British Columbia at the middle of the 19th century, had 3 options: Remain a colony of Britain, annex itself to the United States, or join the Dominion of Canada. The option of remaining a colony was undesirable, for Britain had long adopted a "little Briton" policy, under which the key to economic efficiency, and reduction of bloat, was to cut off connections to its various colonies. The option of joining with Canada was also viewed as impractical, and unlikely to occur; the closest Canadian neighbor lay more than a thousand kilometers away, to the east. For most British Colombians, annexation to the United States seemed most logical. Ultimately, however, British Columbia did confederate. The advocacy of the Confederation League, resulted in British Colombian's demanding that BC join Canada. On July 20, 1871, British Columbia joined Canada. In return, BC was absolved of its debt, which became Canada's responsibility, and Canada promised to build a railway to BC within 10 years.