Along the exterior of the Legislative Library are 14 statues of individuals who held prominence in the earlier history of the territory now known as British Columbia. One of those statues depicts Captain George Vancouver.
George Vancouver, born in King’s Lynn, England, on June 22, 1757, is forever immortalized in the names of Vancouver Island and the City of Vancouver in British Columbia. After rising in rank under the command of Captain James Cook, Vancouver was dispatched as part of a British contingent responsible for securing land along the West Coast of Vancouver Island, which had already been claimed by the Spanish Empire. With the assistance of Chief Maquinna, Vancouver pursued peaceful negotiations with the Spanish over the disputed territory, which resulted in the Spanish withdrawing from the area. In addition to his diplomatic role in the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver skillfully mapped and charted the area’s extensive coastline, canvassing any inlet or cove along the way. Vancouver’s maps were extremely accurate for the time, and they were used to navigate the coast well into the 20th century. Captain George Vancouver died on May 12, 1798, in Petersham, England, where he is buried.
