Return to Northwest Coast of America exploration
A description of Spanish exploration just before Vancouver's voyage is being prepared Spanish explorers .
Vancouver was also under orders to represent Britain in negotiations in Nootka Sound with Spain over European sovereignty of the region. He carried out his orders even though little was achieved in the three years he was at Nootka. He was also able to maintain good relations with Spanish representatives in Nootka, San Francisco and Monterey.
Each winter, Vancouver repaired to Hawaii and its warmer climate to recuperate. During his time in Hawaii, Vancouver became firm friends with Kamehameha, the future King of all the Hawaiian Islands and this friendship ensured the future good relations between Britain and Hawaii.
Vancouver was already an ill man when he returned to Britain even though he was only 38. His illness hindered his effectiveness on the voyage and had affected his popularity with colleagues and crew members. He had made enemies of a few and they made things difficult for Vancouver back in Britain. He set about writing up the narrative of the voyage but he was a broken man and died in 1798, aged only 40, before the narrative was finished and published.
Gradually Vancouver's role and ability have been recognised. His charts of the Northwest coast and of Hawaii are testimony to his skill. He is remembered by the island and city in British Columbia that carry his name.
Much of Vancouver's early life remains either unknown or sketchy. A description of his epic voyage must form a large part of any possible biography of the man. For fuller printed accounts please see the references at the end of this account.
John Jasper Vancouver, George's father, was the Deputy Customs Officer for the port of King's Lynn for 22 years and, as such, was a man of some standing in the town. King's Lynn, at the mouth of the River Ouse, which drains the Fen Country, was a major port at the time and handled large quantities of trade so the Customs officials were powerful and important people.
Fig 1. Vancouver's Family Tree 1: The Ancestors of George Vancouver
Fig 2. Vancouver's Family Tree 2: The Family of John Jasper and Bridget Vancouver
(1) Bridget (1751 - ?)
(2) Sarah (April 1752 - ?)
(3) Mary (January 1753 - ?)
(4) Charles (1756 - ?)
(5) John (1756 - ?)
(6) George (22 June 1757 - 12 May 1798)
The nearby Fen Country is an area of low-lying, marsh land that had been recovered for farming by an extensive network of dykes and drains, very similar to much of the Netherlands. Indeed, much of the work had been carried out by Dutch engineers. This engineering work and trading links had formed a close bond between King's Lynn and the Netherlands.
Reint Wolter van Coerveden, Vancouver's great grandfather, was a Dutch landowner and he married an English woman, Jane Lillingston, in 1699. He came from an old Dutch family from Coerveden, a small town in Northeast Holland. Reinte and Jane's son, Lucas Hendrik, moved to Britain and married a local woman called Sarah (her surname is unknown). By the middle of the eighteenth century, the family name had been anglicised to Vancouver and Sarah Vancouver, George's grandmother, is recorded as living in King's Lynn. In June 1749, her son John Jasper married Bridget Berners, the daughter of an important local family whose property had been at Wiggenhall St. Marys, a few miles to the south of King's Lynn. Bridget's father, William Berners, had, however, already dissipated the family fortune some years earlier.
Little is known of Vancouver's childhood. The well-to-do family lived in Fincham Street (later called New Conduit Street) and it is thought that all the boys attended the local Grammar School next to St. Margaret's Church. Their mother, Bridget Vancouver, died in June 1768 leaving John Jasper to raise the six children.
The musicologist, Charles Burney, had left London in 1751 owing to poor health and had gone to live in King's Lynn, where he is known to have become friends with the influential Turner family. Charles Turner was the Chief Customs Officer, and Vancouver's father's colleague. It is probable that the Burneys and Vancouvers were friends. James Burney, Charles' son had joined the navy already and this may have influenced George. Charles Burney had made the acquaintance of the Earl of Sandwich and met Captain Cook at Hinchingbrook House, the Earl's home near Huntingdon after Cook's return from his first voyage. George's future was probably determined through thse contacts.
Cook's second voyage lasted for three years from July 1772 until July 1775 but Vancouver features very little in its written record and Cook does not mention him in the official narrative. There is, however, an anecdote about Vancouver from late January 1774. Cook had sailed the Resolution far to the south, crossing the Antarctic Circle, until cold and ice caused him to retreat north. At the point of turning round, Vancouver is supposed to have climbed out onto the bowsprit and cried "Ne plus ultra", thereby claiming the honour of having gone the furthest south. However, the honour was disputed by Anders Sparrman. One of Vancouver's fellow midshipmen, John Elliott, mentions him as "a quiet, inoffensive young man".
William Wales was on board the Resolution as Astronomer and it is apparent that as well as teaching Vancouver much about astronomy the two became good friends. Several years later Vancouver named features on the Northwest coast of America after Wales.
When Vancouver returned home in 1775, he found that his father had died in January 1773. The family home had been sold and George's brother John had succeeded their father as Deputy Customer in King's Lynn. With both his parents now dead, George no doubt felt that his own future lay with the Navy so he signed up for Cook's third voyage when it was announced in 1776.
Captain Cook set off on his third great voyage in July 1776 with two ships, the Resolution and the Discovery. Vancouver was aboard the Discovery as a Midshipman having signed on as an A.B. The ships returned to Britain in late 1780 and once again Vancouver had had a largely quiet and uneventful voyage (this is partly explained by Vancouver having been on the other ship to Cook). He is only mentioned in the record of the voyage at Kealakekua Bay in Hawaii where Captain Cook was killed. In late January 1779, Vancouver was part of a shore party that was away for four days trying to climb the volcano, Mauna Loa. Cook left the bay in early February but was forced back a few days later after gales broke a mast. Relations with the Hawaiians were much less cordial. The Hawaiians believed the British had overstayed their welcome while the British were irritated by thieving. A theft on 13 February led Vancouver to chase a man ashore from the Discovery only to be attacked and beaten. He was rescued but the next day Cook was killed after a similar fight. Apparently Vancouver had some aptitude for languages as he is mentioned as being able to converse with the Hawaiians after the death of Cook and helped to recover parts of Cook's body.
Importantly, Vancouver had now spent several months in 1778 on the Northwest coast of North America with Cook and had been introduced to the region. He had been to Nootka Sound (on the island that would later carry his name), to Cook Inlet in Alaska, and had been present at the birth of the sea otter fur trade. Cook's men had traded for sea otter pelts all along the American coast and had sold them for profit when they reached Macao in January 1780. The news of this transaction soon spread and became the basis for the fur trade that grew up over the next ten years. The poor sea otter was nearly hunted to extinction.
The Spanish moved north to reassert their claim to the region. This nearly led to the British and the Spanish to declare war and the Nootka Sound Incident would become one of the reasons for Vancouver's return to Nootka in 1792.
Back in Britain though at the end of 1780, Vancouver's future was in the balance. He had served on Cook's voyages and this was a great advantage for him. Vancouver, like many others who had sailed with Cook, had been given an incomparable apprenticeship in seamanship, navigation, surveying and cartography that could act as an open ticket to advancement in the Royal Navy. Vancouver would refer to Cook and acknowledge his debt to him many times in his career. But, in the short term, he needed different experience of other conditions and on other types of ships to help his advancement. Vancouver, though, was still only 23 and without many influential contacts in the Navy who could find him good positions on glamour ships of the line. Soon after returning to Britain, he passed his examination to be a lieutenant on 19 October 1780, and then began looking for a new position.
The Martin was disptached to carry supplies to a British fort on the Swan Islands (Islas Santanilla), two tiny islets 140 kilometres north of Honduras. They arrived too late and found that the fort had been overrun by the Spanish. On the return journey to Jamaica, the Martin captured a Spanish ship on 19 April 1782. Vancouver, therefore, missed the Battle of the Isles des Saintes. In this battle, fought on 12 April off Guadeloupe and Dominica, the British decisively beat the French and prevented the French fleet from combining with its Spanish counterpart to attack Jamaica. When Vancouver and the Martin returned to Jamaica at the end of April, it was part of the victorious British fleet they met and not an attacking enemy one.
Vancouver transferred, on 17 May, onto HMS Fame (a 3rd rate of 74 guns, 1,565 tons, built in Deptford in 1759) as 4th Lieutenant under Captain George Wilson (lieutenant 1776, captain 1780. He later rose to rear admiral in 1799, vice admiral in 1804 and admiral in 1809. He died in 1826). Admiral Pigot, who had just assumed charge of the West Indies fleet, took all his ships north in July 1782 to New York to miss the hurricane season. When they returned south in October, the Fame patrolled off the Leeward Islands, monitoring French shipping. Peace was declared in April 1793 and the Fame left the Caribbean on 22 April to reach Plymouth in early June. Peacetime meant idle time for warships and Vancouver was one of many men laid off on half pay.
Vancouver remained ashore for over a year until November 1784 when, at Spithead, he joined HMS Europ (a 4th rate of 50 guns, 1,050 tons, built at Woolwich in 1783) captained by Richard Fisher (lieutenant 1778, commander 1779, captain 1782). The Europa was the flagship of Rear Admiral Alexander Innes, the new Commander-in-chief of the Jamaica Station. Vancouver was appointed 3rd Lieutenant under Captain Fisher. In early 1785, the Europa sailed for the West Indies and, in February, Vancouver was back in Port Royal, Jamaica. 1785 proved a quiet year but in 1786 Rear Admiral Innes died and Captain Fisher was declared insane (he died in 1795). They were replaced by Commodore Sir Alan Gardner and Captain Edward Marsh (lieutenant 1777, commander 1781) respectively. Gardner became a close friend, patron and major influence in Vancouver's career. The British squadron was reduced to only two ships, the Europa and the Experiment, causing Gardner to switch his flagship between the two vessels. One ship would stay in port while the other undertook patrols into the Gulf of Mexico. Captain Marsh died in September 1786 and was replaced by Captain James Vashon (lieutenant 1774, commander 1779, captain 1782. He later rose to rear admiral in 1804, vice admiral in 1808 and admiral in 1814. He died in 1827) as commander of the Europa. Joseph Whidbey, who would later sail with Vancouver to the Pacific, joined the Europa at this time as master.
General instructions had been sent out from London that British naval bases should undertake surveys and chart local harbours and waters in their vicinity. Whidbey's arrival was very timely as he was able to join Vancouver in the new project and for the next year, the two men carried out a comprehensive survey of Port Royal and Kingston Harbours and their approaches. The results were published in London in 1792. The climate in the Caribbean was notoriously unhealthy and many men died in service, leaving regular openings for promotion for their healthier colleagues. Vancouver benefited and was promoted twice, firstly to 2nd Lieutenant on 24 November 1787, and secondly to 1st Lieutenant on 13 February 1788. However, it is likely that Vancouver had also succumbed and the illnesses that killed him only ten years later in 1798 had their origins in the Caribbean.
The Europa with Vancouver aboard made a visits to Cartagena on the north coast of South America and to Navassa Island between Cuba and Santo Domingo in early 1789 but it would be Vancouver's last experience in the Caribbean. Rear Admiral Affleck arrived to take over as Commodore in the Caribbean. Gardner, Vashon and Vancouver sailed north of Cuba and through the Strait of Florida to return to Britain on the Europa, arriving in Plymouth in September 1789. Vancouver was paid off while Gardner went on to become Lord Gardner and a member of the Board of Admiralty where he helped Vancouver's career.
Vancouver's time on the Europa proved invaluable. He had risen to become 1st lieutenant, in effect second-in-command, of a 50 gun warship so gaining experience in running a ship; he had shown himself to be a very able surveyor and cartographer; he had made contact with people who could help him gain commands; and he had made friends with a group of men that would accompany him on his Pacific voyage. As well as Joseph Whidbey, Peter Puget, Zacchary Mudge and Joseph Baker all sailed on the Europa and later on the Discovery or Chatham.
The Spanish were upset at what they saw as an illegal intrusion by foreigners into a region, which they maintained was under their jurisdiction. The Spanish had progressed north from Mexico and were known to have established settlements as far as San Francisco by this time. However, they had not made known voyages that had ventured further north, among them a voyage by Juan Perez in 1774 when he had anchored off the mouth of Nootka Sound. This act was now cited by Spain as supporting evidence for their claim by reason of being a prior visit. Among Perez's crew was Esteban Jose Martinez and this same Martinez was dispatched in 1789 to Nootka to establish a base and assert the claim to the area by Spain.
For its part, Britain did not recognise Spain's authority in the Pacific region and was prepared to contest that authority, especially as it was seeking to spread its own influence and business interests. The loss of its colonies in North America was a major blow and Britain was now looking elsewhere for alternatives. One of Britain's growing industries was whaling and sealing and the Southern Ocean had been identified as a potential source of these animals. Britain needed to find suitable bases from which their ships could operate. Early in 1789, a confrontation took place on the southern Argentine coast between British sealers and Spanish naval vessels. The Spanish confiscated the sealskins, which immediately caused protests back in London.
The British Government was sufficiently concerned to organise an expedition to protect British interests in Southern waters and to locate possible bases. A new ship, the Discovery, was commissioned and Captain Henry Roberts, who had sailed on Cook's third voyage, was appointed to command. George Vancouver was appointed as 1st Lieutenant. In its original instructions the Discovery would first explore in the South Pacific and would then proceed to the Northwest coast of America to explore there. Vancouver joined the ship in January 1790 but other disturbing news soon began to arrive.
Martinez had arrested British ships and their commanders in Nootka Sound and this news quickly reached Britain. James Colnett, another one of Cook's midshipmen, had sailed a sea otter trading ship into Nootka only to argue with Martinez, be arrested and be sent to Mexico. A business partner of Colnett, John Meares, arrived back in London with further examples, in his view, of wrongs carried out by the Spanish toward him. He publicised these so-called wrong-doings by presenting a memorial to the Government. As a result, the Discovery voyage was first postponed and then, in April 1790, cancelled with the crew being stood down.
While the British and Spanish Governments began an intense round of negotiations, Vancouver joined HMS Courageux (a 3rd rate of 74 guns, 1,721 tons, captured from the French in 1761), in May. It was under the command of his friend, Sir Alan Gardner and was part of the Channel fleet. Vancouver began as 3rd lieutenant but, by September, had been promoted to 1st lieutenant. Joseph Whidbey was also on board, as master.
Five months of negotiations in Madrid proved successful in that Britain and Spain did not go to war over Nootka. However, British interests were far better served by the Nootka Sound Convention that was signed on 29 October 1790. British ships would be allowed free access to the Northwest coast while Spain would make full reparations to British ship owners for all damages and losses incurred at the hands of the Spanish. Spain abandoned its claims to exclusive ownership and occupation of the coast. For the moment, the Southern Whale Fishery was forgotten as the British Government set about sending an expedition to Nootka to represent Britain and see that Spain carried out its new obligations. The Discovery was available and its voyage was resurrected. Instead of Henry Roberts, who was needed for a voyage to Africa, George Vancouver was announced as commander of the new expedition on 15 December 1790.
Following the practice of Cook's later voyages, in which two vessels sailed together, the Navy began readying ships. Two ships were already available. The Discovery, only a year old, and the Chatham had been prepared for Roberts' abandoned voyage earlier in the year and they were now allocated for Vancouver's voyage. Lieutenant William Broughton was appointed as second-in-command of the expedition and Commander of the Chatham. As the Chatham was only a small vessel carrying a complement of 45 men, James Hanson was its only other officer as 1st Lieutenant. James Johnstone, a man of considerable ability and experience was made Master. Vancouver, himself, was responsible for organising the crew for the Discovery and drew upon his time in the Caribbean with HMS Europa. His three Lieutenants, Zachary Mudge, Peter Puget and Joseph Baker, and the ship's Master, Joseph Whidbey, had all spent time on the Europa.
Sir Joseph Banks, the head of the Royal Society and a man of considerable influence in Government circles, showed interest in the expedition, as he did in all British expeditions of the period. He now secured a place on the Discovery for one of his protegees, the botanist Archibald Menzies, who had previously gone on other expeditions to find, identify and collect new plant species. For unknown reasons, Vancouver and Banks were not enamoured of each other and Vancouver did not take well to the placement of Menzies on his ship. Captain Cook had become intolerant of scientists on his ships and it remains unclear if Vancouver was just copying his mentor. Friction continued between Vancouver and Menzies and it contributed to Vancouver's unfavourable reception in Britain after the voyage. Menzies reported to Banks and, with Banks as an enemy, Vancouver was always going to struggle for acceptance by British society.
Joseph Baker, the Discovery's 3rd Lieutenant became the expedition's cartographic draughtsman while the three Master's mates, Sykes, Humphrys and Heddington produced a portfolio of drawings recording the voyage. Both ships carried a contingent of Marines. All told, the Discovery carried a complement of 100 men.
Fig 3 : Vancouver's ships and crews on the Pacific Voyage
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It was intended that the voyage would last for several years so it was arranged that a storeship, the 350 tons Daedalus, captained by Richard Hergest would sail independently with provisions to meet Vancouver's party at Nootka Sound, late in 1792. Vancouver, who had asked for an Astronomer to be part of the party, sailed without one but expecting that Daedalus would bring out William Gooch and he would join the Discovery.
Both the Discovery and the Chatham sailed from the Thames in early 1791, the Discovery in late January and the Chatham in late February. Both ships encountered storms in the English Channel and required extensive repairs at Portsmouth. The Discovery proceeded to Falmouth and the Chatham eventually joined it there on 31 March. Both ships had touched briefly at Guernsey in the Channel Islands to take on duty free wines and spirits. Vancouver had already shown signs of the illness that would beset him on the voyage, but, at last, the ships were ready.
The following is a brief description of the voyage. For a fuller description, please click on A Voyage to the North Pacific Ocean by George Vancouver.
Vancouver entered Dusky Sound on 2 November 1791 and remained there for three weeks. He had been in the inlet 18 years earlier with Captain Cook and took the opportunity to finish surveying a part of the sound that Cook had missed. Cook had written "Nobody knows what" on his chart and Vancouver could now put "Somebody knows what". A gale separated the ships when they left Dusky Sound and, having agreed beforehand a rendezvous at Tahiti, the ships sailed on alone. The Discovery passed and named The Snares, to the south of New Zealand and later stopped briefly at Rapa Iti, one of the Austral Islands, before arriving at Matavai Bay in Tahiti on 30 December. The Chatham meanwhile had also seen The Snares and then encountered an island that Broughton called Chatham Island. He landed briefly but after an altercation with local people, the Moriori, he left and sailed to Tahiti, which he reached a day before Vancouver.
Vancouver had visited the Hawaiian group of islands with Cook in 1778 and 1779 and he recognised its advantages as a stopover for preparing for visits to the colder climates of the North Pacific Ocean region. He formed a strong attachment to the place and especially the people and would return here on two more occasions in the course of his voyage. At this time he stood off Hawaii and avoided entering Kealakekua Bay, where Cook had died. He did converse with people in canoes but decided to head for Waikiki on the island of Oahu, where he anchored on 7 March. It did not provide what he needed and he moved on to Waimea on Kauai. He stayed a few days and then, after collecting yams from Nihau, set course for America.
On 16 April 1792, Vancouver reached the North American coast near Cape Cabrillo. The ships worked their way north along the coast passing the mouth of the Columbia River on 22 April. A week later, Vancouver met Captain Robert Gray, an American fur trader, who was able to give him much valuable information about the current state of affairs with the Spanish and recent explorations. Vancouver decided against going straight to Nootka and instead, as it was early in the year, began surveying the coastline. He sailed into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and anchored in an inlet on its southern shore that he called Port Discovery. At this time, Vancouver was unaware that the Spanish had already surveyed the strait. Quimper, Eliza and Narvaez had been charting for two years and even the inlet he was now based in had been named Puerto de Quadra after the Spanish officer he would soon meet at Nootka. He could not not know that two Spanish ships were, even now, about to follow him up the Strait.
Vancouver realised immediately that a proper survey could not be carried out using the ships and he would need to send teams out in the small boats, which could get into all the small and shallow inlets and passages. A plan developed whereby the ships would be anchored in a safe harbour and boat parties would leave to perform the surveys. While they were away, an observatory would be set up on shore and the exact co-ordinates of the place would be calculated. When the survey teams returned the ships would move on to another location and repeat the process. Part of Vancouver's remit was to find the Northwest Passage and, to this end, he began delineating the continental shore and followed it doggedly through all its ins and outs. He was in unknown waters and he started bestowing hundreds of new names to features they encountered.
Over the next few weeks of May and June, Vancouver and his crew charted the intricate network of Puget Sound, Hood Canal, Admiralty Inlet and the southern end of the Strait of Georgia. Survey parties would go off for up to two weeks and row for hundreds of kilometres to produce the surveys that Joseph Baker brought together as charts of the area. The Masters of the two ships, Joseph Whidbey and James Johnstone, showed straight away their ability by performing large parts of the survey. Peter Puget also led a long trip and was rewarded by his name being given to the sound near present day Seattle.
The Discovery and the Chatham were moved north to Birch Bay and Vancouver went off for another survey. This time he went into Burrard Inlet and the future site of the city of Vancouver before rowing north to explore Jervis Inlet. Much to his surprise, on returning to the ships, Vancouver found two Spanish ships. They were the Sutil and the Mexicana, commanded by Antonio Galiano and Cayetano Valdes, members of Malaspina's expedition, who had been dispatched to make their own survey of the region. Vancouver and Galiano quickly agreed to pool their resources and knowledge and, for the next few weeks, the British and Spanish worked toether.
The four ships transferred to Desolation Sound and a survey of Toba and Bute Inlets began. James Johnstone made an important discovery when his party rowed through to Queen Charlotte Sound, thus proving the land on which Nootka was situated was a large island. The passage was called Johnstone Strait after the Master. The British and Spanish separated in mid July. The British ships werel much swifter sailors while the smaller Spanish ships were able to enter shallower waters. The Spanish were left make their own way to Nootka while Vancouver pressed on, exploring the maze of channels in the area. Broughton was honoured for work he carried out, with a group of islands being called the Broughton Archipelago. The Discovery ran aground in Queen Charlotte Sound on 6 August but was refloated without major damage. Vancouver sailed the ships round to Port Safety on Calvert Island and then again dispatched the small boats to survey Smith Sound and Burke Channel.
It was now mid August and late in the season so Vancouver decided to head for Nootka. On 28 August 1792, Vancouver finally entered Nootka Sound and met Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, who had taken charge for the Spanish. Over the next six weeks, the two men undertook long negotiations but without ever really achieving much as the Spanish procrastinated, being reluctant to hand over anything to the British. The men did become firm friends, so much so that Vancouver proposed that the large landmass he had just shown to be an island should be called Quadra and Vancouver's Island. Unfortunately for Bodega, his name was susequently dropped and given to another much smaller island in the Strait of Georgia. Three days after Vancouver arrived at Nootka, Galiano's expedition anchored in the sound and the two parties were able to share and compare results.
There was also mixed news for Vancouver. The storeship Daedalus was at Nootka when he arrived but it had visited Hawaii on the way and tragedy had struck there. Its commander and Vancouver's friend, Richard Hergest, and the Astronomer coming to join the Discovery, William Gooch, had both been killed. Vancouver would have to continue doing most of the astronomical work. He sent one of his Lieutenants, Zachary Mudge, home to Britain on a fur trader, the Fenis, with the latest news.
Vancouver's three ships left Nootka on 12 October and began heading down the American coast before sailing back to Hawaii. Broughton went to investigate the Columbia River and charted to a point upstream of Portland. The ships met up again at San Francisco and moved on to Monterey, where they found Bodega. Vancouver was still concerned to inform London of his progress and chose Broughton as his envoy. Broughton left, carrying correspondence and copies of logs, charts and journals, with Bodega and made his way to Britain via Mexico.
The Discovery made a slow, cold and uncomfortable crossing to America. It reached the coast near Cape Mendocino and Vancouver took the precaution of anchoring at Trinidad Bay. Water and wood were taken on board while the ship was checked and the bay surveyed. Sailing on, Vancouver entered Nootka Sound on 20 May where he learned that the Chatham had been and gone. Vancouver stayed for three days before proceeding north to Burke Channel where he had finished his first survey and where the Chatham would meet him. On 26 May the two ships met up at Restoration Cove in Burke Channel.
Puget reported on an interesting few weeks for the Chatham. The ship had made a quick crossing to Nootka Island but Puget had tried to enter the wrong inlet and had nearly been wrecked in Nuchatlitz Inlet. Puget had managed to extricate the ship and went to Nootka Sound. The Chatham had to be careened to facillitate the repairs and, while these were carried out, Puget and his men observed the Spanish and the Nootka people. Puget left Nootka on 18 May to meet Vancouver in Burke Channel, the second designated meeting point.
The second season's survey began on 29 May 1793 when Johnstone set off in one of the cutters. Vancouver, himself, led another party which set out the next day. Over the next few weeks, Burke, Fisher, Finlayson, Princess Royal, Gardner, Grenville and Douglas Channels, together with all the other connecting passages and inlets, were surveyed as Vancouver and his party slowly worked their way northward. Many of the names for these features date from this survey. By 20 July, the ships had reached Stephens Island near Dixon Entrance and they were surprised to meet a small group of British fur traders, who gave Vancouver information and advice about anchorages.
Vancouver was still looking for the Northwest Passage and, in late July, he took his ships up a possible inlet, which he called Observatory Inlet. They anchored at Salmon Cove and then explored Observatory and another neighbouring large inlet, Portland Canal, but found both to have closed ends. Vancouver set off instead on a long and eventful survey during which he circumnavigated Revillagigedo Island via the Behm Canal. On 12 August, as they rowed south, his party met locals, who attacked them. Puget's boat, following behind, opened fire and killed several of the locals. Some of Vancouver's men were seriously injured. After reaching Salmon Cove again, Vancouver moved the ships on 17 August and sailed up Clarence Strait into Behm Canal. He anchored in Port Stewart, opposite the site of the recent attack.
More survey parties set out from Port Stewart. Whidbey re-examined parts of Behm Canal while Johnstone undertook a lengthy exploration of Ernest Sound, Eastern Passage, Sumner and Clarence Straits and Duncan Canal. They returned to the ships, which sailed, on 5 September, up Clarence Strait and round into Sumner Strait. Vancouver anchored the ships in Port Protection at the northwest corner of Prince of Wales Island. He was aware that summer was over and he had little time left that year for exploration so he was pleased when Whidbey confirmed that Sumner Strait offered a clear passage to the open sea. After two weeks based at Port Protection, Vancouver sailed on 21 September and headed for Nootka Sound. He kept the ships out to sea and sailed down the west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands to reach Nootka on 5 October.
There were no messages for Vancouver from London and the Spanish had heard nothing from Mexico so Vancouver, after quickly restocking, sailed south on 8 October. A new Governor of Alta California, Jose Joaquin de Arrillaga, had arrived in Monterey. Arrillaga was unhappy about the British presence in the region and had commanded that no Spanish settlement should offer them assistance. When, therefore, the British ships reached San Francisco on 17 October, they received a very cool official reception, even if the unofficial one was more normal and friendly. The Discovery and the Chatham left San Francisco and were pleased to find the Daedalus standing outside the bay. All three ships sailed to Monterey where Arrillaga gave them a very frosty reception on 1 November.
Vancouver, angry at the discourtesy he had received, sailed four days later without acknowledging Arrillaga as he left. He was still intent on charting the Californian coast and sailed via Santa Barbara and Buena Ventura to San Diego where he anchored on 27 November. At all these points the British received cordial welcomes from both the Spanish authorities and the Catholic missions, restoring most of Vancouver's feelings towards the Spanish. He left San Diego on 9 December 1793 and continued south along the coast to 30N before heading southwest for Hawaii.
While Vancouver was occupied with politics, Menzies went on two mountaineering expeditions. First he climbed Hualalai, behind Kailua and then attempted the far more ambitious Mauna Loa. He and a small party reached the summit on 16 February. The Daedalus, having transferred all its stores, left Hawaii on 9 February, taking with it one or two troublemakers. One of these was Thomas Pitt, a midshipman whom Vancouver had had to punish on more than one occasion and who would re-enter Vancouver's life in London in 1796. Pitt hated Vancouver and sought revenge in London, even attacking him in the street and challenging the ailing Vancouver to a duel. For the moment though Vancouver was free of him and set about leaving Hawaii.
On 26 February 1794, Vancouver prepared to leave Hawaii and made his goodbyes to his friend Kamehameha. He sailed over to Maui and passed along its north coast and that of Molokai. He proceeded to Waimea Bay on Oahu but did not stop and went on via Kauai's north coast to Waimea. After another visit to Nihau to collect yams, Vancouver wanted to check on a tiny island, Nihoa, supposed to be further to the west. The island was located on 15 March and Vancouver sailed north bidding farewell to the Hawaiian Islands for the last time.
Vancouver decided to head first for Cook's River in Alaska so he could then work east and south as the season progressed, reducing the chances of being trapped in ice. Vancouver had copies of maps of the region he was approaching, produced by Cook, the Spanish, and the British fur traders, but he was unsure to what extent he could trust them. He was also aware that he was entering territory in which the Russians had established trading posts. No sooner had the ships left Nihoa than they were separated. Vancouver and the Discovery sailed on alone to reach land on 3 April. This was Chirikof Island off the Alaska Peninsula and, in fixing its position, Vancouver solved a problem that had foiled Cook. Cook had searched for "Foggy Cape" but thick fog had prevented him finding it. Vancouver showed Chirikof Island to be Foggy Cape. The Discovery sailed on to the north outside the Trinity Islands, Kodiak and Afognak Islands to enter Cook's River on 12 April. He did not realise the Puget had already brought the Chatham into the same inlet and had anchored the ship in a small bay, Port Chatham, on the east shore of the inlet.
The Discovery made its way up the inlet, negotiating the shoals and ice. Vancouver anchored near Fire Island on 27 April and dispatched Whidbey up Turnagain Arm while he, himself, explored Knik Arm. Both were found to have closed ends so neither was the fabled Northwest Passage. Meanwhile, on 29 April, the Chatham had left Port Chatham and sailed up the inlet, visiting Russian posts on the way. On 6 May, the ships met up again and, together, left the inlet that Vancouver renamed Cook Inlet. On their way south they had more contact with the Russians. They left Cook Inlet and headed east for Prince William Sound, reaching the south point of Montague Island on 21 May. The ships sailed up the island's northwest coast to anchor, on 25 May, in Port Chalmers at the northern end of the island.
Two survey parties were immediately sent out to explore Prince William Sound. Whidbey led one party and began surveying the western side of the sound. Johnstone led the other party, which set off to chart the eastern side. He had completed his task by 8 June so Vancouver sent the Chatham away to examine the coast past Yakutat Bay to Cross Sound. Whidbey returned to Port Chalmers on 15 June and Vancouver sailed two days later. As he left the sound he called in at a Russian post in Port Etches. In the meantime, the Chatham had checked the coast past Kayak Island and, on 26 June, it entered Yakutat Bay and anchored at Port Mulgrave. Puget set about charting the bay and met Russians based there. The Discovery arrived and attempted to enter the bay but fickle winds deterred Vancouver and he sailed away to Cross Sound.
The Discovery anchored against the southern side of Cross Sound on 7 July 1794 and the Chatham joined it the next day. The last group of surveying expeditions was about to start. Vancouver's health was not good so Joseph Whidbey led the only party that left Port Althorp on 10 July. Over the next 16 days they investigated Icy Strait, Lynn Channel, Chatham Strait and the northern end of Stephens Passage. Even though Vancouver was not in the party he chose the names for features and remembered his home town and family with Lynn Channel, Point Couverden, Berners Bay and Point Bridget. With Whidbey back on board, Vancouver left Cross Sound on 28 July and sailed down the coast outside Chicagof and Baranof Islands. The ships rounded Cape Ommaney and found a safe harbour in Chatham Strait on the eastern side of Baranof Island.
Once again Whidbey and Johnstone were entrusted with leading the survey parties. Whidbey began another extremely lengthy expedition on 3 August covering Frederick Sound, Stephens Passage (as far as Lynn Channel thereby showing Admiralty Island to be an island), Seymour Canal and Taku Inlet. On 3 August, Johnstone crossed Chatham Strait and confirmed that the southern point on the eastern shore was Cape Decision, visited by Whidbey a year earlier. He then proceeded carefully north up the eastern side of Chatham Strait and into Keku Strait. After showing that Keku Strait connected with Sumner Strait, Johnstone continued along the southern side of Frederick Sound and, on 16 August, met with Whidbey's party. Whidbey was greatly relieved by Johnstone's arrival as they had been threatened by a large group of Indians. The two survey parties rowed and sailed back together to the ships.
Vancouver was relieved at the return of the survey parties. They had now filled in the middle part of the jigsaw and had completed one of their tasks. The continental shoreline of the Northwest coast of America had been charted in detail from California north to Alaska. Some of the offshore islands remained to be investigated but Vancouver could now say with authority that the Northwest Passage did not exist south of 65N. In recognition of having coming to the end, Vancouver named their final anchorage Port Conclusion. On 24 August, Vancouver took the Discovery and the Chatham out to sea and headed south for Nootka Sound.
Everyone on board the ships shared the sense of achievement and relief at having finished their huge task. For most men their greatest wish now was to return to Britain as quickly as possible, having been away for three and a half years. Vancouver, though, needed to visit Nootka to attempt to resolve matters resulting from the Nootka Sound Convention. He reached Nootka on 2 September and found Jose Manuel de Alava had taken charge for the Spanish. However, no new instructions had been received and Vancouver was further disappointed to learn that his friend Bodega had died. Much to his crews' dismay, Vancouver decided to wait.
Finally, Vancouver tired of waiting and sailed on 15 October. Fog soon separated the Discovery and the Chatham and when Vancouver reached Monterey he found Puget and the Chatham waiting for him. They were all relieved to find that the unpleasant Arrillaga had been recalled to Mexico and their reception was a friendly one once more. In November word came through about the negotiations. Representatives of the two Governments were to read statements at Nootka but it was not to be Vancouver who would represent Britain. Vancouver had copies of his journals and charts made and they were sent independently to Britain, while he sailed from Monterey on 2 December 1794. He did not know that his replacement had arrived in Mexico City two days earlier.
The ships soon reached the Galapagos Islands but the shorelines of the islands were forbidding so only a cursory stop was made. They sailed away on 10 February. After a week, Vancouver had become impatient once more with the sailing of the Chatham and determined that the ships make their own way to the Juan Fernandez Islands. But it would not be plain sailing for the Discovery as there was a problem with the mainmast and the Chatham was able to catch up on 19 March and sail close to the larger ship. A further problem developed with an outbreak of scurvy on the Discovery, which caused Vancouver to change course and head for Valparaiso on the Chile coast. The port was reached on 26 March and Vancouver was pleased to find a warm welcome from the Governor, Louis Alava, the brother of his fellow negotiator at Nootka six months earlier.
Alava did not have the authority to sanction repairs to the ships and sought it from Ambrosio O'Higgins, the Governor of Chile. O'Higgins quickly agreed and invited Vancouver to visit him in the capitol, Santiago. A small party of British officers set out on 3 April and reached Santiago two days later. O'Higgins had met the French explorer Laperouse and been one of the proponents of Malaspina's Pacific voyage so it seems in character that he was interested to meet Vancouver and learn about the voyage. For nine days the British were treated as celebrities before returning to Valparaiso on 16 April. The repairs needed were more extensive than first imagined so Vancouver had to wait. The fragile state of the ships forced Vancouver to abandon his other instructions to examine the Chile coast. Instead, on 7 May 1795, he left Valparaiso intent on returning to Britain as quickly as possible.
Winter was approaching so it was not a good time of year to be entering Antarctic waters. The conditions were as bad as anticipated when the ships rounded Cape Horn on 29 May and struck up the Atlantic for St. Helena. On 9 June, the ships separated once more but as the Discovery reached St. Helena on 3 July the Chatham was also just arriving. (Vancouver had effectively circled the globe and gained a day; it was really 2 July).
The war in Europe had continued and, since France had conquered the Netherlands, the Netherlands and the Dutch colony at the southern Cape of Africa were now officially the enemy. Vancouver became involved in the capture of a Dutch East Indiaman, the Macassar, which arrived shortly after the Discovery. The repercussions over who should receive part of the prize money lasted for several years and Vancouver only received his share shortly before his death. Vancouver also mad stores and tools available to a ship about to sail to the Cape.
Vancouver's ships needed further repairs, which were immediately carried out at St. Helena. British troops were in Sao Salvador in Brazil waiting to go to the Cape to join in the assault. A merchantman, the Orpheus sailed on 11 July with instructions for these troops. The Chatham followed the Orpheus the following day to Brazil and there the ship was to join a convoy heading for Britain. James Johnstone was seconded from the Chatham to sail the Macassar to Britain.
The Discovery sailed on 16 July. Following Royal Navy practice, Vancouver had called for all the journals, diaries and logbooks to be handed as he had approached St. Helena. They would all be presented to the Admiralty. The only person not to comply was Archibald Menzies, who maintained that he was answerable to Joseph Banks and all his journals belonged to Banks and not the Admiralty. The Discovery made good progress north from St. Helena and crossed the Equator on 25 July. The ship caught a convoy that had left St. Helena a fortnight before the Discovery on 21 August and sailed with the convoy that anchored in the River Shannon in west Ireland on 13 September 1795.
The expedition was over and Vancouver left his ship and crossed to London where he reported to the Admiralty. Lieutenant Joseph Baker was entrusted with sailing the Discovery from Shannon to the River Thames. It anchored at Longreach on 20 October before moving up to Deptford. The Chatham joined it there later that month. The Chatham had reached Brazil on 27 July after a bad crossing, during which signs of scurvy appeared. The crew were supplied with oranges and other fruit to offset the scurvy. Setting off on 19 August, the Chatham avoided disaster on 18 September when a fire broke out on board. Quick thinking by James Robertson, the helmsman, put out the fire. Puget brought the Chatham into Plymouth on 16 October and then sailed round to the Thames. Johnstone brought the Macassar safely to Britain on 22 November 1795.
The voyage had two objectives when the ships set sail in 1791. The first was to represent Britain in Nootka in negotiations with the Spanish connected with the Nootka Sound Convention. Vancouver patiently dealt with a series of Spanish officers, all of whom showed little inclination to comply with the directives of the Convention. Vancouver was helpless to enforce anything and the British Government gave no further assistance or guidance over the next three years. The British were far more concerned with events in Europe and Vancouver and Nootka were forgotten about. Vancouver had been given a thankless task and nobody could have dome more in the circumstances.
It was in the other objective that Vancouver triumphed. He had been instructed to survey the Northwest Coast of America and, in doing so, was to prove or disprove, once and for all, the existence of the Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Over three years, Vancouver and his crew, surveyed the whole coast from California to Alaska, including the maze of inlets and islands north of 50N. The charts that they produced were magnificent in their comprehensiveness and correctness. They had drawn upon earlier work by James Cook, the Spanish and the Fur Traders but the majority of the work was done by Vancouver's team. The Northwest Passage was shown not to exist or, at least, not south of 65N. In searching for the Passage, Vancouver employed the action of following the continental shore, so charting every twist and turn of the shoreline. In doing this, some of the offshore islands were neglected, which is a minor criticism. The charts are testimony to Vancouver, Puget, Whidbey, Johnstone, Broughton, Baker and the rest of the men who rowed for thousands of kilometres to create them.
Vancouver achieved something else not included in the voyage's objectives. The friendship that developed between himself and Kamehameha created the possibility that Hawaii would become a British ally in the Pacific. Kamehameha even declared his allegiance to Britain. However, the British Government were not interested in Hawaii or even the Pacific when Vancouver returned to Britain and nobody ever followed up on Vancouver's initiatives, allowing Hawaii to fall into the American sphere of influence.
After the voyage, Vancouver was accused of strict, even harsh treatment of his crew. He pursued a strict regime, largely to keep control and prevent mutiny, as the "Mutiny on the Bounty" had taken place only two years earlier and Vancouver was, no doubt, not prepared to suffer the same fate as William Bligh. He appears to have generated a certain respect from his officers and from much of the crew, even if he had few friends among them. He does not seem to have been a man particularly at ease with fellow officers and his middle class background compared with the upper class background of some of his midshipmen will not have eased matters. On top of which, the illness that affected Vancouver throughout the voyage obviously compounded the problems of four years living in close proximity in awful conditions.
Vancouver made enemies of some on board. Surgeon's mates and clerks made criticisms but they had little opportunity to cause trouble for Vancouver. It was different for some of his midshipmen and the Naturalist on board, Archibald Menzies, who were related to or knew people who could hurt him. Vancouver had done his cause no good by alienating Joseph Banks, Menzies' benefactor, even before the expedition started. Banks was an extremely powerful and influential person in London society in the 1790s, with close friends in Government and the Admiralty. He could, and probably did, make life very difficult for Vancouver when Vancouver returned to London.
Most of the immediate duties associated with the end of the voyage were completed and the crew paid off on 3 November. Vancouver went on half pay the next day. As his health was poor, he proceeded a few weeks later to Bristol to take the hot springs there. In January 1796, he learned that the Spanish were accusing him of not paying costs incurred by British deserters in California. The matter was soon resolved and the Navy Board paid the money owed. Vancouver realised the need to be nearer London and, in February, moved to Petersham, next to Richmond Park, just to the southwest of London. He lived in Glen Cottage in River Lane. This move proved ironic in that the family of his nemesis, Thomas Pitt, had recently owned Petersham Lodge, a house only 250 metres away at the other side of the village.
Vancouver was not a rich man and it took two years for the Admiralty to pay his wages for all his time at sea from 1791 to 1795. He wrote many letters over the next few years to the Admiralty pressing the case for his wages and other money to which he felt entitled. It took until early 1798, shortly before his death, before he received his share of the prize money for the Macassar, captured off St. Helena.
The Admiralty determined that the narrative of Vancouver's voyage should be prepared for publication and instructed Vancouver to write it. This was an unusual step as previous British voyages had not been written up by the Naval officers concerned but by other people brought in for the task. In early 1796, Vancouver began working in his new home in Petersham. At this time, it was expected that Menzies would be preparing his journals and notes on the natural history observed into a companion volume but Menzies never completed anything. His journals remain unpublished. Vancouver was given the go ahead to organise engravers for the charts prepared by Baker and the views drawn by Sykes, Humphrys, Heddington and Mudge.
Vancouver drew very closely upon his own journals for much of the text. Where illness or other reasons prevented Vancouver from having been present at an event, he quoted, with acknowledgment, the journal of one of his colleagues who was there. Vancouver's poor health meant that writing was a strain and a slow process so his brother, John, moved to Petersham in March 1797 to help.
In late 1796, another interruption occured, with the return of Thomas Pitt, the midshipman whom Vancouver had sent home on the Daedalus from Hawaii. Pitt wrote a letter, in June 1796, from Dalmatia, still on his way home, in which he challenged Vancouver to a duel.
Vancouver's nemesis was a member of the most powerful family in the country, the Pitts. Thomas Pitt was the brother-in-law of Lord Grenville, the Foreign Secretary, a cousin of William Pitt the Younger, the Prime Minister, and a cousin of the Earl of Chatham, who had just finished a term as the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty. While Pitt had been away his father had died so he had succeeded to the title of Baron Camelford. He had powerful friends who had already begun pleading his case for reward and promotion, despite his performance on the voyage. Vancouver received the challenge for the duel after the date set down for it to take place but made it known he would not have accepted it anyway. Vancouver maintained he had acted with total propriety throughout the voyage and had nothing to answer for. On 1 September, Camelford arrived at Vancouver's Petersham address, confronted him and again challenged him to a duel.
Letters were exchanged as Vancouver became more concerned and afraid. Lord Grenville even sided with Vancouver and tried to calm his brother-in-law, while details of the affair were forwarded to the Lord Chancellor, Lord Loughborough. However, on 21 September, George and Charles Vancouver were walking in Conduit Street when Camelford attacked them. Camelford actually came off the worst but the incident was made infamous by the cartoonist, James Gillray, who drew a caricature which portrayed George Vancouver as a coward. Camelford was reprimanded by the Lord Chancellor and bound over to keep the peace. Tremendous damage was done, though, to Vancouver's reputation by the cartoon and by newspapers, which reported the incidents in ways very prejudicial to Vancouver. Other incorrect reports began to appear, including one which stated a mutiny had occured on the Discovery. Camelford turned his attentions to Charles Vancouver and tried to provoke him into a duel. Thankfully for the Vancouvers, Camelford sailed for the West Indies in June 1797.
Camelford was an arrogant, bad-tempered, violent and deranged young man. It is possible that Vancouver was the first person who ever denied him anything and the first to discipline him. Camelford's reaction was to deem Vancouver his enemy. He went on to have a stormy and dishonorable career in the Navy, including murdering a fellow officer in Antigua. Somehow, probably through family influence, he was let off to carry on as before. In 1804, he finally died, killed in another duel. However, his influence had already had terrible effects on Vancouver.
Vancouver had been ridiculed in newspapers and by members of London Society and the Navy. Surprisingly, Lord Grenville, Camelford's brother-in-law remained a friend and supported him. Vancouver, though, withdrew further and concentrated on writing the narrative. Unfortunately, he died on 12 May 1798 before he had finished preparing the text. He had managed as far as late 1795 when the expedition reached Valparaiso. His brother John, who had been assisting him for some time, completed the preparations, helped by Peter Puget and "A Voyage of Discovery" was published in August or September 1798. It was generally well received in Britain, though one reviewer, still believing in the Northwest Passage, criticised Vancouver for not having investigated certain parts of the coast. A second edition was published in 1801 and it was also quickly translated, appearing in France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Russia.
George Vancouver died in Petersham on 12 May 1798 and was buried six days later in the churchyard of St. Peter's, Petersham. No doctor's report from the time survives and no official reason for death was ever stated. Writers since then have tried to analyse the evidence to determine the cause of death. For some time, a hyperthyroid condition was felt to have been the illness that killed Vancouver. However, John Naish, himself a doctor, has recently suggested that Vancouver died from renal (kidney) failure caused by chronic nephritis. Renal damage is often associated with malaria and other tropical illnesses that Vancouver no doubt had contact with in his time in the unhealthy climate of the Caribbean. The conditions on board an eighteenth ship for four years together with the stress of leadership would have combined to exacerbate the original complaint. Vancouver made out a will a few days before his death and his two brothers were beneficiaries.Two of his sisters, Sarah and Mary, were also beneficiaries.
Even Vancouver's detractors as a person have all praised the cartographic achievements of the voyage, which produced a portfolio of charts and detailed descriptions of one of the most intricate coastlines in the world. He had gone to the Pacific to help resolve the Nootka crisis and it is most appropriate that the large island where Nootka Sound is situated should now carry his name. He, himself, had suggested that Bodega y Quadra, his fellow negotiator should also be honoured but I feel sure Bodega would not begrudge Vancouver the sole right. Vancouver Island lies astride the 49th parallel, the dividing line between Canada and the United States, which is fitting as he did much to delineate the outlines of those two countries.
Vancouver Island hides the Strait of Georgia from the Pacific Ocean. When the Canadians were building their transcontinental railway in the 1900s, they arrived at the Strait of Georgia between Burrard Inlet and the mouth of the Fraser River and built their terminus there. The city, which grew up around that terminus, is Vancouver.
Vancouver's colleagues.
Brief biographies of some of the men who sailed with Vancouver can be found at Vancouver's colleagues.
A bibliography of works connected with Vancouver's expedition can be found at the George Vancouver bibliography.
Return to Northwest Coast of America exploration