FROM UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON (BlackPast.Org)

[Peter Ramsey]

Rogers, Brittany Rose
University of Washington, Seattle
writes,

In 1858, blacks from California were invited by British Columbia Governor James Douglas to take up land in the new colony. In the United States, many blacks were denied rights such as citizenship rights, suffrage rights, and the right to homestead land, and they saw British Columbia as a place of freedom. Upon welcoming black settlers to Saltspring Island, James Douglas distributed land to the new settlers, allowed new black citizens the right to vote, and allowed black male citizens to become part of the local militia.

Among the black families that lived on the island were the Starks, the Harrisons, the Robinsons and the Copelands. Black families, like other families, had the right to take up country lands under the British homesteading system. As long as they would clear, fence, and build on their lands they could purchase them for low and deferred prices.

http://www.blackpast.org/?q=gah/saltspring-island-british-columbia