James douglas biography

So, we know that he was born in the summer of The second point of contention is the place of his birth. It is known, from one of his daughters, that he was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, but no one believed an old lady named Agnes Douglas Bushby when she related that fact. Agnes died in , after giving that information to Professor Walter Sage, one of Douglas' many biographers.

From the papers of old friends and colleagues of Douglas during his days in the Hudson Bay Company's fur trade, it is quite definite that he was born in the tropical colonies of the British West Indies, in either Jamaica or British Guyana. From what remains of his father's mention in history, most scholars agree today that James Douglas was horn in Demerara, Guyana, where his father ran a sugar plantation and other family business interests.

It is positive that James Douglas had a brother and sister who were born there also. His father left Guyana in , with the children, and settled in Glasgow. There he married a Scotswoman, Miss Jessie Hamilton. Therefore, James and his brother and sister were probably illegitimate. This led to the last item of discussion about his origins: the identity of his mother.

No one knows who she was. A friend and colleague of Douglas wrote that she was a Creole. More than that is not known. Any reader familiar with the history of the West Indies at the time of James Douglas' birth will, however, feel an urge to conclude that she was a Black slave. James Douglas was "remarkably dark of complexion, a matter often commented on", says one of his biographers, M.

Derek Pethick. And he goes on to point out that in a letter written by Letitia Hargrave, "someone familiar with much personal detail about important officials of the Hudson's Bay Company" while Douglas "was still in the early years of his career" referred to him as a "mulatto". Indeed, Douglas started in lower Canada with the North West Company, moving westward gradually, following orders.

The North West Company was eventually absorbed by the Hudson's Hay Company, but nothing changed in Douglas' life; he remained a loyal officer of the fur trade. In , the company felt that new headquarters were needed on the Pacific Coast; it was clear then that what are now the territories of the states of Oregon and Washington would in time fall under American jurisdiction.

Douglas was asked to find a site in the south of Vancouver Island. The headquarters were effectively moved there in , the year Vancouver Island became officially a Crown Colony. In , Douglas, while remaining the Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, became Governor, He would have remained an obscure autocrat leading a forgotten and remote land, had not gold been Found in The California goldfields had not lived up to the dreams of thousands who rushed there a few years before.

Those disenchanted miners were more than ready to try their luck again, up north. In the Spring of , the small community of Fort Victoria numbered some souls, but their village was the gateway to the gold of the Fraser River. During that Spring, the small community of Fort Victoria was overrun by the arrival of a few thousand goldseekers in transit.

Among them were a fear Black families, who were bona fide settlers, raking refuge in the British colony from years of persecution in California. The goldseekers were of all nationalities, but most of them were Americans and ready to ask the annexation of these territories. British subjects! It is clear, however, that the Black pioneers were welcome and that the settlement helped Douglas and the interests of the British Empire.

The Blacks, persecuted in San Francisco, were unable to identify with the American expansionism; they just enlarged the population on which the Governor could count to maintain the legitimacy of the British rule on the lands lying north of the Juan de Fuca passage. Douglas' life has been studied at length; he has been viewed as the "sealant of two empires", an autocrat, a "coureur des bois" who got lucky in big-time politics, and again as an efficient public accountant who also took care to have his daughters marry "well" — considering the times, the place and the breadth of the territory under his jurisdiction, it is peculiar that he never emerged as the first modern master-statesman in British Columbia's history.

John Douglas and his three brothers, merchants in Glasgow, held interests in sugar plantations in British Guiana. Placed at an early age in a preparatory school in Scotland, James Douglas learned "to fight [his] own way with all sorts of boys, and to get on by dint of whip and spur. During his early years in the fur trade he was singled out for having a sound knowledge of the French language and "possessing a clear and distinct pronunciation.

That winter he applied himself to accounting, learning business methods, and studying the Indian character. It is not unlikely that he already displayed those characteristics for which he became noted: industry, punctuality, observance of the smallest detail, and a determination amidst the most pressing business to acquire knowledge of literature and history, politics and public affairs.

Lady Amelia Douglas. Alice caused a scandal in Victoria when at the age of seventeen she eloped with Douglas' private secretary Charles Good. Douglas sent a government agent after them, but it was too late. John Douglas and his three brothers, merchants in Glasgow, held interests in sugar plantations in British Guiana. That winter he applied himself to accounting, learning business methods, and studying the Indian character.

It is not unlikely that he already displayed those characteristics for which he became noted: industry, punctuality, observance of the smallest detail, and a determination amidst the most pressing business to acquire knowledge of literature and history, politics and public affairs. On the union of the two companies in , Douglas entered the employ of the HBC as a second class clerk.

That spring he visited the Pacific seaboard for the first time. It had been decided to supply New Caledonia from Fort Vancouver, built in on the north bank of the Columbia River, and to ship its returns round Cape Horn to England. With the outfit in nine boats, Connolly started the return journey on 5 July. They arrived back at Fort St James on 23 September.

During the winter of , at Fort St James, Douglas decided to retire from the fur trade at the end of his three-year contract. On 27 April, according to the custom of the country confirmed in a Church of England ceremony at Fort Vancouver in , Douglas took Amelia Connolly, half-Indian daughter of the chief factor, as his wife. In November he was again assaulted, near Fraser Lake.

On 30 Jan. There, on 3 June, he was given his commission as chief trader. Finally, in November , he was advanced to chief factor. Totally dependent on his salary, he practised frugality. That year he began to support his sister Cecilia, and pay his mite to charity — the Bible Society and the Christian missions in Oregon. He was disturbed by the presence of slavery.

He also selected the site for, and commenced building, Fort Taku in Alaska. In December he went to California to investigate trade prospects, buy cattle, and negotiate with the Mexican authorities for the opening of trade with California. On these delicate missions, Douglas displayed his talent as negotiator. Like Simpson, he had learned to take the measure of a man with whom he dealt; like McLoughlin, he presented a dignified and self-confident appearance.

No detail of government policy, business practice, or social value escaped his attention. At Sitka, treating the Russian governor with firmness, tact, and concession, Douglas negotiated the boundary between Russian and British posts. Implementing the agreement, Douglas promised to supply articles needed by the Russians in this trade, and a quantity of butter and other provisions from Fort Langley.

Simpson arrived at decisions which were to anger McLoughlin: the far northern posts were to be abandoned, the trading operations of the steamboat Beaver expanded, and a new port was to be established at the southern end of Vancouver Island. Douglas made a reconnaissance of the tip of Vancouver Island in July and in March started the construction of Fort Victoria.

The building of Fort Victoria signalled the approach of the last great days of the Columbia District. Its provisions contract with the Russians, however, had necessitated diversification of operations. Faced with the presence of the American immigrants led into the Willamette Valley in by Dr Elijah White and by the arrival in of wagon-loads of settlers, McLoughlin made a virtue of necessity.

The new settlers were well armed but they lacked money and supplies. Douglas knew that McLoughlin and Simpson were now moving towards a complete break in their personal relations. He remained loyal to the doctor. He viewed with grave concern the interest of the United States government in additional good ports on the Pacific coast. As American immigration swelled the white population in Oregon to 6, in , the provisional government extended its jurisdiction north of the Columbia River.

James douglas biography

The British government showed little concern about defending its claim to the river. McLoughlin and Douglas would now go their separate ways: McLoughlin had decided to throw in his lot with the Americans; without wavering for a moment, Douglas remained loyal to the company and to Britain. When, in , the British government relinquished its claims to the north bank of the Columbia River and accepted the 49th parallel as the boundary, Douglas reorganized the brigade routes from New Caledonia to make them converge at Fort Langley on the lower Fraser River.

In he investigated the market at Honolulu for salmon and lumber. To prevent American expansion northward, the company on 13 Jan. Preparations for the governor, the colonists, and the farm bailiffs sent from England were incomplete when Blanshard arrived at Fort Victoria in March Workmen were deserting for the California goldfields.

Blanshard had already sent in his resignation. Awaiting its acceptance, the governor became attentive to complaints that too much power was vested in Douglas, that land prices were too high, and that prices at the company store were exorbitant. Settlement was so impeded by the selective immigration policy of the Colonial Office that when Blanshard set up a council on 27 Aug.

On 16 May Douglas had been appointed governor and vice-admiral of Vancouver Island and its dependencies. The news did not reach him until 30 October. The gold discovered on Queen Charlotte Islands was protected from the American grasp, the company was advised to purchase the Nanaimo coalfield, Indian lands near Fort Victoria were bought and reserves laid out, roads were built, and schools established.

No matter concerned Douglas more than Indian policy. Towards the Indians, his attitude was one of benevolent paternalism, though he followed the HBC rule that outrages must be speedily punished. To hunt a Cowichan murderer in , he organized among the company servants the Victoria Voltigeurs — a small group of volunteer militiamen — enlisted the services of the Royal Navy, and, for the trial, empanelled a jury on board the Beaver.

Shortly thereafter, the Colonial Office formally confirmed Douglas's proclamation of sovereignty and established a new colony encompassing the mainland. The Crown did not renew the company's trade monopoly on the mainland or Douglas' position as Chief Factor. Richard Clement Moody was handpicked by the Colonial Office , under Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton , to establish British order and to transform the newly established Colony of British Columbia into the British Empire's "bulwark in the farthest west" [ 10 ] and "found a second England on the shores of the Pacific".

Throughout his tenure in British Columbia, Moody was engaged in a bitter feud with Douglas, whose jurisdiction overlapped with his own. Moody had been selected by Lord Lytton due to his possession of the quality of the archetypal 'English gentleman and British Officer', his family was 'eminently respectable': he was the son of Colonel Thomas Moody , one of the wealthiest mercantilists in the West Indies, who owned much of the land in the islands where Douglas's father owned a small amount of land and from which Douglas's mother, 'a half-breed', originated.

Douglas's ethnicity made him 'an affront to Victorian society'. Mary Moody, the descendant of the Hawks industrial dynasty and the Boyd merchant banking family, [ 15 ] wrote on 4 August 'it is not pleasant to serve under a Hudson's Bay Factor' and that the 'Governor and Richard can never get on'. Margaret A. Ormsby, author of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry for Moody , condemns Moody for a contribution to the abortive development of the city.

However, most other historians have exonerated Moody for the abortive development of the city and consider his achievement to be impressive, especially with regard to the perpetual insufficiency of funds and the personally-motivated opposition of Douglas, whose opposition to the project continually slowed its development. Robert Edgar Cail, [ 20 ] Don W.

In August , news reached Douglas that two Vancouver Island miners had been killed by natives. He believed that the whole region was on the verge of war and went out to investigate. Numerous minor clashes between natives and whites had concluded without fatalities. After investigating the situation he found that alcohol had been a major cause, and prohibited the sale of liquor to natives.

While on the trip to the murder scene, Douglas brought the Crown Solicitor of Vancouver Island to uphold the law and make a show that demonstrated British law was still in effect. During the trip, he encountered a great number of squatting foreigners, reducing the total possible revenues for land sales to the government. In attempt to suppress unlawful acts, Douglas appointed regional constables , a Chief Inspector of Police Chartres Brew , and a network of intelligence officials.

Such preventive measures helped ensure that the chaos accompanying the California Gold Rush was not repeated in British Columbia. He was nicknamed "Old Squaretoes" for his stiffness. He reasoned because there were few U. He also said the Royal Navy and Marines were powerful and could easily do the job, ending with a statement that "with Puget Sound, and the line of the Columbia River in our hands, we should hold the only navigable outlets of the country — command its trade, and soon compel it to submit to Her Majesty's Rule.

Continuing his service as governor, Douglas authorised construction of the government buildings known as the "Birdcages" in In , with the discovery of rich gold deposits in the Cariboo region , sparking the Cariboo Gold Rush , Douglas ordered the construction of the Cariboo Road. This engineering feat ran miles from Fort Yale to Barkerville through extremely hazardous canyon territory.

Near the end of his term as governor, Douglas was criticized for not developing the colony as a self-governing body. His only political reform had been to initiate an elected Legislative Council. His argument against the creation of a self-governing colony was the state of the population: few were British subjects, most held permanent residence in the colony, and few of them owned property.

Like Douglas, they are both considered founding fathers of British Columbia. Helmcken married Douglas's daughter, Cecilia. Upon his retirement, Douglas was honoured with banquets in both Victoria and New Westminster , the capital of the mainland. He also received a thank you on paper signed by people. From to , Douglas toured Europe. He visited relatives in Scotland and a half-sister in Paris.

He had to return early when his daughter, Cecilia, died. Douglas continued to be active but kept out of politics in all forms. He died in Victoria of a heart attack on August 2, , at the age of His funeral procession was possibly the largest in the history of B. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools.

Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikisource Wikidata item. Governor of the Colony of British Columbia — For other people named James Douglas, see James Douglas disambiguation. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. James Douglas, wearing the insignia of the Order of the Bath. Amelia Douglas. Early life [ edit ]. North West Company [ edit ]. Edward imprisoned Sir William in the Tower of London and, on the latter's death in , confiscated the Douglas estates. It is not surprising, therefore, that the young James appears to have grown up with passionate anti-English feelings.

He reached manhood just as Robert Bruce laid claim to the crown of Scotland and from that time was one of Bruce's most faithful and important lieutenants. Douglas's career may be divided into two phases. The first was the 8 years of Bruce's struggle to claim the Scottish crown. This was a period of virtual guerrilla warfare , with Douglas emerging from his hiding places for a daring raid or the capture of a strategic castle.

At the decisive Scottish victory at Bannockburn in , Douglas commanded one of the four divisions of the Scots and, for his skillful leadership, was knighted on the battlefield by Bruce, now firmly established on the throne. After Bannockburn, in the second phase of his public career, Douglas served as Warden of the Marches the disputed frontier area between England and Scotland.

In he diverted an English threat to the borders by staging a raid deep into English territory. Ten years later he dispersed the danger of an English invasion by an audacious attack in which he surprised the enemy forces by night and nearly captured the young Edward III in his bed. Bruce's reliance on, and affection for, Sir James never ceased.

When the King was dying in , he apparently asked Sir James to carry out the spirit of an unfulfilled crusading vow by bearing Bruce's heart to the Hold Land. During the subsequent journey Douglas joined the King of Castile in a "crusade" against the Moslems in Spain and died there in battle in It is as a hero of Scotish romance and legend that Douglas's real fame lies.

Two sobriquets, "the Good" and "the Black Douglas," indicate his differing reputations in Scotland and in England though "black" probably referred originally to the color of his hair. A full treatment of Douglas is in Sir Herbert E. Maxwell, A History of the House of Douglas … 2 vols. The principal near-contemporary source is John Barbour 's long poem The Bruce ca.

Mackenzie, , and by Archibald A. Douglas, Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. January 9, Retrieved January 09, from Encyclopedia.