September 20, 2024 | National Post via UVic News
A recent article published by National Post highlights the story of the Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps — also known as the African Rifles — and its significance in British Columbia’s history. Governor James Douglas, an apparently devout abolitionist, formed a militia of Black men to assert Crown authority, and to deter American expansion during the American Civil War and coinciding gold rush. The African Rifles were composed of Black settlers from San Francisco who were afforded equal rights in Victoria, unlike in California where they had come from.
Daniel Marshall, a historian and adjunct history professor at the University of Victoria, argues that Canadian history often gets conflated with its American counterpart, especially with regards to racism, even when that simply wasn’t the case. “Why do we need to have this American narrative overlaid on us?” says Marshall, “It’s like everybody’s up in arms all the time, as if we’re part of the story of racism from south of the border.” Marshall argues that British Columbia’s history, particularly during the colonial period under Governor James Douglas, does not fit these patterns. In the article, Marshall expresses concern that by associating our history with that of America, scholars have pushed Canadians away from genuine curiosity over our colonial past.
Marshall’s work at UVic focuses on presenting a more nuanced and engaging view of British Columbia’s history, challenging the conventional narratives surrounding the establishment of the province. Known for his lively storytelling approach, Marshall aims to cultivate genuine curiosity about B.C.’s past. His most recent book, Untold Tales of Old British Columbia, has been successful. It stayed on B.C.’s bestseller list for several weeks, reflecting a public interest on the topic.
Dr. Marshall’s Masters thesis was digitized and uploaded to UVicSpace as part of the UVic Libraries effort to make student research available and accessible to global audiences. You can read more about that initiative here. If you are interested in reading Marshall’s thesis, you can find it and more on our institutional repository UVicSpace.
Image by Brigitte Werner
