European / US Ships on the Northwest Coast up to 1794.
The following table records all the European / US ships known to have visited the Northwest Coast up to 1794. Several groups of ships are included. The first group is made up of the ships undertaking early exploratory voyages for the Russian, Spanish and British Governments. Cook's voyage in 1778 led indirectly to the second group, which involves all the vessels that went to the Northwest Coast in search of sea otter pelts. The fur traders started arriving in 1785 and were a presence for the next thirty years. The third group comprises the Spanish ships sent north from San Blas in Mexico to Nootka Sound from 1788 onwards to forestall a Russian takeover of the region and to asserts its claims over those of Britain.A brief entry is given for each ship. Live links to longer entries with more information will be added gradually.
Return to the Northwest Coast page
| Ship's name | Captain | Nationality | pre 85 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | Notes |
| Activa | Melendez | Spanish | x | |||||||||||
| Adventure | Haswell | American | x | with Columbia Redeviva | ||||||||||
| Amelia | Owen | American | x | formerly French Emilie | ||||||||||
| Aranzazu | various | Spanish | x | x | x | x | Caamano's ship in 1792 | |||||||
| Argonaut | Colnett | British | x | x | x | |||||||||
| Arthur | Barber | British | x | |||||||||||
| Astrolabe | Laperouse | French | x | with Boussole | ||||||||||
| Atrevida | Bustamente | Spanish | x | with Descubierta | ||||||||||
| Boussole | Langle | French | x | with Astrolabe | ||||||||||
| Butterworth | Brown | British | x | x | with Jackal & Prince Lee Boo | |||||||||
| Captain Cook | Laurie | British | x | with Experiment | ||||||||||
| Chatham | Broughton / Puget | x | x | x | with Discovery | |||||||||
| Columbia Rediviva | Kendrick / Gray | American | with Lady Washington & Adventure | |||||||||||
| Concepcion | Eliza | Spanish | x | x | ||||||||||
| Daedalus | Hergest | British | x | x | ||||||||||
| Descubierta | Malaspina | Spanish | x | with Atrevida | ||||||||||
| Discovery | Clerke | British | 1778 | with Resolution | ||||||||||
| Discovery | Vancouver | British | x | x | x | with Chatham | ||||||||
| Eleanora | S. Metcalfe | American | x? | x | x | x | x | with Fair American | ||||||
| Experiment | Guise | British | x | with Captain Cook | ||||||||||
| Fair American | T. Metcalfe | American | x | |||||||||||
| Fairy | Rogers | British | x | x | ||||||||||
| Favorita | Arteaga | Spanish | 1779 | with Princesca | ||||||||||
| Felice Adventurer | Meares | British | x | x | x | under Portuguese flag | ||||||||
| Fenis and St. Joseph | see Sao Jao y Fenix | |||||||||||||
| Flavie | Magon | French | x | x | ||||||||||
| Florinda | Cole(s) | British | x | under Portuguese flag | ||||||||||
| Grace | Douglas | American | x | x | x | Coolidge replaced Douglas | ||||||||
| Gustavus III | see Mercury | |||||||||||||
| Halcyon | Barkley | British | x | with the Venus | ||||||||||
| Hancock | Crowell | American | x | x | x | |||||||||
| Harmon | see Sea Otter | |||||||||||||
| Hope | Ingraham | Americam | x | x | ||||||||||
| Imperial Eagle | Barkley | British | x | under Austrian flag | ||||||||||
| Iphigenia Nubiana | Douglas / Viana | British | x | x | x | x | under Portuguese flag | |||||||
| Jackal | Stewart / Brown | British | x | x | x | with Butterworth & Prince Lee Boo | ||||||||
| Jane | Newbury | American | x | |||||||||||
| Jefferson | Roberts | American | x | x | with the Resolution | |||||||||
| Jenny | Baker / Adamson | British | x | x | ||||||||||
| King George | Portlock | British | x | x | ||||||||||
| Lady Washington | Gray / Kendrick | Aerican | x | x | x | x | x | with Columbia Rediviva | ||||||
| Loudoun | see Imperial Eagle | |||||||||||||
| Margaret | Magee | American | x | x | ||||||||||
| Mercury | Cox | British | later Gustavus III under Swedish flag | |||||||||||
| Mexicana | Valdes | Spanish | x | with Sutil | ||||||||||
| Nancy | ? | American | x? | |||||||||||
| Nootka | Meares | British | x | x | ||||||||||
| Northwest America | Duffin | British | x | x | captured by Spanish; renamed Santa Gertrudis la Magna | |||||||||
| Phoenix | Moore | British | x | x | ||||||||||
| Polly | Douglas | American | x? | |||||||||||
| Prince Lee Boo | Sharp / Gordon | British | x | x | x | with Butterworth and Jackal | ||||||||
| Prince of Wales | Colnett | British | x | x | with Princess Royal | |||||||||
| Prince William Henry | Ewen | British | x | x | x | with Three Brothers | ||||||||
| Princesca | various | Spanish | 1779 | x | x | x | ||||||||
| Princesca Real | Narvaez / Quimper | Spanish | x | x | previously the Princess Royal | |||||||||
| Princess Royal | Duncan / Hudson | British | x | x | x | captured by Spanish and renamed Princesca Real | ||||||||
| Queen Charlotte | Dixon | British | x | x | with King George | |||||||||
| Resolution | Cook | British | 1778 | with Discovery | ||||||||||
| St. Paul | see Sviatoi Pavel | |||||||||||||
| St. Peter | see Sviatoi Petr | |||||||||||||
| San Carlos | various | Spanish | x | x | x | x | ||||||||
| Santa Gertrudis | Bodega | Spanish | x | |||||||||||
| Santa Gertrudis la Magna | Narvaez / Verdia | Spanish | x | previously the Northwest America | ||||||||||
| Santa Saturnina | Narvaez | Spanish | x | x | ||||||||||
| Santiago | Perez / Hezeta | Spanish | 1774, 1775 | |||||||||||
| Sao Jao y Fenix | Andrade | Portuguese | x | |||||||||||
| Sea Otter | Hanna | British | x | x | ||||||||||
| Sea Otter | Tipping | British | x | |||||||||||
| Slava Russii | Billings | Russian | ||||||||||||
| Solide | Marchand | French | x | |||||||||||
| Sonora | Bodega | Spanish | 1775 | |||||||||||
| Sutil | Galiano | Spanish | x | with Mexicana | ||||||||||
| Sviatoi Pavel | Chirikov | Russian | 1743 | with Sviatoi Petr | ||||||||||
| Sviatoi Petr | Bering | Russian | 1743 | with Sviatoi Pavel | ||||||||||
| Three Brothers | Alder | British | x | x | with Prince William Henry | |||||||||
| Venus | Shepherd | British | x | x | with Halcyon | |||||||||
| Ship's name | Captain | Nationality | pre 85 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | Notes |