James Douglas: Father of British Columbia

by Julie H. Ferguson

James Douglas's story is one of high adventure in pre-Confederation Canada. It weaves through the heart of Canadian and Pacific Northwest history when British Columbia was a wild land, Vancouver didn't exist, and Victoria was a muddy village.Part black and illegitimate, Douglas was born in British Guiana (now Guyana) in 1803 to a Scottish plantation owner and a mixed-race woman. After schooling in Scotland, the fifteen-year-old Douglas sailed to Canada in 1819 to join the fur trade. With roads non-existent, he travelled thousands of miles each year, using the rivers and lakes as his highways. He paddled canoes, drove dogsleds, and snowshoed to his destinations.Douglas became a hard-nosed fur trader, married a part-Cree wife, and nearly provoked a war between Britain and the United States over the San Juan Islands on the West Coast. When he was in his prime, he established Victoria and secrured the western region of British North America from the Russian Empire and the expansionist Americans. Eventually, Douglas became the controversial governor of the Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia and oversaw the frenzied Fraser and Cariboo gold rushes.Named one the the Best Books of 2010 (nonfiction - grades 7-12) by Resource Links Magazine.

219 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 5, 2009

About the author

Julie is a working writer, author, and a voracious reader.

A writer for forty-seven years, Julie is the author of five books for writers, including "Book Magic: Turning Writers into Published Authors" (now in its third edition) and "Crafting Irresistible Query Letters that Result in Publication," and fifteen other nonfiction books. Julie's many articles and photographs have appeared in international, national, and regional publications, as well as on the Web. Today her focus is travel writing and photography.

Julie has experienced it all — commercial and self-publication, print and electronic publishing, as well as print-on-demand.

Her first non-fiction book, "Through a Canadian Periscope; the Story of the Canadian Submarine Service" (Dundurn) appeared in 1995. Not only was it hailed as “a major contribution to our naval history,” Canadian booksellers chose it for Books for Everyone for Christmas 1995 and Dundurn re-released it in a second edition in 2014 for the centenary of the Canadian Submarine Service. Her second book, "Deeply Canadian: New Submarines for a New Millennium" (Beacon Publishing), was released in the fall of 2000 electronically (commercial) and in print (POD). Now updated, it is available in its 2nd edition as an ebook with restored and additional images. "Sing a New Song: Portraits of Canada’s Crusading Bishops," again from Dundurn, came out in May 2006 and her last Dundurn book is a YA biography, "James Douglas: Father of British Columbia" that was also featured in Books for Everyone in 2009.

Since early 2001, Julie has also self-published (DIY) six books for writers, speakers, and teachers, travel journals, two family histories, one for a health authority, and sixteen photo portfolios.

Not only is Julie a successful author, she is also an accomplished professional speaker and trainer who taught for Vancouver Community College and presented at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference for nine years. From 1997 to 2010, she was also in great demand with school districts and leads sessions for teachers' professional development events and students that inspire participants to develop their writing skills while having fun. Julie's keynotes and many break-out sessions for writers include "All Aboard the Electronic Express," "Pitching in a Cold Climate, and "Create Gorgeous Family Memory Books." She is also a facilitator of one of the acclaimed Port Moody Writers' Groups that have been running for over forty years

Julie's honest, one-on-one coaching practice guides writers who seek either commercial or self-publication for their books and/or articles, as well as assists with writing promotional material, such as bios and book descriptors.

"...from inspiration to publication" TM

Reviews

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was in school, Canadian history was a major part of our curriculum over the years, but I doubt I retained more than five percent of what I was taught. If we had had books like James Douglas: Father of British Columbia to read, I would have remembered much more. Julie H. Ferguson’s captivating biography of Sir James Douglas makes history compelling and entertaining.

Written for teen readers, the book provides a detailed, chronological exploration of Douglas’s personal and professional life that include excerpts from his letters and a bit of imagined dialogue. Clearly, James Douglas was a complicated man, not without faults, and Ferguson’s balanced view offers intriguing insight about Douglas’s character. And a strong character this man was as he travelled by canoe and snowshoe throughout Canada numerous times, worked his way up the ranks of HBC, and eventually became the first governor of the Colonies of Vancouver Island. He survived hardship, hunger, family tragedies, and even the gold rush era.

The author provides a timeline of Douglas’s life (1803-1877) accompanied by major events in the U.S., Canada, and Britain before and during that period. The timeline makes a terrific reference point and exemplifies the intense change and challenge Canada experienced in the nineteenth century. Anyone interested in Canadian history should read this beautifully written book, not only for its historical value, but to better understand the man who gave everything he had to help shape this country. You won’t be disappointed.

[Cynthia Heinrichs · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, but I disliked the fictionalization of parts. Besides the fact that these odd breaks into conversations between Douglas and others seemed to be most common in the beginning of the book and then tapered off, I found them jarring in their huge shift out of the tone of the rest of the book. Straight non-fiction would have been better, and in particular with the letters Ferguson writes that are supposedly in the voice of Douglas. Better to use the man's own words. The mix did not work for me.

[Doug Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julie Ferguson has done a first-rate job with this creative nonfiction biography of Douglas. Her research is impeccable. The book is well illustrated and James Douglas comes alive on the pages. This should be a must-read for all students who want to know more about how British Columbia came to be.