Over 2,000 years ago, the Coast Salish people occupied the present day area of Vancouver. The Fraser Gold Rush of 1858 brought thousands of prospectors to the area. Gastown, centered near the Hastings sawmill, was established in 1863 to serve the needs of the growing community. It was declared a town in 1870 and renamed Granville. In 1886, it was renamed for George Vancouver, a captain in the Royal Navy.
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In 1608, Samuel Champlain built three stockades to strengthen French claims in Canada. The settlement was named Habitation de Québec. Alliances with the Algonquin and Huron people were successful and the village prospered. In 1759, the Plains of Abraham, an area outside Québec City, became a battle site in the French and Indian War, a battle to decide if Canada would be controlled by the French or the British.
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The city of Hamilton was official chartered in 1846, but the area had been a destination point for large numbers of displaced Americans loyal to the British cause during and after the American Revolutionary War. With the arrival of the Great Western Railway in 1854 and the completion of the Niagara Suspension Bridge in 1855, Hamilton was fully connected to Canada and the United States.
