History Essay: Analyzing the Murder of William Robinson in 1868

This essay delves into the historical mystery surrounding the 1868 murder of William Robinson on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. It critically analyzes the incident, the evidence presented, and the historical sources used to identify the killer, focusing on the trial and conviction of Tshuanhusset. The essay explores conflicting accounts, the role of racism in the investigation, and the missing pieces of evidence that complicate the case. It examines the broader historical context, including the social dynamics of the time, the impact of colonial legal systems, and the potential for miscarriages of justice. The analysis incorporates primary sources and secondary perspectives, highlighting the challenges of historical investigation and the complexities of determining the truth in a case marked by cultural misunderstandings and potential biases. The essay concludes by summarizing the key arguments and acknowledging the enduring mystery surrounding Robinson's death.

RUNNING HEAD: HISTORY
HISTORY
University Name
Name of course
Author Note

HISTORY 2
The thesis statement of this essay argues with the widely debatable topic of who killed
Robinson in light of the chapters of historical researches. The essay furthermore will critically
analyze the incident, the shreds of evidence, the historical sources as well as the missing pieces
of evidence towards identifying who killed Robinson.
Introduction
African American William Robinson was killed in 1868 on Salt Spring Island, British
Columbia. Two additional islanders were assassinated in 1867 and 1868 in African American
refugee communities, but only Robinson's assassination led to a jury. The
year 1869 witnessed the arrest and hanging of Tshuanhusset, an Indian Penelekut 1. Despite the
result, the evidence certainly fails to determine the culpability of Tshuanhusset. The credible
evidence gave rise to distorted history and fallacious hearsay that proved that he was certainly
guilty of the crime beyond any reasonable doubt. However, there are several different opinions in
that regard, with clear proofs and conflicting accounts which demonstrates that the 19th-century
legal system was guilty of an innocent man's assassination. The identification of Robinson's
murderer is a historical murder mystery, true to the site's title, a puzzle which gives an effective
gateway to investigate the frontier society and the essence of historic investigation 2.
Body Paragraph
1 "Who Killed William Robinson". Canadianmysteries.Ca, 2020,
https://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/robinson/home/indexen.html. Accessed 30 Mar 2020.
2 Sandwell, Ruth. "The Great Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian History: Using a web-based archives to teach
history." Canadian Social Studies 39.2 (2005): n2.

HISTORY 3
Incident -
William Robinson was a genuine black man killed in the British Colony of British
Columbia on Salt Spring Island in 1868. He arrived in the colony in the years leading to the
American Civil War a decade ago, as part of a group of Black Americans escaping persecution
and slavery. Robinson was among three island people who were murdered in less than two years
throughout this small community3. The three of them were Black. An indigenous person named
Tshuanhusset was accused of the killing of Robinson and was convicted and sentenced to death
in 1869. However looking closely, the pieces of evidence question the guilty verdict.
Convincing pieces of evidence
A broad range of historical documents and a variety of secondary perspectives were
collected on Salt Spring Islands and the three murders by historians Ruth Sandwell and John
Lutzvast. Between 1867 and 1869, Salt Spring Island and the immediate area witnessed four
significantly violent massacres, disturbing the gulf island and the nearby villages at their heart.
The assassination of Robinson was one of the majorly controversial events in the decade where
Tshuanahusset was hastily being arrested and convicted to death for the murder by the colonial
jury of the British court who took no initiation of the reaching the credible verdict who was
illiterate4. The murder of Robinson became of the point of discussion when Settler Giles Curtis
was also murdered and partly decapitated, eight months after the attack, when his farm-hand
3 "Who Killed William Robinson". Canadianmysteries.Ca, 2020,
https://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/robinson/home/indexen.html. Accessed 30 Mar 2020
4 Guldager, Ole. "Brattahlið reconsidered. Some thoughts on the social structure of Medieval Norse Greenland, and
the location of Brattahlið." (2002).

HISTORY 4
companion Howard Estes was at the Sunday morning church. Although Tshuanahusset may have
been able to get involved in the murder of Curtis until he was arrested, he was less than a month
old when a man named Charlie was also murdered, with his body being eerily half-beheaded,
just like Curtis's. This situation left a major possibility that Tshuanahusset was being wrongfully
convicted in the murder of Robinson , or there are multiple individuals involved in these series of
connected murders that have been happening.
Believe
According to the past researches, the researchers set forth the theory regarding the event
or the occurrence over those years that primarily depend on the observations related to the
mutual reinforcing of the cultural misunderstandings which often results in racism. Racism has
been one of the key characteristics of North America in the nineteenth century because it is
expressed in ethnic confrontation, and British Columbia was no exception in this sense5.
Misunderstandings among colonists and indigenous peoples often erupted into serious violence.
Even though this situation did not signify ant individualist relations among the colonist and the
natives, this situation furthermore developed itchy trigger fingers on both the sides. When this
confusion led to the deaths of two native chiefs near Nanaimo, it gave rise to the vengeful saga
of robbery and the native partisan violence followed by the tragic examples of the past. This
situation sparked the past examples related to the three murders which took place around the Salt
Spring Island among the year 1867 and 18696. The shreds of evidence gathered thereafter
5 Sandwell, Ruth. "Who Killed William Robinson?" Exploring a nineteenth-century murder online." Social
Education 68.3 (2004): 210-214.
6 Robertson, Stephen. "Who Killed William Robinson? Race, Justice, and Settling the Land—A Historical
Whodunit." (2004): 349-349.

HISTORY 5
revealed that the series of murders from the time of Robinson was not been committed by any
single person but by a small organised group of community people.
Reconciliation of contradictory evidences
The research studies in the light of the history projected the picture of the life of the
community populated by several people. Clues regarding the murder of Robinson confronted
several ambiguous and contradictory evidences which challenge them towards the consideration
of the decision of the jury as well as the guilty of an innocent man. While initiating the
reconciliation of the contradictory evidences gathered in the case of the murder story of
Robinson, it can be stated that racism became an important theme of those times, leading to
numerous mutual misunderstandings and exacerbations 7. It led to contradictory
misunderstandings and misdeeds as a cultural predictor of what every faction in the political
body was potentially threatening. As indigenous peoples in their countries were less and less at
home, some were absorbed into the cultures of Europe, and others urgently are driven to brutal
rebellion through murderous alertness. Some of these crimes like the assassination of Robinson
have probably, however, been motivated by drug poisoning, although this is not a sufficient
reason in most cases8. The situations were quite far from simple but in broader assessment the
perceived gulf between the dominant and subaltern cultures developed in terms of cultural
7 King, W. H., and E. Charles Nelson. "William Robinson in North America 1870." Studies in the History of
Gardens & Designed Landscapes 24.2 (2004): 116-132.
8 Sandwell, Ruth, et al. "Teachers\'Guide: Robinson." (2007).

HISTORY 6
confusions and neurosis of imperial dominance and caused countless tragedies, many of which
were swept away as the requisite losses in British enlargement.
Missing pieces of evidence
The scenario of the murder mystery of Robinson has been quite controversial. No proper
evidence was discovered when the body of Robinson was being found. There has been a wide
lack and missing pieces of evidence together with certain inconsistencies that have been
overlooked in the trial for the murder.
Historical sources that are more authorities
William Robinson's murder was a definite occurrence with very clear causes and
consequences. And "the past is another world," and without a knowledge of the customs and
traditions of that time and place, it can not be understood. Historical context help to step beyond
the persons involved in space and time in the murder9. Historical documents and sources provide
an interpretation of Salt Spring Island and Colonial British Columbia in greater and more
profound depth. They even speak of other assassinations, murders, and lingering around the time
of the Robinson assassination. Maps and graphs presented within the historical sources provide a
clear overview of the social context of the assassination, allowing this more violent crime to be
placed in the settler life context. A clearer understanding of the broader context could shift
William Robinson's interpretation of why and probably who murdered him.
Some of the other historical contexts are as follows. The name has been largely lost over
the late years and is now popularly known both as Salt Spring Island and in the most recent
maps, the salt springs, of which some 14 or 15 are on the island, is justification enough for its
9 "Robinson: English Intro". Web.Uvic.Ca, 2004, http://web.uvic.ca/history-robinson/

HISTORY 7
present name. The title is originally described on the maritime chart of 1858 as "Admiral
Island10." The island of Vancouver and its adjacent small islands, of which Salt Spring is one, are
without a doubt the remains of a wet mountain, described as "a group of upturned gneissic rock
that covers tertiary areas and is eroded by ice cream so that in one position there will be large
gravel moraines in other beds of boulder. There are signs of gold and silver of mineral deposits,
the two latter being mined in the southern part of the island only for a few years. There are thin
deposits of coal on the surface at the northern end of the island. These attracted the invasion by
the Europeans and the other nations who overruled and powered the native aboriginals of the
area. The chapters of history furthermore revealed that time if 1907 regarding the grim events
related to 1860’s11. The year witnessed the migrant of a Methodist missionary from England who
came for spreading Christianity among the aboriginal tribes during the time of the execution of
the mysterious murders.
A research study penning down the thoughts of Thomas Crosby reflected over the
incident where a clash among white men and chieftains resulted in murder. When the bodies of
their respective tribes were brought home, they created fury in their midst. Crosby links points
theorize that the tribes "promised vengeance over those who have murdered their friends or any
their white men within the consequences”12. However not long after this incident, it was recorded
10 Lutz, John. "PUTTING THE MYSTERY BACK INTO HISTORY." Canadian Issues (2006): 75.
Thomson, Tom, Charles C. Hill, and Dennis Reid. Tom Thomson. Éditions du Trécarré, 2002.
11 Sandwell, Ruth. "The Great Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian History: Using a web-based archives to teach
history." Canadian Social Studies 39.2 (2005): n2.
12 Thomson, Tom, Charles C. Hill, and Dennis Reid. Tom Thomson. Éditions du Trécarré, 2002.

HISTORY 8
that John Brown, one white man was murdered at Cowichen and Robinson, another poor and
innocent man, who was a colored man was assassinated by shooting within his cabinet on the
Island of Salt Spring. At the similar time, Hamilton and some of the other white men were also
being killed near the Nanaimo13. This was the aspect of some indigenous groups' and individuals
'vengeful militant reaction, and the three assassinations under report were probably part of a
broader image that contained the additional assassination that Crosby acknowledges. Three
extremely significant points must be mentioned here; that not only 'white people,' but the settlers
as a whole have been attacked; It should be understood that this particular incident at hand does
not lead to a uniform reaction, but rather that this is an exacerbated incomprehension between
others, be it the executions of young indigenous men, private meetings between colonists and
indigenous peoples who have waned terribly, the understanding of territorial and spiritual prey or
the endemic sense of an encounter and finally, These experiences have no monolithic influence
among all settlers and indigenous people, neither have they been purely dichotomous for whom
there was sympathy in those especially troubled times14. According to certain historical
resources, an coordinated and violent reaction has taken place based on retaliation rooted in their
own countries from indigenous disenfranchisement and the authoritarian imposition under the
power of the British Colonial Project of European legal and cultural norms, influenced by many
misunderstandings between settlers, and indigenous peoples which have become tentative
13 "Who Killed William Robinson". Mysterescanadiens.Ca, 2020,
http://www.mysterescanadiens.ca/sites/robinson/murder/searchformurderer/1647en.
14 Slumkoski, Corey, Margaret Conrad, and Lisa Charlong. "History on the Internet: The" Atlantic Canada
Portal"." Acadiensis 37.1 (2008): 100-109.

HISTORY 9
assassinations on both sides. In certain instances, as Tshuanahusset's quickly incompetent
execution shows, the murder was judicial 15.
Conclusion
The above analysis documented several underpinnings of pieces of evidence gathered
historical sources regarding the murder mystery of Robinson. The essay summarizes how there
lies pieces of evidence questioning the guilty verdict of an indigenous person named
Tshuanhusset , who was accused of the killing of Robinson and was convicted and sentenced to
death in 1869. In light of the historical context by researchers, from the lens of Thomas Crosby,
it was furthermore revealed how John Brown, one white man, was murdered at Cowichen and
Robinson, another poor and innocent man, who was a colored man was assassinated by shooting
within his cabinet on the Island of Salt Spring by chieftains tribe. However irrespective of the
several pieces of evidence gathered, this chapter of the murder of Robinson is still a mystery in
the pages of history.
15Dick, Lyle. "Remarks on the Harper Government's Review of History." Labour/Le Travail 73.1 (2014): 203-205.

HISTORY 10
Bibliography
"Robinson: English Intro". Web.Uvic.Ca, 2004, http://web.uvic.ca/history-robinson/.
"Who Killed William Robinson". Canadianmysteries.Ca, 2020,
https://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/robinson/home/indexen.html. Accessed 30 Mar 2020.
"Who Killed William Robinson". Mysterescanadiens.Ca, 2020,
http://www.mysterescanadiens.ca/sites/robinson/murder/searchformurderer/1647en.
Dick, Lyle. "Remarks on the Harper Government's Review of History." Labour/Le Travail 73.1
(2014): 203-205.
Guldager, Ole. "Brattahlið reconsidered. Some thoughts on the social structure of Medieval
Norse Greenland, and the location of Brattahlið." (2002).
King, W. H., and E. Charles Nelson. "William Robinson in North America 1870." Studies in the
History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes 24.2 (2004): 116-132.
Lutz, John. "PUTTING THE MYSTERY BACK INTO HISTORY." Canadian Issues (2006):
75.
Robertson, Stephen. "Who Killed William Robinson? Race, Justice, and Settling the Land—A
Historical Whodunit." (2004): 349-349.
Sandwell, Ruth, et al. "Teachers\'Guide: Robinson." (2007).
Sandwell, Ruth. "" Who Killed William Robinson?" Exploring a nineteenth-century murder
online." Social Education 68.3 (2004): 210-214.

HISTORY 11
Sandwell, Ruth. "The Great Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian History: Using a web-based
archives to teach history." Canadian Social Studies 39.2 (2005): n2.
Slumkoski, Corey, Margaret Conrad, and Lisa Charlong. "History on the Internet: The" Atlantic
Canada Portal"." Acadiensis 37.1 (2008): 100-109.
Thomson, Tom, Charles C. Hill, and Dennis Reid. Tom Thomson. Éditions du Trécarré, 2002.