In 1789 the Spanish sent a military force to Nootka to fortify Friendly Cove and block further challenges to their west coast domain. John Meares, a veteran British naval mariner, also arrived during this early period in two ships under Portuguese flag, and he spent the summer of 1788 at Yuquot building the sloop Northwest- the first non-aboriginal vessel built on the northwest coast. In an unfortunate incident, perhaps triggered by an insult to Chief Maquinna, the British killed 12 Native Americans. British Captain James Hanna in the 60 ton brig Sea Otter made Nootka a port-of-call in 1785. During the next decade, isolated Nootka Sound became an international focus for trade and imperial intentions. Moreover, several crew members on the expedition initiated ventures to tap the sea otter market. The early drafts, then published journals and maps of the Cook expedition would, by the mid-1780s provide the world with the first detailed descriptions of conditions on the northwest coast. The incredible value of the sea otter pelts for international trade became apparent when Cook’s crew members sold them in Asian ports in 1779, sometimes for returns as high as 1800% above their initial trade value in iron or brass. The trade drew native visitors from across the region, but in a pattern that would often occur in the future, the local people quickly became the “middlemen” in the transactions and often blocked direct access to the British. Requiring good clothing for their upcoming trip northwards, Cook’s crew traded iron and brass for about 1500 sea otter skins, or 13 skins per sailer. The anchorage was immediately across the sound from the village of Yuquot that occupies what the expedition called called “Friendly Cove” due to mutually beneficial trade with the Nuu-chah-nulth. 1įor the nearly a month, Cook anchored on Blythe Island while repairing his ships with the abundant wood from the coastal forest. Cook had no prior knowledge of the Spaniard’s trip, but during his visit obtained Spanish silver spoons from the local Nuu-chah-nulth peoples that confirmed the earlier visit of Pé rez. On March 28, by remarkable coincidence, Cook sailed into Nootka Sound, likely near where the Spaniard Juan Pérez had made a brief visit in 1774. They carefully tacked northwards, often in foul weather, and failed to detect either the mouth of the Columbia River, or the Straits of San de Fuca. After over a year in the Indian and Pacific oceans, and reaching the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands, the expedition sighted the American northwest coast at 44☃3´ (near present day Newport, Oregon) on March 7, 1777. With the ships Resolution and Discovery Cook was in search of a famed, mythical northwest passage that would provide a seaway across America. In July of 1776, Captain James Cook, England’s famed navigator and cartographer, left England for his third great expedition to the Pacific Ocean. The Mowachaht people would move the plank siding from the buildings and their personal possessions three times a year as part of their annual round. Webber oversaw the engravings ordered by the Admiralty for the publication in 1784.Yuquot on Friendly Cove, Nootka Sound in 1792 (sketch from the journals of Captain Vancouver), 1896 (Edgar Fleming, BC Archives), and 2012 (CW collection). In Hawaii, Cook was killed in a misunderstanding with the natives at Kealakekua Bay. This voyage was to the islands of the Pacific, Australia, the Pacific Northwest America, Alaska, Kamchatka and Hawaii. Item #13478 John Webber (1752-1793) was the official artist that accompanied Captain Cook on the third voyage of the Resolution and Discovery, 1776-1780. edition printed in 80 parts or the Hogg edition, 1785 Some soiling and age toning at edges. Possible proof printing for later editions, no printed plate number or other information on illustrator or sculptor Possible inclusion in the Anderson, G.W.
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