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Captain James Cook first made contact with the area now known as British Columbia in 1778. The colonists who followed soon realized they needed a written history, both to justify their dispossession of Aboriginal peoples and to formulate an identity for a new settler society. Writing British Columbia History traces how Euro-Canadian historians took up this task, and struggled with the newness of colonial society and overlapping ties to the British Empire, the United States, and Canada. This exploration of the role of history writing in colonialism and nation building will appeal to anyone interested in the history of British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest, and history writing in Canada.

The distinctive character of B.C., which is found not only in its spectacular environment, but also in its community, its politics and its past, is admirably captured in this collection of 16 essays.

Internet version contains all the information in the 14 volume print and CD-ROM versions; fully searchable by keyword or by browsing the name index.