill's time there. Royle mentions some instances of support for the early annexation of B.C. to the United States, and she concludes her presentation by giving an outline of the Fraser River Gold Rush of 1858, which led to the subsequent founding of the Colony of British Columbia.