British Columbia history resources
On-line resources
Compiled by Dr. Patrick A. Dunae
Department of History
Vancouver Island University
Library and archival sources specific to Vancouver Island University
An annotated bibliography of primary and secondary research material available in the university library and in regional libraries and archives in Nanaimo.
viHistory.ca - The Vancouver Island History Website
This website features a growing number of historical records. Presently, it includes searchable databases of the Vancouver Island census for 1881, 1891 and 1901. Directories for Nanaimo and Victoria (1882, 1892 & 1902) and tax assessment rolls for Nanaimo, c. 1881 and 1891 are also accessible on the viHistory ca web site.
Victoria Daily Colonist newspaper index
A general index to the British Colonist (also called the Daily Colonist) from 1858-1921 (years 1894-1899 incomplete but in process). The index was compiled by Leona Taylor and the searchable database was developed by the Humanities Computing and Research Centre at the University of Victoria.
British Columbia Archives World Wide Web server.
This site will enable researchers to consult finding aids to manuscripts and government records, and to access hundreds of historical maps and thousands of historical photographs. Researchers can also search the Archives' online Library catalogue by author, subject or title.
Nanaimo Community Archives
The NCA is the official repository of archival records of the City of Nanaimo, Nanaimo District Museum and the Nanaimo Historical Society.
Holdings include service club, community organization, fraternal club, family and a wide range of other community records, plus maps, fire insurance plans and tax assessment registers.
British Columbia History Portal
The Portal is maintained by David Mattison and will eventually replace the British Columbia History Internet/World-Wide Web Page (below). Information is being slowly transferred from the old site to the new Portal. "No site updates are being made to the BC History Internet/Web Site," Mr. Mattison advises, "so you will need to check both locations until such time as content on the BC History Internet/Web Site is fully duplicated on the BC History Portal."
British Columbia History Internet/World-Wide Web Page
Compiled by David Mattison, reference archivist in the British Columbia Archives, this is the most up-to-date, comprehensive meta site for resources relating to the history of British Columbia.
British Columbia Archives Union List [BCAUL].
Created and maintained by the Archives Association of British Columbia [AABC]. The list describes the holdings of nearly 200 archival repositories in British Columbia. The BCAUL site includes a searachable data base, which allows researchers to search by repository, by subject, or by creator. Over one hundred collections or fonds held by the Nanaimo Community Archives are listed on the BCAUL directory. Descriptions of fonds held by the City of Victoria Archives are also readily accessible here.
The Homeroom: British Columbia's History of Education web site
The Homeroom is a social history of British Columbia, focusing on provincial schools (public and independent), colleges and universities. It includes timelines of educational milestones from the 1840s to the 1990s, biographical sketches of teachers and administrators, curriculum material (including audio files of early school radio broadcasts), and an authoritative bibliography of scholarly books and journal articles.
Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History
This innovative web site contains an extensive range of primary and secondary sources for studying unsolved mysteries, including several that took place in British Columbia. Who killed William Robinson, an African American settler murdered on Salt Spring Island in 1868; what events were behind the Chilcotin War of 1864; and why was Doukhobor leader Peter Veregin assassinated in a railway car explosion in southeastern British Columbia in 1924?
University of Victoria History (Canada) Research Guide
This guide - which includes references and links to British Columbia material - contains selected subject specific research sources available at UVic Libraries and on the Internet. It is intended to provide a starting point for research in this subject, sufficient for basic research needs.
City of Nanaimo Heritage Information Pages
The City of Nanaimo website includes information on the city's heritage policies, an inventory of heritage sites and historic places, and a Virtual Heritage Walk of the community. It also features links to many local heritage-related associations. A first rate website for community-based history.
Newspaper Indexes & Vertical Files
A guide to using newspaper indexes and newspaper clipping files created by the former Provincial Archives of British Columbia (now the British Columbia Archives).
Victoria's Victoria
This website is a project of the History department at the University of Victoria in partnership with Vancouver Island University History Department and several regional archives. It is largely the work of students at the university and university college, who have designed the site and produced a series of web pages. The web site was launched in April 2002 with the completion of the first offering of UVic's "History 481: Micro History and the Internet". Now it is augmented annually with the results of the research from this and related courses. The detailed research on the site is accessible from the title bar by themes, people, places and decades. This website includes a very good Resources section with links to other sites about the history of Victoria and surrounding communities.
British Columbia Geographical Names Information System
The Geographic Data BC branch of the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks created this WWW forms-based interface to let you query the database of the BC Geographical Names Information System (BCGNIS) using either a Name Search or a "Bounding Box" [i.e. location] search.
British Columbia Museums Association
The BCMA's website includes a searchable directory of museums and heritage sites, plus notices of conferences and special events.
History of the Pacific Northwest
An eclectic website created by American historian Bruce Hallman, it includes striking visuals (maps, photographs, drawings) and transcripts of eighteenth and early nineteenth century journals and reminiscences. The site features material relating to First Nations oral traditions and domestic life (including traditional recipes for halibut and salmon).
Living Landscapes
Living Landscapes was created by the Royal British Columbia Museum as a regional outreach program involving intensive cooperation with other museums, First Nations, educators, naturalists and other agencies. The program's goal is to improve the understanding of the human and natural history of British Columbia. Presently, Living Landscapes focuses on the Thompson-Okanagan region, the Columbia Basin and the Upper Fraser Basin. The Thompson-Okanagan section includes a searchable database of nominal census records, c. 1877-1891, compiled by Duane Thomson; historical documents (edited by Dr. Thomson) and an inventory of historical photographs. The Upper Fraser section connects to a database of historic photographs from Barkerville and the Columbia Basin site features information on the history of agriculture in the East Kootenay region.
Ministry of Attorney General. Treaty Negotiations Office
This provincial government site includes extensive "Historical References" and a timeline from 1763 to 1996. The site also includes summaries of major court decisions, including the 1997 Supreme Court decision on Delgamuukw v. British Columbia.