A grassroots initiative to rename Canada’s Pacific province Cordillerans for a Non-British Non-Columbia is a group of concerned citizens dedicated to the proposition that Canada’s Pacific province deserves a more appropriate, more descriptive, and more melodious name than the one it is currently saddled with.
Truth be told, the place known as British Columbia is not and never has been either British or Columbian.
It is true that Britain once laid claim to this far-flung corner of the globe, but it did so for not much more than a decade (1858-1871), or approximately 0.1 percent of the time that the land has been inhabited. The claim was, in any case, more than a little preposterous, considering that when the Brits advanced it they occupied less than five percent of the territory they professed to govern and were outnumbered a hundred-to-one by its indigenous people.
As for Christopher Columbus, the province’s other ill-conceived namesake, he was of the opinion that no such place even existed, stoutly asserting, in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary, that the Atlantic Ocean stretched all the way to East Asia.
Fortunately, there’s another term for the majestic landscapes that run from the Canadian Rockies to the sea, a term already in use by geographers: Cordillera (core•dill•AIR•uh), defined in various dictionaries as “a system of parallel mountain ranges together with the intervening plateaus, valleys, basins, rivers, lakes, and plains.” We Cordillerans believe this is not only a name that better befits our province, but also one that sounds sweeter and rolls more smoothly off the tongue.
If we’re making sense to you so far, you can read our Argument in greater (and more humorous) detail on the page that bears that name, listen to our Theme Song, and support the Cordillera Campaign by joining us or signing our petition. Tags: Cordillera Campaign, Cordillerans for a Non-British Non-Columbia, CNBNC, Cordillera, British Columbia, Canada, place names
