Victoria (Canada)

Port and capital of British Columbia, Canada, on the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island, overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, 132 km/83 mi west of mainland Vancouver; population (2001 est) 74,100. It is a manufacturing, tourist, and retirement centre, and has a naval base. Industries include shipbuilding, food-processing, sawmilling, fishing, and the manufacture of chemicals, clothing, and furniture.

History
Founded in 1843 as a fur-trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company, Victoria was incorporated in 1852, and became a city in 1862. It became capital of the Crown colony of Vancouver Island in 1849, and capital of British Columbia in 1868; the colonies merged in 1866. Victoria lost out economically to Vancouver after 1886 when the railway reached the mainland city.