Grades: 5-12

Courses
  • British Columbia History
  • Pre-Confederation Canadian History
  • British North American Colonial History
  • Aboriginal History Pacific Northwest
Key Topics
  • The creation of the Colony of British Columbia
  • The Fraser Canyon and Cariboo Gold Rushes
  • Primary and secondary source analysis
  • Historical causation

Credits
Author: Lindsay Gibson
Editors: Roland Case, John Lutz and Jenny Clayton
Historical Researcher: Jenny Clayton, PhD, Department of History, University of Victoria
Developed by: The Critical Thinking Consortium (TC2)
www.tc2.ca

What Were the Real Reasons for Creating the Colony of British Columbia?

Step 8: Write a despatch to London

Distribute copies of the briefing sheet, #11 Writing a Despatch to the Colonial Office, to students. Invite them to assume the role of the Governor of Vancouver Island and write a despatch (letter) to the British Colonial Office in December 1857 to convince the Colonial Office of the most important reasons for establishing a colony on the mainland of British Columbia. Arrange for students to share their letters or a summary of their overall conclusions with the rest of the class.

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