Blanshard to Earl Grey

Blanshard to Earl Grey

British Columbia
Gold Rush
Fort Rupert
Natives
Settlers
Official Correspondence
Violence
Conflict

This document, written in 1850, describes a very different situation at Fort Rupert then that of the previous source pertaining to this location. Richard Blanshard, Governor of Vancouver Island, sends a dispatch to London, notifying them of the death of three British subject by Newitty Indians. He goes on to explain that he is not allowing anyone to leave the Fort for their own safety, and that native Americans are becoming more outraged by the day. Other documents within this dispatch suggest there was a number of incidents in which the natives thought they were being mistreated. 19th Century British Columbia still had racial issues at the time, which the letter goes on to deny, saying that the natives were always treated with the greatest consideration. This document fits into themes relating to race and native interaction. Whilst there were certainly instances of natives and settlers having reciprocal relationships, there were also instances of hostility and violence.

Richard Blanshard

Colonial Dispatches, Despatch to London, Blanshard to Earl Grey. 9152, CO 305/2 pg.67.

http://bcgenesis.uvic.ca/getDoc.htm?id=V50004.scx

July 1850

Roberto Catarinicchia

The National Archive, London

English

Text - handwritten letter

19th century British Columbia