This Short History of British Columbia is designed to provide the average reader with a quick but accurate survey of the broad outline of British Columbia’s development. The emphasis in this book is on the political developments that shaped the province as it is today, subjects such as the meeting between First Nations and Europeans, immigration and settlement, economic activities like the fur trade, fishing and mining, and the attainment of provincial status. It explains the reasons for the boom that preceded the First World War and the depression that followed, including such issues as prohibition and women’s suffrage. The Depression, Social Credit, resource development, and more modern developments complete the account.

The idea for this series of short histories first arose in 1969 when the author moved to Nova Scotia. Being new to the province, and knowing very little about it, he went looking for a short history book which would provide an outline of the development of his newly adopted home. There was no such book. In 1973, he moved to Quebec, later to Ontario, and in neither place could he find a short and simple account of the provinces’ development. In 1975, he decided to write the sort of book he had been looking for, and what better place to start than with his native province of Manitoba. The result was the Short History of Manitoba. A new edition was published by Midtown in 2019. It is deliberately designed as an inexpensive pamphlet that can be read in a few hours.

Ed Whitcomb was raised in Oak Lake, Manitoba. He received a BA from the University of Manitoba in 1964, capturing the University silver medals in History and Economics, the Brandon College Faculty Prize and the Honour Society Award. In 1966, he completed an MA at the University of Manitoba in Canadian and European History. He received a Ph.D. from the University of London, England in 1970, published by Duke University Press under the title Napoleon’s Diplomatic Service. After teaching History at universities in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Manitoba, he joined the Canadian Foreign Service. He retired in 2009 to work full-time on promoting Canadian history and music.

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