BC Black History Timeline

1850
Mar 11
March 11, 1850: Vancouver Island becomes a Colony

The Imperial Government of the Crown Colony of Vancouver Island was created on March 11, 1850. Richard Blanshard, a 32 year-old barrister from a wealthy British family, formally assumed office as Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island.

1834
Aug 01
1834-08-01 Slavery Abolition Act in the British Empire/Canada

The Slavery Abolition Act, passed by the British Parliament in 1833, came into force on August 1, 1834. In fact, the Act liberated less than 50 enslaved Africans in British North America. For most enslaved people in Canada, the Act resulted only in partial liberation, only emancipated children under the age of six, and obliged others to be retained for four to six years as apprentices. The Act did initiate the formal end to slavery, and since 2021 Emancipation Day has been commemorated annually in Canada on August 1. Emancipation Day in Canada: Past, Present, and Future [caption id="attachment_3988" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade at the United Nations. ©United Nations. This Permanent Memorial was unveiled on 25 March 2015 to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade; located on the United Nations Visitors Plaza in New York, the memorial invites people everywhere to contemplate the legacy of the slave trade and to fight against racism and prejudice today.[/caption] Emancipation and abolition of slavery became law in the U.S. through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution after it was ratified by 2/3 of the states on December 6, 1865.  

Jul 01
About This Timeline
Bottom half of book cover with the words BC Black History Timeline, background is 2 images side by side shaded in light blue and yellow

The BC Black History Timeline covers events in British Columbia as well as some significant events in Canada, the United States and globally that affected Black settlement and the experiences of Black people in BC. The first Black settlers arrived in BC in April 1858, 24 years after the Abolition of Slavery Act; however Black Canadian history dates back to the 1600s. We've also published a 52-page illustrated booklet to purchase by donation.  Find out more  Some events occurred on a specific date and others took place over a period of time.     Timelines can ... Connect individual events and people and their relation to an era as a whole Demonstrate the overlapping or concurrency of seemingly unrelated events Highlight patterns played out in history Identify cause and effect relationships surrounding historical events Improve recollection of events, people and places and their relationship to each other