Kilts on the Coast
The Scots Who Built BC
- Publisher
- Heritage House Publishing
- Initial publish date
- Feb 2012
- Category
- General
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781927051276
- Publish Date
- Feb 2012
- List Price
- $22.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781927051283
- Publish Date
- Feb 2012
- List Price
- $19.95
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 15
- Grade: 10
Description
When the Hudson's Bay Company decided to establish its new Pacific coast headquarters at Fort Victoria on Vancouver Island in 1843, the Island was a pristine paradise—or an isolated wilderness, depending on one's point of view—that had sustained its First Nations inhabitants for millennia. It was one of the last places to be discovered and settled by Europeans in North America.
It was Scots who came to the Island to manage the Company's business in Fort Victoria, engaging in the fur trade and establishing coal-mining ventures around what is now Nanaimo, where "black diamonds" were found in abundance.
From founding father James Douglas and other high-placed Company men to the humble miners from Orkney and Ayrshire who were brought over on harsh voyages around Cape Horn to work Nanaimo's mines, the Scottish influence on the young Colony of Vancouver Island was indelible. Nanaimo author and historian Jan Peterson focuses on events and people who sparked settlement and growth in BC's first Crown Colony over six critical years, 1848 to 1854, and delves deep into the roots of the Island's Scottish presence, tracing the lives of such pioneers as Dr. William Tolmie, Robert Dunsmuir and their descendants.
About the author
Born and educated in Scotland, Jan Peterson immigrated with her family to Kingston, Ontario, in 1957. In 1972, she moved with her husband, Ray, and their three children to Port Alberni. With a lifelong interest in painting, writing, and history, she is recognized for her many years of involvement in the arts and community service. As a reporter for the Alberni Valley Times, she won a Jack Wasserman Award for investigative journalism. Jan and Ray retired to Nanaimo in 1996, where she continues to research and write. She is the author of nine previous books, including Hub City: Nanaimo 1886-1920 and Kilts on the Coast: The Scots Who Built BC.
Editorial Reviews
Together, the biographies result in a comprehensive story of the Scots on the Island. It's hard to argue with the notion that they planted the seeds for much of what we know today . . . [Kilts on the Coast] is a worthy addition to the history of Vancouver Island.” —Dave Obee, Times Colonist
“It . . . provide[s] interesting glimpses into the experiences of a number of pioneer immigrants who carved out new lives on Vancouver Island in the middle of the nineteenth century.” —Jack Little, BC Studies
Librarian Reviews
Kilts on the Coast: The Scots Who Built BC
This book traces the history of the Scottish pioneers who established a new British colony on Vancouver Island in the mid19th century. The Orcadians, primarily farmers and fisherman from the Orkney Islands, were a struggling working class people used to harsh living conditions. In Canada, they became indentured to the Hudson’s Bay Company for three to five years, contributing to the pervasive Scottish influence of the HBC on Vancouver Island. Eventually able to buy land, Scots played an integral role in sparking the Island’s growth and development. Detailed research of business managers, skilled labourers, fur traders, miners and the “Coal Baron” Dunsmuirs of Nanimo, and profiles of Sir George Simpson, HBC's “Little Emperor”, and the “Father of the Fur Trade” James Douglas make this an insightful read.Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. BC Books for BC Schools. 2012-2013.
