Today, Queen Victoria is early 200 years old

Click image to enlarge 1901 image (c. 1MB, new window)

1819 Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (UK) (d. 1901) was born at Kensington Palace, London. There were eight assassination attempts on Queen Victoria.

In 1860, during one of the first true royal tours of Canada, First Nations put on displays, expressed their loyalty to Queen Victoria, and presented concerns about misconduct on the part of the Indian Department to the Queen's son, Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, when he was in Upper Canada. In that same year, Nahnebahwequay of the Ojibwa secured an audience with the Queen. When Governor General the Marquess of Lorne and his wife, Princess Louise, a daughter of Queen Victoria, visited British Columbia in 1882, they were greeted upon arrival in New Westminster by a floatilla of local Aboriginals in canoes who sang songs of welcome before the royal couple landed and proceeded through a ceremonial arch built by Aboriginals, which was hung with a banner reading "Clahowya Queenastenass", Chinookian for 'Welcome Queen'. The following day, the Duke and Duchess gave their presence to an event attended by thousands of First Nations people and at least 40 chiefs. One presented the Princess with baskets, a bracelet, and a ring of Aboriginal make and Louise said in response that, when she returned to the United Kingdom, she would show these items to the Queen.

Once the Dominion Crown purchased what remained of Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay Company and colonial settlement expanded westwards, more treaties were signed between 1871 and 1921, wherein the Crown brokered land exchanges that granted the aboriginal societies reserves and other compensation, such as livestock, ammunition, education, health care, and certain rights to hunt and fish. This situation under the Crown was regarded by the First Nations as better than that which had befallen their brethren in the United States. The treaties did not ensure peace: as evidenced by the North-West Rebellion of 1885, sparked by Métis people's concerns over their survival and discontent on the part of Cree people over perceived unfairness in the treaties signed with Queen Victoria.