East India House demolished. The site is now occupied by the Lloyd's building. Many of the old building's fittings, art collection and furniture were saved: some are now to be found in India House, the seat of the Indian High Commission in London; while other items are held by the British Library as part of its Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections. East India House East India House was the London headquarters of the East India Company, from which much of British India was governed until the British government took control of the Company's possessions in India in 1858. It was located in Leadenhall
Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Vancouver Island and the surrounding Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia were organised as a crown colony in 1849. Meanwhile, the mainland continued to function under the de facto administration of the HBC, whose chief executive, James Douglas, also happened to be governor of Vancouver Island. The non-aboriginal mainland population during this time never exceeded about 150 at Fort Victoria, mostly HBC employees and their families. By 1857, Americans and British were beginning to respond to rumors of gold in the Thompson River area. Almost overnight, some ten to twenty thousand men moved