British Columbia
The first major gold rush in British Columbia started in 1858, after gold was discovered, on the upper reaches of the Fraser River. The sudden onslaught of uncouth Americans led to the declaration that British Columbia shall be a crown colony, instead of the unincorporated region it was, after the Oregon spat. James Douglas was appointed the governor of the newly formed colony, as well as the Colony of Vancouver Island, and for military convenience, the Capital of British Columbia was declared Queensboro, then renamed New Westminster. As massive numbers of Americans came, fears that the Americans would try to bluster themselves another chunk of territory became more and more concrete. Thus, a contingent of Royal Engineers and Marines were deployed to New Westminster. To this day, the neighbourhood of Sapperton, is known, for its history as a site of the barracks for the Engineers, nicknamed the Sappers. The infrastructure ordered by James Douglas, to support the vast amount of capital flowing from the gold industry, caused high debt for British Columbia. By 1864, British Columbia was £200,000 in debt, plus an additional £18,000, from various spats with natives, and constant policing required to maintain law and order.  Its vast amount of gold was useless, while BC was in debt.  British Columbia amalgamated with Vancouver Island, forming one super-colony. Vancouver Island would undertake the debt, and British Columbia's capital would be in Victoria.