 Largely ignored by Canadian historians, it was one of the seminal events of the founding of the colony.Although it ended relatively peaceably, it was a major test of the new administration's control over the goldfields, which were distant and difficult to access from the centre of colonial authority at Victoria in the Colony of Vancouver Island (New Westminster had recently been surveyed as the "de jure" capital, but the "de facto" capital was in Victoria, where the Governor was located).British troops were not involved, and only arrived on scene once the war was over.