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Vancouver History, A Glancing View

Vancouver is know for its unrivaled lush natural beauty and cultural diversity that gives way to its rich history.

The Coast Salish people have called Vancouver home for thousands of years. Their history and cultural traditions with their deep respect for nature and humanity are seen all through the city’s cultural life.

In 1792 Captain George Vancouver explored the Burrard Inlet better known today as the shores of the city. He wrote about the area’s “innumerable pleasing landscapes”. But the discovery of gold was the true force that drove substantial European settlements to the region of Vancouver.

In 1827 the Hudson’s Bay Company had set up a trading post along the Fraser River just east of present Vancouver as it is today. By 1858 the gold rush on the Fraser River brought thousands of prospectors to the area and the influx of pioneers would continue as the gold fever spread.

Without a doubt the city’s most popular pioneer is Vancouver legend “Gassy Jack” Deighton. Establishing the area’s very first saloon in 1867 on the south shore of the Burrard Inlet.  The area would become known as Gastown. Then in 1888 the legendary Stanley Park officially opened, named for Lord Stanley the former Governor General of Canada.

Transportation, Development, Celebration

As the city grew more development was taking place all the time, like the Canadian Pacific Railway. In the 1880s it greatly boosted the growing area and ushered in a mass arrival of Chinese workers. It was the promise of coast-to-coast connection that led the province into the Confederation in 1871. In 1886 as the railway line was nearing completion the town of Granville incorporated as the City of Vancouver. By now it was taking on a dominant role in the province’s economic and social life.  It was clear that the defining fact was the towns renowned transportation hub that set it apart as one of the leading regions.

Just a century later and the city would be celebrating its 100th birthday party of international proportions. Being host to the Expo ‘86 World Exposition. Looking back one can see that with all the development laid out in the transportation arena there was a direct link between this then urban centre and the theme that surround an event based on those transportation achievements.

The appeal of today’s Vancouver is much more cosmopolitan and can be attributed to its international population of citizens. You will find many culters that have richly blessed Vancouver from First Nations populations as well as British descendants, Chinese, Japanese, German, Indo-Pakistani, French, Italian, Dutch, Scandinavian, Ukranian, Filipino, Jewish and Greek, among other diverse nationalities.

In July 2003 Vancouver was named the host city for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Today Vancouver continues to be a world-class city drawing the masses to her shores and expansive lands, it’s a town that can best be described as unforgettable.