African Rifles
Organized into the “African Rifles,” as the Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps was otherwise known, they were a volunteer militia.
"Organized into the “African Rifles,” as the Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps was otherwise known, the volunteer militia was drawn from several hundred Black Americans Douglas had invited north in 1858 to escape the violent racism that afflicted California. Around the same time, Douglas welcomed hundreds of Chinese settlers who had fled California for Vancouver Island, for the same reasons."
London insisted on strict neutrality, but as American miners began pouring into Victoria bound for the Cariboo goldfields, they were greeted by Black men, armed, in uniform.
"Douglas is known to have hosted an Emancipation Day celebration as early as 1855...In the early 1860s, while the United States was in the throes of a bloody civil war on the very question of slavery..."
On the induction of Douglas’s successor as Vancouver Island’s governor, Arthur Kennedy, the African Rifles were first denied the right to participate in Douglas’s retirement ceremonies, and then banned from service in Kennedy’s honour guard. The all-Black Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps was disbanded two years later.
The British Columbia that might of been - August 3, 2020
"The Pig War that began in 1859 on San Juan Island reminded the colonists of Vancouver Island that, without their own military, the Royal Navy could only do so much to defend them, assuming the fleet was even in port. After having been denied admittance to the local fire brigades due to racism, Victoria’s black community decided to form a volunteer militia unit to help protect the colony. Governor Douglas was keen to accept a volunteer force that supported itself through the sponsorship of the wealthy black merchant, Mifflin Gibbs. Recruiting began in the spring of 1860, and with 40–50 black men enlisted, the Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps was born. In July 1861, having risen swiftly in popularity, the Corps was officially sworn in. The men of the ‘African Rifles,’ as they became known, built their own drill hall on Yates Street, and even chipped in to pay for a drill sergeant from the Royal Navy to train them. Ordered directly from England, their uniforms consisted of green jackets with orange facings in the style of the British rifleman. However, arming the African Rifles was an ongoing problem. They were only able to acquire the use of second-hand flintlocks from the Hudson’s Bay Company, and, despite repeated requests to the governor, were not issued rifles until 1864.
With the changing of Governors from Douglas to Arthur Kennedy, the Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps was granted the loan of a number of rifles in order that they might practice with, and use them, in the parade welcoming the new governor. Unfortunately, due to racism demonstrated by the parade committee, the African Rifles was denied the right to march in the parade. A week later, when the Corps presented itself to the new governor, they were met with a very politic answer, meant to acknowledge their place in the community without committing to support them in the future, for fear of losing favour with the racist factions of the colony. Nearly two years after the parade, the government asked for their rifles back, and the Corps returned them, along with a notice. “…the VPRC had not disbanded, but had not met for drill because of government discouragement and the depletion of its ranks by Blacks returning to the United States." - The Colonial Militia of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1853–1871
"...800 Black immigrants, invited to settle here by Governor James Douglas, helped to stabilize British colonial communities and keep this area of Western Canada from American hands. At the time of this migration, the province of British Columbia, as we know it today was made up of the Colony of Vancouver Island and the Colony of British Columbia. James Douglas was the Governor of both colonies...The majority(Black immigrants) came from the western states(USA) where they were facing restrictive government legislation, ambivalence towards slavery and beatings, insults and legalized injustice. Even free Blacks were denied citizenship.- British Columbia’s Black Pioneers: Their Industry and Character Influenced the Vision of Canada
"The discovery of gold in California in 1848 set off a rush of Americans, including many Black Americans, to the Golden State to seek their fortunes and to find greater freedom in the far West. 10 years later, a Black exodus from the “free” state of California was caused by persistent prejudice and injustice. They found refuge in a most unlikely destination: Victoria, British Columbia." - Black Victorians and the California Gold Rush