Vancouver has a dynamic and colourful history. First Nations peoples, the original inhabitants of the Greater Vancouver region, were met by Spanish and British explorers who discovered and mapped the Pacific Northwest Coast in the late 1700's.
First Nations people began trading furs with Europeans in the early 19th century. The Hudson's Bay Company administered fishing, farming and fur trading activities in Fort Langley in 1826. This contributed to a strong economy with good jobs, and as a result, Europeans began to settle in the area. At this time, Hawaiian people also moved to Fort Langley and worked with First Nations people in the lucrative Pacific fishing trade.
Asian, American and European communities formed the diverse neighbourhoods of Vancouver. This western Canadian city developed a strong economy, boosted early on by the lumber industry, the Klondike Gold Rush, and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Japanese migrant workers moved to work in the Vancouver lumber mills, and Chinese labourers helped construct the Canadian Pacific Railway in BC. These Asian groups became early settlers of Vancouver. Indeed, Vancouver was a city founded by immigrants with communities settling in many areas.
The Canadian Pacific Railway sea and rail trade boosted Vancouver's local economy bringing more new immigrants to the city. To help accommodate this growing population, there were many construction projects happening in the early 20th century. By the 1950's, further building occurred in downtown Vancouver; expansion also started to take place beyond the city's centre as families began to form new suburban communities. In the 1960's, Vancouver was named hippie capital of Canada; this movement brought a lot of social change to the city. A strong environmental front persisted in the 1970's influenced by the newly established Greenpeace organization.
With the influx of Chinese immigrants in the 1980's, Vancouver was seen as one of the most multicultural cities in the world. In little over 120 years, Vancouver has become an internationally recognized. The lucrative end result is a thriving city of constant growth and rich cultural diversity.
Video - Vancouver Street Scenes in 1907 (Granville, Hastings...)