Reports of gold discoveries on Haida Gwaii (then known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) in 1851 sparked great excitement among British and American settlers along the Pacific Northwest. On March 29, 1851, Governor Richard Blanshard wrote Earl Grey, the British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies: "I have heard that fresh specimens of gold have been obtained from the Queen Charlotte Islanders. I have not seen them myself, but they are reported to be very rich."
Throughout the early 1850s, groups of miners arrived on Haida Gwaii in hopes of mining gold. However, their endeavors only turned up small quantities, and repeatedly faced accidents, shipwrecks, and resistance from the local Haida people. While settlers pursued the newly discovered gold on Haida Gwaii in the 1850s, oral histories show that the Haida Nation has lived on the archipelago for thousands of years.
When he learned of the increased efforts of American gold seekers on Haida Gwaii, Governor James Douglas wrote to the Duke of Newcastle, the Queen's principle Secretary of State for the Colonies on April 11, 1853, declaring the rights of the Crown to gold found "within the limits of Queen Charlottes Island, and forbidding all persons, to dig, or disturb the soil in search, of gold..." The Colony of Queen Charlotte Islands was established, and Governor Douglas was appointed the Colony’s Lieutenant Governor. By the late 1850s, Haida Gwaii's gold rush was declared a bust, but it did help ensure Haida Gwaii became part of the Colony of British Columbia, ending any remaining American claims to the islands.