Palliser expedition

A Section of a General Map of the Routes in British North America Explored by the Expedition Under Captain Palliser (1865)[1]

The Palliser expedition, officially the British North American Exploring Expedition, explored and surveyed the open prairies and rugged wilderness of western Canada from 1857 to 1860. The expedition was led by Irish-born explorer John Palliser, and accompanied by a party of four other men: James Hector, Eugène Bourgeau, Thomas Blakiston and John W. Sullivan.[2] With the support of the British government and the Royal Geographical Society it became an official expedition with the stated purpose of gathering scientific information about the landscapes of British-claimed north-western North America (today's western Canada), in particular the territory of Rupert's Land, including information on the geography, climate, soil, flora and fauna, in order to discover its capabilities for settlement and transportation.[3]

The expedition was the first detailed and scientific survey of the region between Lake Superior and the southern passes of the Rockies in British North America.[4] The expedition provided a better understanding of the remote western frontier and the new observations and knowledge were significant for the expansion into and development of the western prairies by European settlers.[5] The expedition's reports impacted changes in the economy, settlement, transportation, Indigenous communities and the campaign for expansionism in Canada.

  1. ^ Canada, Wyman Laliberte from Edmonton (2008-01-21), A Section of a General Map of the Routes in British North America Explored by the Expedition Under Captain Palliser (1865), retrieved 2018-03-29
  2. ^ Spry, Irene M. (1963). The Palliser Expedition: An Account of John Palliser's British North American Exploring Expedition 1857-1860. Toronto: The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited. pp. 1–310. ISBN 978-0770502874.
  3. ^ The papers of the Palliser expedition, 1857-1860, edited with an introd. and notes by Irene M. Spry. Toronto, Champlain Society, 1968.
  4. ^ HSMBC Plaque
  5. ^ Owram, Doug (2007). The Prairie West as Promised Land. Calgary: University of Calgary Press. pp. 3–28. ISBN 978-1552382301.