1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Victoria (Canada)

VICTORIA, the capital of British Columbia and the principal city of Vancouver Island, in the S.E . corner of which it is finely situated (48° 25′ 20″ N., 123° 22′ 24″ W.), on a small arm of the sea, its harbour, however, only admitting vessels drawing 18 ft. Pop. (1906) about 25,000. It is the oldest city in the province. It has fine streets, handsome villas and public buildings, government offices and churches. The high school is affiliated with McGill University, in Montreal. Victoria is connected with the mainland by cable, and is a favourite tourist resort for the whole west coast of North America. Till 1858 Victoria was a post of the Hudson's Bay Company. The city was incorporated in 1862, and according to the census of 1886 the population was 14,000, including Chinese and Indians, spread over an area of 4 sq. m. Until the redistribution of the fleet in 1905, the headquarters of the British Pacific squadron was at Esquimalt, a fine harbour about 3 m. W. of Victoria. This harbour, though spacious, is not much used by merchant vessels. It is provided with a large dry-dock and is defended by fortifications of a modern type.