Spanish exploration of the Northwest Coast of North America

This page was started in early January 2002 and is a work in progress that was last added to on 2 March 2002. I hope to incorporate the text in an atlas that I am negotiating to have published. The main content of the atlas will be a series of maps showing all the expeditions of the Spanish to the Northwest Coast in the late eighteenth century. This text will support the maps and is only intended to be an overview of the story. For fuller accounts, please see the books listed in the select bibliography at the foot of this page.

Background

A feature of the Spanish throughout this time was secrecy. They were reluctant to publish the results of their explorations and refused, usually, to share information with other countries. The Pacific Ocean was regarded by the Spanish as their domain and, as such, any ships sailing in the Pacific were intruding and had no rights to claim territory. The Spanish attitude was that only Spain could make claims and it had no obligation to inform other countries of what it was doing.

The Governments of Russia and Britain did not accept Spanish rights to the Pacific and had begun exploring the ocean with a view to extending their own areas of influence. Because of Spanish secrecy, it was impossible for the Russians or British to know whether they were visiting locations already seen by the Spanish or virgin territory.

Early Spanish activity.

In America, Spain spread its empire from Mexico in the north through Central America and down the west coast of South America past Peru to Chile. On the western side of the Pacific, Spain had control of the Philippine Islands. Major ports were established at Panama, Callao (for Lima in Peru), Manila (Philippines) and Acapulco (Mexico), and over the two hundred years after Magellan, most of the Spanish naval activity was concentrated between these ports. As a result the Northern Pacific was largely neglected and only occasional sorties were made into these waters. Sometimes these sorties were the result of ships being carried off course as happened with Manila galleons returning from Manila to Mexico. Remains, which have been found on the Northwest Coast, indicate that Spanish ships either visited or were wrecked in the area.

In the early 1500s, a few expeditions moved north from Mexico by land and sea but it was only in 1542 that a naval expedition passed beyond Baja California to Alta California (which approximates to the U.S.A. state of California). Joao Rodrigues Cabrilho, a Portuguese, and Bartolome Ferrelo led an expedition that left La Navidad in Mexico in June 1542. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, as he is known in Spanish, had two ships, the San Salvador and the Victoria for his mission. Progress was slow but they reached a harbour on 28 September that Cabrillo named Bahia de San Miguel (later renamed San Diego). They discovered the Santa Barbara Islands in October and by mid-November they were north of San Francisco Bay. They returned to the Santa Barbara Islands where Cabrillo died on 3 January 1543. His crew named the island after him, Isla de Juan Rodriguez, but it is now called San Miguel. Ferrelo assumed command and took the expedition north again. No charts have survived so there is no certainty how far he sailed but is believed he reached a point close to Eureka, near the Oregon-California border. The Spanish then sailed back south and reached La Navidad on 14 April 1543.

A British interloper and mythical explorers.

As well as documented visits to the Northwest Coast there have been several instances of unsubstantiated voyages, some of which may have been fiction. Among these were the supposed voyages of Juan de Fuca and Bartholomew de Fonte. The reports of both of these voyages appeared in British publications.

In 1625, the popular "Purchas, His Pilgrims" carried the account of a Greek pilot sailing to the Northwest Coast. He was Apostolos Valerianos, more commonly known as Juan de Fuca, and, in 1592, he is supposed to have found a large inlet on the North American coast near 50N. It possibly led to the Northwest Passage. A person called Michael Lok wrote about the voyage after Fuca told him about it in Venice in 1596 and the story found its way to Britain. Cartographers believed the story and the feature began appearing on maps. Interestingly, a large strait existed where Fuca had stated it did and, when it was eventually identified in 1787, it was called the Strait of Juan de Fuca after him. No mention of Fuca has ever come to light in Spanish archives.

Juan de Fuca possibly did exist but Bartholomew de Fonte is most probably fiction. His story appeared in London in 1708 in "Memoirs for the curious". Fonte was supposed to have found the Northwest Passage in 1640. Cartographers gave it credence by including a "Rio de los Reyes" or "Fonte's Strait" on their maps at about 55N.

More Spanish exploration.

In the 1590s, Sebastian Vizcaino was one of the principal men involved in organising and carrying out expeditions northwards. It may even have been on one of Vizcaino's trips that Juan de Fuca sailed. One of Vizcaino's associates, Sebastiao Rodrigues Cermenho, sailed a galleon, the San Agustin from Acupulco to Manila and returned to America, making landfall, in 1595, near Trinidad Head, near Cape Mendocino. He sailed south along the coast and encountered Indians in balsa canoes. Cermenho decided to land. A launch took a party ashore and Cermenho named the location Bahia de San Francisco. He also began to chart the bay but the San Agustin was driven onto rocks and destroyed. The launch, named the San Buenaventura became their means of rescue and took the survivors south to Mexico.

Felipe III, who took over the Spanish throne in 1598, was interested in Pacific exploration. He ordered a new expedition and Vizcaino received royal authorisation to lead it. Vizcaino left Acapulco in May 1602 with three ships, the San Diego, the Santo Tomas, and the Tres Reyes. He was aiming to sail beyond Cape Mendocino. We have a record and even charts of this voyage through its chronicler, Fray Antonio de la Ascension. It is not known whether Vizcaino had copies of the records of Cabrillo's voyage or even knew about it, as he duplicated much of the earlier voyage and substituted his own names for Cabrillo's. It may have been due to the normal Spanish policy of secrecy. The progress north was very slow and Vizcaino only reached Bahia de San Miguel, which he renamed San Diego, on 10 November. He passed the Santa Barbara Islands and, on 15 December, entered a bay, which he named Bahia de Monterey, after the then Viceroy, Gaspar de Zuniga, Conde de Monterey.

The Santo Tomas was sent home from Monterey with the sick while the other two ships sailed north for Cape Blanco. Bad weather soon separated the ships and the San Diego was forced south. There were insufficient well crew to sail the ship properly as more storms buffeted it. They made it safely to Santa Catalina in the Santa Barbara Islands but large numbers of sick on board caused them to sail on for Mexico. The ship was, by now, a floating infirmary.

Meanwhile, the Tres Reyes had continued northward to about latitude 43N before cold and scurvy took their toll. Martin de Aguilar, the captain, and his first pilot were among those that died. Esteban Lopez, the boatswain, took over command and sailed the ship southward. He sighted a large river entrance and named the river after the dead captain, Rio de Martin Aguilar. It is possibly modern Humboldt Bay, north of Cape Mendocino. The supposed large size of Rio de Martin Aguilar caused it to be another of the possible outlets of the Northwest Passage. Lopez brought the Tres Reyes back to Mexico in March 1603.

The Conde de Monterey was succeeded as Viceroy by Juan de Mendoza y Luna, Marques de Montesclaros, who showed no interest in pursuing the exploration of Alta California and diverted all resources into finding various islands in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. Alta California was then neglected by the Spanish for over 150 years.

San Blas.

The Viceroy of New Spain, Carlos Fransisco de Croix, ordered that a settlement be created on the Pacific coast at San Blas, but storms, flooding and disease wrecked the place that same year and the people retreated to Tepic. Jose de Galvez, the Visitador-General to New Spain, held a military council in San Blas in 1768, which officially established San Blas as a royal seaport, shipyard and supply base. Spain was keen to extend its influence to include Alta California, where presidios were founded at San Diego and Monterey. The expansion took place jointly with the Catholic Church, which built a series of Franciscan missions. Fray Junipero Serra, the president of the Frnasiscan missions, was involved directly in all the planning.

The choice of San Blas remains a strange one as a larger, existing and thriving port was located at Acapulco, south of Mexico City. The climate of the new port was also a factor against its selection. Storms and floods regularly affected the town and spoiled provisions, while many diseases took their toll of the garrison. Senior officials often spent much of their time in the cooler climate at Tepic. It did provide access to fresh water though and there was a good supply of hardwood timber in the hinterland. Its big advantages were that it was many sailing days closer to California than Acapulco, and could easily be serviced from the major centre of Guadalajara.

For the first few years, the senior naval personnel at San Blas were pilots. No officers aere allocated to San Blas until late 1774 and, in the meantime, the pilots commanded all the ships based there. While not acknowledged by rank or salary, the pilots were trained and more than able to command. Their position was not unlike Masters on British Royal Navy ships who carried out most of the tasks of running a ship, even under the presence of a Captain and lieutenants.

Two packetboats, the San Carlos and the Principe, were built and launched nearby on the Rio Santiago in 1767, together with two much smaller schooners, the Sonora and the Sialoa. All these vessels were based in San Blas and would feature repeatedly in events on the coast over the next twenty years. In 1768, orders were received from the Marquez de Grimaldi, the zzzzzzz in Madrid, for De Croix to immediately send forces to Alta California to secure the region against the threat of Russian expansion. After many initial problems with the ships, the "Sacred Expedition" sailed north in 1769. The commanding officer of the Principe was Juan Perez, a pilot, who would later sail on two of the important missions to the north.

As Alta California became more self-sufficient, the role of and need for San Blas diminished quickly and, by 1800, its usefulness had been virtually eliminated. San Blas fell into a total decline as the population moved away and the port was no more.

Alta California.

The mission of San Diego (de Alcala) was established in 1769 while San Carlos Borromeo was established at the southern end of Monterey Bay in 1770. Monterey's mission was transferred a few kilometres south to Carmel in 1771, leaving the Presidio in Monterey. Monterey was made the capital and the seat of the Governor, Portola, while Padre Serra ran the nearby San Carlos Borromeo mission at Carmel. Various other settlements and missions sprang up over the next few years, including San Francisco (de Asis) and Santa Clara in 1776, San Buenoventura in 1782, and Santa Barbara in 1786.

Alta California was unable to sustain itself for many years and the supply base at San Blas was crucial for its survival. For twenty years, the ships of San Blas carried out a regular service, ferrying supplies and personnel to maintain the province. Gradually, though, the province became more self-sufficient and other supply routes were devised rendering San Blas redundant.

Juan Perez's expedition in 1774.

    Fig 1: Juan Jose Perez Hernandez.

In 1773, Perez was the most senior officer available in San Blas and probably the most experienced. Bucareli ordered Juan Perez to prepare for an expedition and asked him to draft plans for the voyage, which he then amended and approved. A ship, the Santiago, a San Blas built ship, was commissioned and made ready for departure in early 1774. The Santiago was 225 tons and 82 feet long. Eighty-eight officers and men and twenty-four passengers were to travel on board though many of these people were being shipped to Monterrey. The second-in-command on the Santiago was Esteban Jose Martinez, who would later feature prominently in the history of the Northwest Coast.

Perez sailed on 24 January 1774 and made his way north. By early March, the ship was experiencing structural problems and Perez worked the ship back inside the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara to San Diego. The ship remained there from 11 March to 6 April, when it resumed its journey to Monterey. Monterey was reached on 8 May and another month was taken up with discharging cargo. On 11 June, the Santiago finally began the exploration of new waters noth of Monterey. Perez's instructions were to make landfall at about 60N so he kept well out to sea and sailed north far from land. In mid-July in latitude 50N Perez changed course and struck northeast to encounter lad on 18 July. He had reached the northwest coast of Graham Island, one of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

On 19 July, as the Santiago drifted toward the shore, three canoes came out to greet them. The local people, Haida, would later gain a warlike reputation but on this occasion all the contact was peaceful. Perez rounded the northern headland making a tentative search for a safe harbour but adverse corrents forced him back and northwest. He drifted for three days while the Spanish and Haida traded and tried unsuccessfully to communicate. None of Perez's men went ashore. He named the headland, off which the Santiago plied back and forth, Punta Santa Margarita (in 1792 Caamano realised it was a separate island and called it Isla Langara). To the north, across a strait of water (Dixon Entrance), Perez named two headlands. The western one, Santa Cristina, is the southern point of Forrester Island while the other, Santa Maria Magdalena, the southern point of Dall Island was later renamed Cape Muzon.

Perez had reached 54N but now decided to return south and made no attempt to press on to 60N as set out in his instructions. He had been told to follow the coast south and he kept close to the Queen Charlotte Islands without attempting to land or having any further contact. He could see the mountains on the islands and called them Los Cerros de San Cristobal. They maintained a southeast course after the land finished on 28 July. On 4 August they turned northeast and sighted land again the next day before being enveloped in fog.

As the fog cleared on 7 August, the Spanish approached an inlet and canoes paddled out to the ship. The Santiago did not enter the inlet but turned and anchored near rocks off a small peninsula. Trading with the local Nootka people quickly began and among the items given by the Spanish were four silver spoons. Four years later when Captain James Cook visited Nootka, these spoons were shown to the British, who remarked on them and pondered their origin. They would achieve importance in 1790 when Spain cited them as evidence that Spain had reached the region before the British.

Perez launched a small boat to examine a nearby inlet but conditions changed and the Santiago was in danger of being driven onto rocks. Perez tried unsuccessfully to raise the anchor and had to cut the cable, leaving the anchor behind, as he sailed away. He named the inlet he had approached Surgidero de San Lorenzo (Nootka Sound) and the point off which he had anchored, Punta de San Estavan (Estevan Point). The rocks that were nearly his downfall were later called Perez Rocks.

The Santiago now began his journey home in earnest. There is uncertainty whether the Spanish saw the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca as Martinez later claimed. They did see a mountain on 11 August and named it Sierra Nevada de Santa Rosalia (Mount Olympus). Banks of fog caused the coast further south to be only seen irregularly. Perez reached Monterey on 28 August. It is believed that Perez had intended to visit San Francisco Bay to chart the bay but in mid September he took the Santiago south. He and his crew were probably sick and Perez realised they would recive better medical treatment back in Mexico. On 5 November, the Santiago finally struggled back into the harbour of San Blas.

The voyage was only partly successful. Perez brought the ship safely home to San Blas but he had only carried out part of Bucareli's instructions, leaving much unknown. He had not sailed sufficiently far north and had, therefore, not approached anywhere near the region of Russian activity. Nor had he landed anywhere and made claims of possession for Spain. But he had shown that Spain could extend its influence up the coast and he had reached Nootka Sound, which would prove crucial sixteen years later.

Bucareli received the reports from Perez and forwarded copies to Spain. Though somewhat disappointed at the results, Bucareli was not dissuaded and began planning for another expedition.

Bruno de Hezeta's expedition in 1775.

    Fig 2: Bruno de Hezeta y Dudagoitia.

Accompanying Hezeta on the Santiago was the pilot Juan Perez, who had led the expedition the previous year. The Sonora was a much smaller vessel, only 37 feet long, and Juan Manuel de Ayala was appointed as its captain. Two men who would make lasting impressions on the Northwest Coast were named as Ayala's fellow officers. Juan Fransisco Bodega y Quadra was Ayala's deputy and Francois Mourelle sailed as pilot. The ship was so small that it only had room for 14 crew. Its size meant it had a shallow draught and would be able to sail close to shore for surveying purposes. Before sailing, the Sonora needed a complete overhaul.

Bucareli instructed Hezeta to go to 65N and explore in that region. He was to look out for Russians and take possession for Spain of lands visited. A third ship, the 195 ton San Carlos was to sail north with Hezeta but only as far as Monterey. Captain Manuel Manrique, and Pilot, Jose Canizares, were then to proceed to proceed to San Francisco and chart the bay. On 16 March 1775, the three ships left San Blas.

Three days into the voyage, Manrique started showing signs of insanity and he was sent back to San Blas. Ayala transferred from the Sonora to take charge of the San Carlos and Bodega took over on the Sonora. Ten days later, Hezeta's two ships lost touch with the San Carlos. They made very slow progress in contrary conditions and were forced west away from land. On 9 June, they finally regained the coast and the Sonora led them into a bay, north of Cape Mendocino. The bay was named Puerto de la Trinidad (Trinidad Bay). They stayed for ten days, during which the Sonora was careened and the bay charted. Hezeta climbed a hill at the western end of the bay, took possession and planted a cross, which was still there 18 years later when Vancouver put into the bay.

The ships sailed north on 19 June, being forced out to sea again. By early July they had closed in on the coast near 50N and searched unsuccessfully for the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They needed water and, on 13 July, the ships anchored near a headland (Point Grenville in modern Washington State). They had been separated slightly near the coast so the Sonora was to the north of the headland, while Hezeta and the Santiago were to the south. Hezeta went ashore and took possession early on the morning of 14 July. In the meantime, Bodega sent men ashore to obtain water and cut timber for a new mast. Suddenly these men were ambushed and all seven were killed. Bodega raised the anchor and went to rejoin Hezeta. Together they decided not to attempt retaliation and set off once more. The bay where Hezeta had taken possession was named Rada de Bucareli after the Viceroy (Grenville Bay). The ambush took place near the mouth of the Quinault River, south of Punta de los Martires (Cape Elizabeth).

Men on the Santiago began to express wishes to abort the expedition even though the tragedy had befallen the Sonora. As the ships sailed west, a meeting was held on 19 July with Hezeta and Perez calling for a return while Bodega and Mourelle felt they should continue. Hezeta backed down and the expedition continued. By 29 July, they were at 50N when the ships were separated. It is quite possible that Bodega affected the separation on purpose in order to sail north, feeling Hezeta was not committed to such a course.

Hezeta spent some time looking for the schooner and sailed east believing he would find the Sonora in that direction. The schooner had vanished and the Santiago instead sighted land on 10 August. It was Vancouver Island and Hezeta turned southeast to follow the coast. Four days later some canoes came off and the Spanish were able to trade. Sailing on, they missed the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca again and soon passed Rada de Bucareli, the site of the ambush a month earlier. The next day Hezeta became the first European to see the mouth of the Columbia River.

Hezeta realised that it was the mouth of a large river and wondered if it was the Strait of Juan de Fuca. He dismissed this idea and, after unsuccessfully trying to enter the river, called it Bahia de la Asuncion (it would also be known as Entrada de Hezeta). Strong tides and currents persuaded Perez and the other pilot, Cristobal Revilla, that it would be too dangerous to attempt to enter the river. Many of the crew were sick and there were not sufficient fit men if there was an emergency. A chart of the river mouth was drawn. The Spanish called the northern point of the river mouth Cabo San Roque (Cape Disappointment) and the southern point Cabo Frondoso (Point Adams).

The Santiago continued south. Late on 19 August, the ship approached Cape Blanco and nearly ran aground on the reefs and small islands near the cape. It passed Cape Mendocino on 26 August and two days later Hezeta sighted the Farallones, the small islands near the mouth of San Francisco Bay. The next day, the 29th, the Santiago anchored in Monterey Bay. Most of the men on board were in need of urgent medical attention and 35 were taken ashore immediately to the Presidio hospital. One man died in the transfer. The Sonora was not in the bay and there was no news of the schhooner.

When sufficient men had recovered, Hezeta took a small party to San Francisco Bay to prepare a chart. He found word there from Ayala (of the San Carlos). On 1 October Hezeta returned to Monterey and six days later he was pleased to see the Sonora arrive. Unfortunately, Bodega's crew were all very sick and needed time to recover. They had recovered sufficiently for both ships to leave Monterey on 1 November. Three days out, Juan Perez died and was buried at sea. He had been weak for several weeks. On 20 November 1775, theSantiago and the Sonora arrived back at San Blas.

Bodega y Quadra's voyage in 1775, after the separation from Hezeta.

    Fig 3: Juan Francisco Bodega y Quadra.

    Fig 4: Francisco Mourelle.

The search for the Northwest Passage was one of Bodega's priorities. One possibility, a passage called the Strait of Bartholomew de Fonte was supposed to be in these latitudes and Bodega now left Los Remedios to make a search. He sailed south following the coast and checking all the inlets. After several days the Sonora entered a large sheltered bay, where it anchored. Bodega was ill so Mourelle set off to explore the bay, its many islands and inlets. Mourelle called the bay, Entrada de Bucareli (Bucareli Bay), honoring the Viceroy once more. The Spanish went ashore and took possession of the bay, which is located on the west side of Prince of Wales Island.

When Bodega left Entrada de Bucareli, he sighted Isla San Carlos (Forrester Island) to the south and Cabo San Agustin on Dall Island. However, he sailed north again, passing Los Remedios and reaching 58 30N on 27 August before inshore winds and the ill health of the crew combined to force him south. A few days later there were insufficient hands to man both sails and the rudder when bad weather struck. Bodega had not reached as far north as instructed by Bucareli but it was much farther than had knowingly been achieved by a Spanish ship before. They had no sightings of Russians at all. Chirikov was the only Russian to have been in this area when he lost his boat party near Yakobi Island in 1742.

Through September, the Sonora worked its way south. On 3 October, it entered a bay just north of San Francisco. Bodega named it Puerto de la Bodega after himself. The bay is called Tomales Bay while another bay a few kilometres to the northwest has acquired the name Bodega Bay. The next day, a tidal bore smashed the schooner's launch and threatened the Sonora itself. It then sailed the short distance south to Monterey where Hezeta was waiting. Hezeta may have been waiting to reprimand Bodega and Mourelle for disobeying orders but he was more relieved to have his companions back and to learn what they had achieved. However, both Bodega and Mourelle were so sick that they had to be carried ashore for treatment. On 1 November, they had recovered and they and the Sonora left for San Blas.

The Aftermath to the Northern Voyages of 1774 and 1775.

Galvez passed on this information to Bucareli with instructions that Bucareli should organise an expedition to thwart Cook. All the Spanish presidios and missions would be told not to co-operate with Cook while the Spanish would claim rights to the Passage by locating it first. Hezeta and Bodega were to lead the expedition using the same ships. However, Bucareli had major problems. The base at San Blas only had so many ships and men and all of them were already deployed supplying California and on other duties. It was also short of iron and other materials with which to build new ships. Bucareli suggested that new ships be built in Peru for use at San Blas, to which Madrid agreed and Bodega left San Blas to travel to Peru to collect a ship.

Bodega was originally from Lima and probably leapt at the chance to visit his family. He left Mexico in late 1776 and was away for 15 months, returning on 27 February 1778 with the Favorita, a newly built frigate. Bruno de Hezeta was employed elsewhere so another officer, Ignacio de Arteaga, was appointed to lead the proposed expedition. In Bodega's absence, San Blas had been able, after all, to build another ship and the frigate Princesca was ready for Arteaga. It would still be another year before the ships were ready to sail.

The delays made redundant some of the reasons for Arteaga's voyage. Cook left Britain in 1776 and dawdled in the South Pacific before leaving Hawaii in Feruary 1778 to head for the Northwest Coast. At the same time as Bodega was returning to San Blas and, a full year before the Sapnish sailed north, Cook was cossing the North Pacific. He was just north of Cape Blanco on 13 March and landed in Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island two weeks later. The same day Arteaga left San Blas, Cook returned to Keakekua Bay on Hawaii Island with a broken mast. Three days later, he died on the shore at Kaawaloa.

Cook believed he had done enough to disprove the existence of the Northwest Passage, though many believed he had not investigated closely enough and there was still a possibility that the Passage existed. Others would have to make a more thorough search. The other major implication of Cook's voyage for the Spanish though was development of the sea otter trade. Sea otter pelts had been acquired on the Northwest Coast and they were later traded for large profits by Cook's crew in Macao. The news of this soon spread and caused many ships to head for the Northwest Coast into territory held by Spain to be its own.

The Voyage of Arteaga and Bodega in 1779.

    Fig 5: Ignacio de Arteaga.

The Favorita and the Princesca anchored near the mouth of the sound in Puerta Santa Cruz and they had a stopover of eight weeks. On 18 May, Arteaga dispatched launches, led by Mourelle, to chart the sound. They were away for close to a month, returning on 12 June. While they were away Canizares charted the mouth of the sound. Soon after their arrival, an epidemic broke out on the Princesca and several men died. The ship's surgeons organised an isolation unit on shore and the epidemic was brought under control. Thankfully for the Spanish, relations with the local people were good and the Spanish were safe from attack. Shortly before the ship's departure, two men tried to desert though Arteaga thought they had been abducted. Confrontations resulted and relations soured before the men were recovered. When Arteaga learned of their desertion he punished the men and tried to restore relations. He also moved the ships across to another anchorage, Puerto San Antonio. The ships finally sailed from Bucareli Sound on 1 July and headed north.

Land was sighted on 9 July, somewhere near Yakutat Bay. The Spanish saw Bering's Mount St. Elias and then the Isla de Carmen (Kayak Island) before, on 21 July, the Favorita and the Princesca entered a large inlet at about 61N. Arteaga landed in a small side bay and took possession of the region. He named the bay Puerto de Santiago de Apostol. It is now called Port Etches and lies at the western end of Hinchinbrook Island. (Cook had visited the large inlet in May 1778. He had called it Sandwich Sound but it was later changed to Prince William Sound). Camacho charted the bay, while Arteaga sent Canizares and Pantoja off in longboats to make a swift reconnaissance. They went north but apart from a red, white and blue flag, they saw no signs of British or Russian visits to the inlet. They could see mountains circling the sound to the north and felt that no passage lay in that direction. The Spanish left the inlet on 28 July and followed the coast as it trended southwest.

They reached the mouth of Cook Inlet on 1 August, anchoring at a small island, Isla San Aniceto (Cook's Cape Elizabeth was the island's west point). Quiros, Mourelle and Bodega crossed to a small bay to the north on the Kenai Peninsula where another possession ceremony took place on 2 August 1779. The bay was called Ensenada de Nuestra Senora de la Regla (Port Chatham). As with Prince William Sound, Cook had been here before them and had made a survey of the inlet, though the Spanish saw no signs of Cook's visit. Arteaga and his crew aboard the Princesca were, by now, sick with scurvy and Arteaga was ready to return home. Bodega and Mourelle were still fit and made a survey of Cook Inlet. They sighted a large volcano (Iliamna Volcano) and named it after the expedition's chronicler, Antonio Miranda, Vocan de Miranda.

Despite Bodega's desire to continue, Arteaga ordered the ships back to California and they left Alaska on 7 August. The large islands of Shuyak and Afognak were sighted in the distance to the south and could not be seen clearly. Shuyak was called the Islas de Canizares while the northeast points of Afognak were named Isla de Camacho. The ships soon lost touch and made their separate ways to a rendezvous in San Francisco Bay. The Favorita anchored in the bay on 14 September and the Princesca arrived the next day. There were many sick on both ships and an infirmary was set up on shore where members of the mission looked after them. The ships stayed at San Francisco for six weeks allowing the sick to recover and while they were there they heard two important pieces of news. Viceroy Bucareli had died on 9 April and Spain had declared war on Britain, taking sides with the French and the newly independent United States of America.

On 30 October the two ships left San Francisco and sailed south to Mexico. The Favorita reached San Blas first on 21 November 1779 and the Princesca followed on the 25th. The expedition was successful in that the ships and most of the crews had returned to Mexico and Arteaga had taken possession of more land at Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet, thus extending Spain's empire. No signs of Russian or British presence in the region had been detected so Spanish concern was reduced.

Spain had once again shown their organisation to be lacking and their choice of leaders poor. Their voyages continued to suffer from scurvy and other illnesses that depleted the crews and forced their curtailment before reals gains and new discoveries had been made. Arteaga, like Hezeta before him, showed himself vulnerable to illness, lacking resolve and ready to return home at the first opportunity. Bodega and Mourelle, on the other hand, showed themselves ready to carry out all the required instructions and capable of doing more. It is somewhat surprising that, when the ships separated on leaving Alaska in September 1779, Bodega and Mourelle did not attempt to explore further in northern waters.  

Aftermath of Arteaga's voyage.

The settlements in Alta California required regular supplies and through the 1780s a few ships went from San Blas to Monterey and San Diego. As most of the officers had been transferred from Mexico, the responsibility for taking the ships fell to the Pilots again and one of them especially, Esteban Martinez. Martinez sailed the Princesca to Monterey several times and was present there in September 1786 when the French explorer, Laperouse, brought his two ships to the port. He helped Laperouse and learned from him what the French knew about Alaska and the Russians.

Martinez reported on his meeting on his return to San Blas and the information was forwarded via Mexico to Madrid. Galvez was already aware of Laperouse's voyage, having received word from Ambrosio O'Higgins, the Governor of Chile, who had met the Frenchman in Concepcion the previous year. The news would be one of the prompts that led to Malaspina's Pacific voyage that left Cadiz in 1789. In the meantime, on 25 January 1787, King Carlos III gave orders for the Viceroy of New Spain to send an expedition north to Alaska.

The orders arrived just before a new Viceroy took over. Manuel Antonio Flores arrived i April 1787 and immediately began organising the expedition. There was still a shortage of ships and experienced naval officers, and Jose Camacho was the senior one available. He was appointed to command and the Concepcion was chosen as his vessel if it returned from its current mission to Nicaragua in time. The experienced and capable Francisco Mourelle was given command of the companion ship, the Favorita. The Spanish had realised the need for better preparation and lime juice was ordered to offset scurvy. Camacho received his instructions in October 1787 but withdrew from the expedition on 29 November, citing poor health.

The Voyage of Martinez and Lopez de Haro in 1788.

    Fig 6: Esteban Jose Martinez.

Finally, on 8 March 1788, the two ships sailed from San Blas for Alaska. By 15 May, the ships were thought to be off Prince William Sound though Martinez thought differently, and he abd Serantes had a disagreement. Most people agreed with Serantes. According to Lopez de Haro, it was the beginning of continued irrational, violent and drunken behaviour by Martinez. Serantes suffered badly before being transferred to Lopez de Haro's ship. Martinez appeared reluctant to enter Prince William Sound and the ships plied back and forth off the coast for ten days. On the 25th, the ships edged into Montague Strait and anchored north of Cape Cleare (probably in MacLeod Harbor). Local poeple, Chugachs, visited the ships.

The Princesca and the San Carlos worked up the strait past Green Island and anchored near the northern end of Montague Island (possibly Stockdale Harbor). The Spanish went ashore to make barrels and collect fresh water. More Chugachs came to trade. On 1 June, Martinez took possesion of the region and named the bay, Puerto de Florez. Mondofio, one of the pilots was sent off in a longboat and sighted the northern shore of Prince William Sound. On 10 June, Juan Narvaez, another pilot, began a trip round the top of Montague Island and crossed to Port Etches (Puerto de Santiago) on Hinchinbrook Island. Coming back across Hinchinbrook Channel (Entrada del San Carlos), Narvaez entered Zaikov Bay where he found a deserted, european-style storehouse. The Spanish would learn later that the building was an outpost for Zaikov, one of the Russian fur traders operating in the region.

On 17 June, the two ships sailed southwest out of the Montague Strait. The two ships were close but not apparently sailing together and, it appears, Lopez de Haro contrived to separate from Martinez. Lopez de Haro, in the San Carlos, passed closed to the entrance of Cook Inlet from where they sighted Iliamna Volcano. He continued down the east coast of Kodiak Island and, on the 27th, reached Sitkalidak Island and Two Headed Island. 12 Canoes came off to the ship and the local people, Koniags, carried pieces of paper with Russian writing. The next day, more canoes visited the ship and the Koniags indicated there was a Russian settlement nearby.

Narvaez was dispatched in a lonboat to investigate but met Russians on the way and brought them back to the ship. Their leader was Eustrate Delarov, a Greek now working for the Russians. He welcomed the Spanish and shared information with them. Relations were courteous and friendly on both sides and the Spanish were invited to take their sick into Three Saints Bay to recuperate. Delarov informed Lopez de Haro about the seven Russian factories in Alaska and about plans for future expansion, and, in doing so, appears to have deliberately exaggerated the numbers of Russians already in the area and their distribution. He also told Lopez de Haro about an expected Russian expedition that would lead to a Russian base at Nootka Sound. (This was Billings' expedition, which never approached Nootka).

Delarov offered Lopez de Haro a chart from Cape Elizabeth to Unalaska which showed Kodiak to be an island separated from the mainland by a strait, later called Shelikof Strait after another Russian fur trader. While they were at Three Saints Bay, word arrived from a Russian on the nearby Trinity Islands that a Spanish ship was waiting there. Another messenger brought a letter that had been received from William Douglas, a British fur trader, who had just visited Cook Inlet. On 2 July, Lopez de Haro sailed and two days later rendezvoused with Martinez off Sitkinak, one of the Trinity Islands.

They sailed together and headed for Unalaska in the Aleutian Islands, west of the Alaska Peninsula, They passed to the west of Chirikov Island (Foggy Island) on 6 July and to the south of the Shumagin Islands on the 9th (Martinez called them Islas de los Pilotos). By the 15th, they were south of Unimak Island (San Gonzalo) and could see Shishaldin Volcano. However, fog and the better sailing ability of the Princesca caused the ships to separate again. Martinez managed to slip through the Canal de Camacho (Unalga Pass) to the north side of Unalaska where he anchored on 21 July. Eight days later he transferred to Unalaska Harbor where was entertained by the Russian factor, Potap Zaikov.

Meanwhile, Lopez de Haro and the San Carlos had a much more difficult time. For ten days he sailed off Cape Biorka on Sedanka Island, an island adjacent to Unalaska. On 29 July, a came out to the ship and helped guide them through to the north side of Unalaska. On 1 August, Lopez de Haro finally reached Unalaska Harbor where he found Martinez already established and on very good terms with Zaikov. Martinez and Zaikov appeared firm friends and drinking partners. Martinez had learned information from Zaikov, which was similar to that Lopez de Haro had obtained earlier from Delarov but Martinez dismissed Lopez de Haro's version as useless. Losing his temper, he threatened to replace Lopez de Haro with another pilot but other crew members pleaded Lopez de Haro's case and he remained in command of the San Carlos.

As at Three Saints Bay, the Russian factory was run by Aleuts with a small number of Russians in charge. It seems Martinez believed this did not represent full Russian occupation as, on 5 August 1788, he went ashore and, in a quiet and shortened ceremony, took possession for Spain. On 23 August, the Spanish ships left Unalaska, agreeing Monterey as a rendezvous point should they become separated again. Within days they were separated as the Princesca slipped through Unimak Pass and the San Carlos was unable to follow.

Lopez de Haro made good progress and had reached Vancouver Island by 9 September. Continuing down the coast, Lopez de Haro was enveloped by fog in the vicinity of Monterey so he decided to press on and reached San Blas on 22 October. He and other members of his crew began writing reports, documenting the voyage, especially, from their viewpoint, the irrational and bad leadership by Martinez. Meanwhile, Martinez had reached Monterey on 17 September. He waited there for Lopez de Haro until November and finally sailed south on the 14th. Martinez and the Princesca arrived back at San Blas on 5 Deecember 1788.

Aftermath of Martinez's voyage.

The more important task for the Viceroy was to act upon the news that Martinez and Lopez de Haro had brought back. There was news of more British fur traders and, more worryingly for the Spanish, the Russian plans for occupying Nootka Sound. The Spanish maintained Nootka was theirs and the Russians were encroaching far too far south so pre-emptory action was required. Flores decided that a Spanish fort should be set up at Nootka and Martinez volunteered to lead the Spanish expedition to establish it. Strangely, Lopez de Haro, despite his recent disagreements with Martinez, agreed to go as second-in-command.

The 1788 voyage had added little to Spain's overall knowledge of the Northwest Caost, other than their learning about the Russain spread of fur-trading settlements. Martinez had undertaken a series of acts of possession from Montague Island to Unalaska. Little or no contact was established with local people while none of the Spanish names given to some features has survived.

Nootka Sound 1789.

While Martinez was sailing north, other developments were taking place in Spain and Mexico. Flores was replaced as Viceroy by Juan Vicente de Guemes Pacheco de Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, Conde de Revillagigedo, the son of a previous Viceroy. A naval officer with experience on the Northwest Coast, Juan Francisco Bodega y Quadra, was ordered to San Blas to assume the position of Port Commandant. More senior naval officers were sent to the coast and new ships were to be built in Nicaragua for use at San Blas.

As the Princesca approached Nootka Sound on 3 May, it encountered a ship leaving the inlet. Martinez fired a shot across the ship's bow to stop it for questioning. It proved to be the Lady Washington, an American fur trader, out of Boston, under the command of Robert Gray. Martinez met Gray, who appraised the Spanish of the situation at Nootka. On the assurance that he was leaving the coast, Gray was allowed to leave though he remained in the region trading for sea otter pelts.

Gray's Lady Washington and a companion vessel, the Columbia, commanded by John Kendrick, had been the only two winter in Nootka over 1788-1789. Kendrick showed little inclination to go trading and, instead, moved the Columbia further into Nootka Sound. In March 1789, Gray took his own vessel south into the Strait of Juan de Fuca but returned on 22 April to find another ship had anchored at Friendly Cove in Nootka. The new ship was the Iphigenia, which appeared to be Portuguese under the command of Captain Viana but really belonged to John Meares' company and, as such, was British. Captain William Douglas was really in command of the ship. Another British fur trader, the Northwest America, captained by Robert Funter and which had been built at Nootka, arrived from Hawaii on the 23rd but only stayed for a week.

Therefore, when Martinez entered Nootka Sound a few days later on 5 May, there were two ships already at anchor; the Iphigenia at Friendly Cove and Columbia a few kilometres to the north at Mawina. Martinez met Douglas from the Iphigenia and they exchanged formalities. Martinez produced a note that Douglas had written and had entrusted to Alaskans some months earlier. They had then given it to Martinez when he was in Alaskan waters in 1788. Kendrick joined them from Mawina and, together, they visited Maquinna, the local Nootka chief. At Maquinna's village, Martinez saw some shells that he had brought to Nootka 15 years earlier in 1774 on the Perez voyage. For Martinez, it was proof that the Spanish had visited Nootka four years before Cook, which gave them rights and denied British claims to the region.

On 12 May, Lopez de Haro arrived with the San Carlos and this added Spanish presence gave Martinez the next day the confidence to arrest Douglas and sieze his ship, the Iphigenia. Douglas and his men offered no resistance but Douglas queried why Martinez had not also arrested the American ship. Kendrick was, in fact, co-operating with the Spanish, who began building fortifications at Friendly Cove and on San Miguel, just offshore. Martinez realised that he did not have enough men to deal, both with Douglas and other ships that might arrive, so he released the British ship after Douglas had signed a document agreeing to depart the Northwest Coast. The Iphigenia left Nootka Sound on 31 May but Douglas reneged on his promise and began looking for the Northwest America

. Douglas did not find the Northwest America, which Funter bought into Nootka on 8 June. Funter was arrested the next day. A week later, Captain Thomas Hudson sailed the Princess Royal, another British ship, into Nootka but Martinez accepted that ship's papers and Hudson's assurances that he was only there to trade. Gray returned on the 17th but went to Mawina to join Kendrick. Martinez had the Northwest America refitted and on 20 June 1789 it was renamed Santa Gertrudis la Magna. He appointed Jose Maria Narvaez to command the schooner and sent him to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Martinez's confidence was growing and he invited everyone to a banquet. On 24 June, he took formal possession of Nootka in a ceremony in front of the Americans, the British and local Nootkans. He arranged that Kendrick would take on the crew from the Northwest America and its cargo would be carried by the Princess Royal. Hudson sailed the Princess Royal out of Nootka on 2 July but another British ship, the Argonaut arrived the same day. The Argonaut was commanded by James Colnett and it would be his relationship with Martinez that caused the Nootka Sound Incident.

Martinez immediately went aboard the Argonaut to meet Colnett. The next morning, Colnett did not raise his ship's colours in response to the Spanish and then refused to proffer his papers for inspection. Martinez responded by arresting Colnett and confining him aboard the Argonaut, which had been siezed. He decided that the ship should be sailed to San Blas and appointed Jose Tobar y Tamariz to take charge. On 12 July, Hudson brought the Princess Royal back into Nootka Sound and was arrested. Martinez no longer believed Hudson's assurances that he was only trading.

On 13 July, Kelekum, one of the Nootka chiefs visited the San Carlos and criticised the Spanish provoking an incident in which Kelekum was killed. All the Nootkans left the inlet. Martinez decided to immediately dispatch the Argonaut south to San Blas, taking with it Colnett, and thus removed one of his many problems. The two American fur traders also sailed but only after Gray and Kendrick exchanged ships. Gray took the Columbia to Macao and eventually to his home port of Boston, becoming the first American to sail around the world.

The storeship, the Aranzazu, had still not appeared by late July and the Spanish were running out of supplies. Martinez sent Lopez de Haro in the San Carlos south to Monterey with instruction to return with supplies. He sailed on 27 July, accompanied by Narvaez in the Princess Royal. The next day, Jose de Canizares finally brought the Aranzazu into Nootka.

It was not, however, a propitious arrival. The ship carried bad news for Martinez. King Carlos III had died and Viceroy Flores had decided that Nootka should be abandoned over the winter so Martinez had to pack up and return south. Martinez was most unhappy about this decision and delayed implementing it as long as possible, hoping for further contrary orders. Conditions were extremely hard and had not been helped by most of the supplies on the Aranzazu being bad and unusable. Martinez sent Canizares south in mid-August with orders for Lopez de Haro to return north as soon as possible.

Through September little happened. The Spanish began dismantling the forts and the land where Friendly Cove was located was found to be an island, Nootka Island. Most of October was the same before a small schooner arrived on 20 October. It was the Fair American with a crew of four commanded by an 18 year old, Thomas Metcalfe. Martinez siezed the schooner and placed John Kendrick's son Juan Kendrick, who had joined the Spanish, in charge. Martinez gave up waiting for the San Carlos and prepared to sail. He had tablets erected signifying Spain's presence and rights, and informing Lopez de Haro of his departure.

Three ships flying Spanish colours sailed from Nootka Sound on 31 October 1789 leaving no European or American vessels in the inlet. Martinez was in command of the Princesca, Juan Kendrick in command of the Fair American, and Jose Verdia in command of the Santa Gertrudis, formerly the Northwest America. As they left, the companion vessel to the Fair American, captained by Metcalfe's father, Simon Metcalfe, was sighted but is sailed off after seeing the Spanish flags.

Lopez de Haro had left Monterey on 24 September and approached the Nootka coast on 26 October, only to encounter storms, which forced him far to the north. Once again, Lopez de Haro decided to forgo searching for Martinez and sailed south. The Arganaut, with Colnett on board was the first Spanish ship to return to San Blas, reaching the port on 15 August. It forwarded the first news of the year's events on to Mexico. The Princess Royal reached San Blas in late August. The other four ships reached the port in December with Martinez in the Princesca arriving on 6 December 1789.

The Consequences of events at Nootka Sound.

The news of events at Nootka Sound began to reach Europe in early 1790 though Europe was largely preoccipied with what was happening there, especially in France. The French Revolution had begun in July 1789, virtually at the same time as Martinez had begun arresting Britons. Spain and France had a "Family Compact" through their related Bourbon Royal Families, in which they would assist each other in conflicts with outsiders so Spain was observing developments in France with great interest.

William Pitt, the British Prime Minister, complained to Spain about the arrest of Colnett. The Spanish Government called a Council of State on 2 March and as a result issued orders to Revillagigedo to relaese all British ships and sailors. Feeling that matters might deteriorate. the Conde de Floridablanca, the Spanish Chief Minister gave orders for Spain and its colonies to prepare for attacks from Britain. John Meares, the fur trader and business associate of Colnett returned to London in April 1790 and immediately began campaigning for the British Government to demand retribution against Spain and compensation for all his losses. These were magnified hugely in a "Memorial" presented to Parliament, in which Meares detailed a series of supposed wrongdoings, only a few of which were real.

It galvanised British attitudes and Pitt sent Alleyne Fitzherbert to Madrid to negotiate with the Spanish. On 23 May, the French National Assembly debated French support for Spain and voted against Louis XVI offering assistance, thus undermining the "Family Compact". A request from Spain on 16 June was rejected by France. An impasse existed in the negotiaitions through the middle of the year but Britain kept pushing its case, while Floridablanca's position became weaker. Talks in Madrid in September led to the signing, on 28 October, of the Nootka Sound Convention. It was a total success for Britain as Spain gave in on everything. Full reparation would be paid, all claims would be renounced and the Nootka region would be open to all. For Spain, the only consolation was that war was avoided.

It was arranged that representatives of both countries would meet in Nootka Sound to resolve all the matters relating to reparation. Spain sent instructions to Mexico to for the Viceroy to organise Spanish representation. Britain began organising an expedition and, on 1 April 1791, George Vancouver sailed from Falmouth for Nootka. It took until late August 1792 for Vancouver to reach Nootka and meet his counterpart, Juan Francisco Bodega y Quadra.

The Re-occupation of Nootka; Eliza's voyage.

The Concepcion and San Carlos were off Nootka by 1 April but a storm prevented them approaching the inlet. Two men died and a small boat and anchors were lost before they entered Nootka on 5 April. No Europeans had been there since Martinez had departed the previous October. The Spanish set about rebuilding the fort while Alberni began planting a garden, experimenting with different vegetables and planting dates to see what grew best. A small schooner, the Santa Saturnina, was built and launched on 1 November to be used for coastal surveying.

Fidalgo's voyage to Alaska, 1790.

Fidalgo moved the San Carlos on 9 June into the next large inlet to the north where he, at last, found a protected and safe anchorage. He called this inlet Puerto Gravina (Port Gravina) and went ashore to take possession. From this safe location, Fidalgo sent his small boats off to explore the sound. The next large inlet to the north was soon inspected and named Puerto Mazarredo. James Cook had anchored in Snug Corner Bay at the entrance to this bay on his expedition in 1778. When George Vancouver visited Prince William Sound in 1794, he used many of the names bestowed by Fidalgo. However, he replaced the name Mazarredo with that of Fidalgo to honour the work done by Fidalgo and his crew. The inlet is now known as Port Fidalgo.

The Spanish had contact with local people (Tatitlek) and a local chief offered to direct Fidalgo's men on their exploration. He took them to the mouth of the Columbia Glacier where the Spanish heard and saw icebergs being calved off its front. Fidalgo called Glacier Island that guards the Glacier, Isla del Conde, after the Viceroy, and the bay behind it Bahia del Revillagigedo. The party then went to the chief's village, probably on Tatitlek Narrows between Bligh Island (Fidalgo's Islas de Quadra) and the mainland. From here the Spanish were taken deeper into the sound up Puerto de Valdes (Valdez Arm).

The San Carlos had taken on fresh water and wood so, after the exploration party returned, Fidalgo left Port Gravina on 21 June. Conditions were not favourable and it took nine days to cross the inner sound. A group of islands (Naked and several adjacent islands) were named the Islas de Quimper. Eventually, he passed through the Latouche Passage (Boca de Quadra) bewteen Montague Island and Latouche Island (Isla de San Antonio) and reached the Pacific Ocean on 30 June 1790.

Fidalgo followed the coast of the Kenai Peninsula and then entered Cook Inlet. On 2 July, he anchored near Cape Elizabeth, where Arteaga had anchored 11 years earlier. Three days later, the San Carlos was moved to another bay, Puerto de Revillagigedo (Port Graham), just to the north where the ship was repaired. Mondofia left on 13 July to explore Port Chatham and then went north up Cook Inlet where two Russian factories were sighted. There was a brief meeting with the Russians. An Englishman, Joseph Billings, was in Cook Inlet in command of a Russian expedition, about to sail east toward Nootka and he sent an invitation to Fidalgo for him to visit. Fidalgo did not understand English and, after taking possession of Puerto de Revillagigedo for Spain, sailed away on 8 August to Kodiak Island. He had inadvertantly snubbed Billings who waited in vain. On 15 August, Fidalgo was off Two Headed Cape close to the Russian post on Kodiak Island at Three Saints Bay. He tried to return to Nootka but winds were against him and he went instead to Monterey, which he raeched on 15 September. There he met Manuel Quimper in the Princesca Real and together, in October 1790, they continued to San Blas.

Fidalgo did manage to explore some new territory in Prince William Sound and made several acts of possession but, overall, the voyage achieved very little. His reluctance to have any contact with the Russians, from whom he could have gleaned information, seems very strange and he covered much the same locations as Arteaga and Martinez before him.

Quimper's survey of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, 1790.

The Princesca Real continued east, keeping to the northern shore of the Strait and examining all the inlets on the way. Puerto de San Juan (San Juan Bay), Puerta de Revillagigedo (Sooke Inlet), and Rada de Valdes y Bazan (Royal Roads) were all inspected and named by 30 June. Quimper crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca and anchored near a spit on the southern shore on 8 July. He named his anchorage Bahia de Quimper (New Dungeness Bay) and sent Juan Carrasco off in a small boat to explore eastward.

Carrasco soon entered an short inlet, Puerto de Bodega y Quadra (Port Discovery) before continuing round a promontory (this is now called the Quimper Peninsula). Carrasco crossed to present-day Whidbey Island thereby missing Admiralty Inlet and Puget Sound beyond, though he did name what he thought had been a bay, Ensenada de Caamano. He continued north up present-day Rosario Strait as far as Fidalgo Island (Carrasco's Boca de Fidalgo is present-day Deception Pass). Carrasco then headed back to the ship.

Quimper sailed for Nootka on 18 July, this time trying to keep close to the southern shore but tides and winds forced Quimper to criss-cross the strait to make progress. On the north shore he discovered Puerto de Cordova (Esquimault Harbour and present day Victoria), close to the previously seen Rada de Valdes y Bazan. The Spanish also saw an opening to the northeast but Quimper did not have the time to explore it. He suspected it continued to the north and named it Estrcho de Lopez de Haro (Haro Strait) after his pilot. Quimper missed Port Angeles on the southern shore. He named various features but none of the names have been retained.

The Princesca Real put in at a bay close to the mouth of the strait on 24 July. It was called Nunez Gaona (Neah Bay) and Quimper stayed 10 days. The Spanish and the local people, Makah, whose leader was Ta-toosh, got on tolerably. On 1 August, Quimper undertook an act of possession and then, on the 3rd, set off for Nootka. It took seven days to reach Nootka but then fog prevented them entering the sound for six more days. Quimper gave up and sailed south for Monterey, which he reached on 1 September. They were soon joined by Fidalgo in the San Carlos and the two ships sailed in October, reachin San Blas on 13 November 1790.

Quimper had managed the first systematic voyage deep into the Strait of Juan de Fuca but he missed two great opportunities. He was unable to follow Haro Strait to the north, so missing the Strait of Georgia beyond, and his pilot, Carrasco, did not recognise that the Ensenada de Caamano led to the intricate network of Puget Sound.

Other repercussions for Spain and Britain, 1790.

James Colnett, the British sailor whose arrest sparked the conflict was finally released on 9 July. His first few months of imprisonment had been in San Blas but he had been moved, first in November 1789, to Tepic and then, April 1790, to Mexico City. Even though his imprisonment had been very open and he lived with his captors, Colnett complained continually and the Viceroy was probably pleased to see the back of him. Colnett sailed his ship, the Argonaut from San Blas but he wanted to also recover his company's other ship, the Pricess Royal. However, Manuel Quimper had taken the ship, now known under its Spanish name Princesca Real, north to Nootka. Colnett followed him but, as he sailed very slowly north, he missed Quimper. About the time Colnett passed Monterey, Quimper was in that port.

Quimper proceeded to San Blas where the Viceroy instructed him to take the Princesca Real across to Macao to be handed back to its owners. Quimper left San Blas on 11 February and sailed to Hawaii. Colnett, meanwhile, had continued to Clayoquot and Nootka where he had spent two months with Eliza, who informed him that his ship hab been and gone. On 2 March 1791, Colnett departed from Nootka and sailed to Hawaii where he was surprised to find the Princesca Real. At first, Colnett demanded that the ship be habded over but then backed down, agreeing that Quimper should sail it to Macao. Unfortunately, by the time the Princesca Real reached Macao it was unseaworthy and deemed worthless. Quimper returned to Mexico via the Philippines.

Eliza at Nootka, 1790 and 1791.

Martinez's old adversary, James Colnett, arrived at Clayoquot in October 1790 after being released from Mexico with assurances that he would not return to the Northwest Coast. By the time Colnett arrived at Clayoquot, Manuel Quimper was en route between Monterey and San Blas with Colnett's other ship, the Princesca Real. Colnett moved into Nootka Sound on 4 January 1791 to find the Spanish contingent extremely short of supplies and with many men sick. Even so, Eliza was very hospitable and the British and Spanish helped each other until Colnett sailed on 2 March.

News of the signing of the Nootka Convention was received by the Viceroy in Mexico in November 1790 and, in February 1791, Bodega sent fresh instructions to Eliza. Ramon Antonio Saavedra Guiralda sailed the San Carlos north to reach Nootka Sound on 26 March. Eliza was keen to follow up on the explorations of the previous year and put Saavedra in charge of the Spanish base while he took the San Carlos.

Eliza had Pantoja y Arriga and Verdia as his pilots. He was accompanied by the Santa Saturnina, under the command of Jose Narvaez, who had Juan Carrasco as his pilot. When they sailed on 4 May. Eliza had intended to sail to Alaska but contrary winds prevented him making any progress north and Eliza opted instead to head toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Eliza took the San Carlos into Clayoquot Sound while Narvaez took the Santa Saturnina into Barkley Sound, having agreed to reunite at Puerto de Cordova (Esquimault Harbour) inside the strait. Both the outer sounds were carefully surveyed by the ships. The San Carlos reached Puerto de Cordova first on 29 May and, while he waited for Narvaez, Eliza sent one of his pilots, Jose Verdia, in a longboat to explore Haro Strait to the north. He returned virtually straight away but, after Narvaez appeared on 14 June, Verdia and Narvaez went off again in the schooner and longboat. They passed round the north of the San Juan Archipelago and reached a wide expanse of water that was called Canal de Nuestra Senora del Rosario (Strait of Georgia). The islands in Haro Strait were also charted, with Santa Saturna (a contraction of the schooner's name) Island remembering the visit. Verdia and Narvez returned to the ships and Eliza crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca to anchor in Puerto de Bodega (Port Discovery). The Spanish anchored there on 29 June.

Narvaez took Santa Saturnina and sailed northeast into present-day Rosario Strait reaching close to 50N. They rounded two large islands, Isla de Texada and Isla de Lasquety and sighted the capes at the entrance to Desolation Sound in the distance. The mouth of a large river (the Fraser River) was detected on the eastern shore and the San Juan Islands were identified and named if not explored. The network of islands and bays to the east of the San Juan Islands were explored in detail and some retain names bestowed then to honour the current Viceroy, Guemes Island and Padilla Bay being two. Like Quimper's expedition before him, Eliza's men did not investigate the Boca de Caamano so Admiralty Inlet remained undetected. Narvaez rejoined the San Carlos on 21 July after being away for three weeks.

On 26 July, Eliza sailed west along the southern shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and located a harbour, on 2 August, which he called Puerto de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles (Port Angeles). They continued on to Nunez Gaona where they anchored on the 7th. When they left Nunez Gaona, Narvaez transferred to the San Carlos so he could draw up the charts showing their recent discoveries. It took the San Carlos 19 days to reach Nootka on 30 August. The Santa Saturnina, now under the command of Carrasco, was unable to make the crossing. Carrasco gave up and sailed south to Monterey (15 September) and San Blas (9 November).

Eliza's expedition had added another piece to the jigsaw of the Northwest Coast. He had confirmed much of Quimper's earlier survey but the work done by Verdia and others in the longboats around Haro Strait and the Strait of Georgia was of considerable importance. While Eliza had been away, Saavedra had entertained the Spanish expedition of Alessandro Malaspina for two weeks in August. John kendrick had also been at Nootka for a few days in July in the Lady Washington. Saavedra resumed command of the San Carlos sailed for San Blas on 24 October 1791. Eliza and Alberni remained behind to spend their second winter at Nootka Sound.

Malaspina's visit to the Northwest Coast, 1791.

Malaspina was given two ships for the voyage. He commanded the Descubierta and Jose de Bustamente took charge of the Atrevida. On 30 July 1789, the ships sailed from Cadiz and headed down the Atlantic. In late 1789 and through 1790, Malaspina worked his way down the South American Atlantic coast and up its Pacific coast charting and producing maps. By March 1791, he had reached Acapulco in Mexico, from where he intended to sail to Hawaii. Instead he found fresh instructions waiting for him.

Before Malaspina had left Spain, an old account of a supposed voyage by Lorenzo Ferrer Maldonado through the Strait of Anian in North America near 60N had surfaced. While Malaspina was sailing, the account had received credibility when Philippe Buache, the eminent French cartographer, addressed the French Academie de Sciences on the subject. The Spanish Government realised that the strait may be the Northwest Passage that various explorers had searched for in vain. The Chief Minister, Floridablanca, and the Minister for the Indies, Antonio Valdes y Bazan, sent orders to Mexico instructing Malaspina to proceed north to investigate the coast near latitude 60N.

Malaspina left some of his crew in Mexico and took on board an artist, Tomas de Suria, who wrote a narrative, full of detail, of this part of the voyage. The Descubierta and the Atrevida sailed north from Acapulco on 1 May 1791. On 27 June, they entered Yakutat Bay on the Alaskan coast. Malaspina organised longboats to investigate the inlet but they soon encountered the Hubbard Glacier blocking their path. The inlet was short and certainly not the Northwest Passage. Malaspina called it Bahia del Desangano (Disenchatment Bay). For a couple of days the Spanish enjoyed good relations with the Tlingit people in the bay and acquired a collection of artifacts while Suria produced a record of the visit. Relations then soured and Malaspina decided to leave. The large Glacier to the west of Yakutat Bay is now called Malaspina Glacier.

Leaving on 5 July, Malaspina sailed west and spent some time around Kayak Island and Cape Suckling befroe heading on to Prince William Sound. However, he was unable to enter and stood off Punta Arcadio (Cape Hinchinbrook) and sailed near Isla Rosa (Middleton Island). Malaspina then sailed east and followed the coast looking casually for inlets with potential to be the Northwest Passage. On 27 July, he gave up the search for Madonado's mythical strait. He put in briefly at Bucareli Sound and reached Nootka Sound 0n 13 August. The Commandant, Eliza, was away investigating the Strait of Juan de Fuca, so Malaspina was entertained by Saavedra and Alberni. Felipe Bauza took measurements around the sound, and Jose Espinosa and Ciriaco Cevallos travelled through Esperanza Inlet, which showed Friendly Cove was on an island, Nootka Island.

After a visit of 15 days, Malaspina left Nootka on 28 August, just two days befor Eliza returned from his expedition. The Spanish made a short attempt to find the mouth of the Columbia River without success and sailed on to reach Monterey on 11 September. Shortly after, Carrasco and the Santa Saturnina, who had been with Eliza and had been unable to return to Nootka entered the port. From Carrasco, Malaspina learned of the discoveries that had been made in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the possiblities for more. Malaspina reached San Blas on 9 October and here he learned of the Viceroy's plans to send Mourelle north in the Mexicana. He moved on to Acapulco on 14 October but his imagination had been fired and, when Mourelle became sick in early December, Malaspina saw his chance to take over the expedition. He persuaded the Viceroy to add a second ship, the Sutil, and had two of his own officers, Cayetano Valdes and Dionisio Alcala Galiano, put in command of the ships.

When Malaspina and Bustamente sailed from Acapulco for Manila on 20 December, Galiano and Valdes were still preparing for their own expedition. The Malaspina expedition eventually returned to Spain on 21 September 1794 but instead of being celebrated for its many achievements, the voyage was largely forgotten about. Malaspina was forthright in his opinions and soon he had criticised the Spanish Government for its policies in its colonies and, perhaps more foolishly, he criticised the new Chief Minister, Manuel Godoy. Malaspina was arrested and imprisoned after a token trial. All the journals, charts. specimens and other records were confiscated and stored. It was as if the voyage had not taken place. Malaspina was released in 1803 and deported to Northern Italy where he died in 1810.

Bodega takes over at Nootka, 1792.

The Santa Gertrudis sailed on 29 February 1792, accompanued by the Activa and the Princesca but both the other ships soon had problems that caused them to return to San Blas. Salvador Melendez was able to sail with the Activa on 15 March while Salvador Fidalgo left on 23 March in command of the Princesca. Bodega reached Nootka in late April, just before George Vancouver, his British counterpart reached the nearby Strait of Juan de Fuca. Vancouver, however, decided to spend the summer charting the region and did not arrive at Nootka until 28 August. While Bodega waited for Vancouver, he did a great deal to restore good relations with Maquinna and the other Nootkan people.

The Galiano and Valdes expedition, 1792.

Malaspina, who had spent two weeks in August at Nootka, visited San Blas for five days in October before moving on to Acapulco. From Acapulco, Malaspina interested himself in the projected activities in the Nootka region. Word of the discoveries by Narvaez during Eliza's exploration east of the Strait of Juan de Fuca had begun to reach Mexico late in 1791, strengthening the Viceroy's resolve to send more officers north to continue the exploration. Then, in December, Mourelle became ill and Malaspina offered the services of his crew for an expedition north. He also suggested that two ships should be used. The Viceroy accepted the offer and directed that the Sutil, a similar schooner to the Mexicana be built and made ready.

Dionisio Alcala Galiano, who had not gone north to Alaska with Malaspina, was given overall charge and command of the Sutil. Cayetano Valdes was given command of the Mexicana with Secundino Salamanca as his pilot. Juan Vernaci was pilot on the Sutil, while Jose Cardero went as artist. Cardero kept a detailed record of the expedition. Both ships were small, being only 14 metres long and 3.6 metres wide. Between them they carried 39 men. The ships sailed from San Blas on 8 March 1792, a week after Bodega had sailed north.

The Mexicana boke its main mast en route, which slowed their progress. They reached Nootka on 13 May to find Bodega already established. While a mew mast was fitted to the Mexicana and the vessel rerigged to be a brig, Cardero painted a scene showing the Spanish fleet assembled in Nootka to greet the British. Galiano and Valdes left Nootka on 5 June and headed for Nunez Gaona (Neah Bay), on the southern entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to inspect this alternative headquarters for Spain. Salvador Fidalgo had only just gone there in the Princesca to establish the settlement. Galiano thought little of the anchorage and would recommend against its use. Tetacus, a local chief, went on board the Mexicana and sailed with the Spanish as far as Puerto de Cordova (Esquimault Harbour). He managed to tell them about previous European visitors, including two ships that had sailed up the strait only a few weeks before (this was Vancouver's expedition).

Galiano and Valdes crossed to the south end of Lopez Island (named for Lopez de Haro and one of the San Juan Archipelago) and turned into Rosario Strait. They sailed on into Seno de Gaston (Beliingham Bay) before, as they moved on looking for Narvaez's Boca de Florida Blanca, they sighted on 13 June lights on European sailing ships. They were the Discovery and the Chatham, the ships of Vancouver's expedition, anchored in Birch Bay. William Broughton, the commander of the Chatham met Galiano and Valdes, as Vancouver was away on a survey trip, and friendly relations were soon established between the two parties. Matters were helped considerably in that Galiano spoke English.

The Mexicana and Sutil left the British ships and crossed the Gulf of Georgia to its southwest side and examined some inlets, including Boca de Polier (Polier Pass between the islands that would later be named after the two Spanish explorers, Valdes Island and Galiano Island) and Boca de Wenthuysen (Northumberland Channel that goes behind present day Gabriola Island - Narvaez's chart has Punta de Gaviota and crucial spelling changes have occured!). After recrossing the gulf and anchoring off Punta de Langara (Point Grey), they met on 22 June, George Vancouver and his party, returning in small boats from a survey trip to Burrard Inlet, Howe Sound and Jervis Inlet.

The two parties greeted each other. Both sides were under orders to co-operate and to share information and this they quickly did. Galiano showed Vancouver the chart drawn by Narvaez the previous year and Vancouver, at first, was dismayed that it showed he was not the first to have surveyed some of the area. Vancouver showed Galiano the sketch maps of his current trip and mentioned that they had not seen all of Burrard Inlet. As this appeared to correspond with the location of the Boca de Florida Blanca that the Spanish had been looking for, the two parties separated, promising to meet up again in a few days. Vancouver returned to his ships and the Spanish proceeded up Burrard Inlet where they examined Indian Arm. When they regained the Gulf of Georgia they met the two British ships and the four sailed on northwest together. The four ships anchored off Isla de Quema (Kinghorn Island) in Desolation Sound on 25 June 1792.

Over the next few weeks the Spanish and British worked together to chart the network of channels and islands in the vicinity of Desolation Sound. After arriving there, survey parties were dispatched. One party was led by Cayetano Valdes and set off to the east. It skirted Redonda Island via Canal de Arco (Homfray Channel) and then went up Brazo de Toba (Toba Inlet), which soon came to an end. Returning to the ships, the party found that they had been moved up Canal de Separacion (Lewis Channel) and anchored in a much safer location in Teakerne Arm on the west side of Redonda Island. The leaders of the main expedition, from which they had been transferred, were honored south of Desolation Sound. Malaspina and Bustamente both had inlets named after them though Brazo de Bustamente is now called Lancelot Inlet. The headlands at the approach to Desolation Sound were named Punta de Magallenes (Mary Point) and Punta de Sarmient (Sarah Point).

While relations were very amicable, there was an underlying feeling on both sides that they could not accept the work of the other without checking it themselves. As a result, there was much duplication and many features received Spanish and English names. The British ships were much larger than the Spanish and could sail much more quickly while the Spanish ships could enter shallower inlets. It was decided, therefore, that they would separate. Vancouver took his leave of Galiano on 13 July and set off to follow one recently discovered route to the ocean in the west. Galiano decided to follow another route and check some of the inlets that Vancouver's crew had charted.

After Vancouver's departure, the Sutil and the Mexicana began their journey up the Canal de Separacion to reach the ocean. As they went they gave Spanish names to features, most of which had been seen and named by Vancouver's crew in recent weeks. The route taken by the Spanish was Canal de Separacion (Lewis Channel), Canal de Remolinos (Calm Channel), Canal de Carbajal (the strait west of Stuart Island), Canal de Cardero (Cordero Channel), Ensenada de Viana (Chancellor Channel), Canal de Nuevos Remolinos (Wellbore Channel) and Fondeadero de Bauza (Sunderland Channel). Only one of the Spanish names, Cordero Channel, is still in use for these passages. The ships' pilots, Vernaci and Salamanca, led survey trips in small boats up side channels to examine them and prepare charts. Among the features seen and named were Islas Tres Marias (Rendezvous Islands),Brazo de Espinosa (Ramsay Arm), Brazo de Quintano (Bute Inlet), Angostura de los Commandantes (Arran Rapids), Ensenada de Aliponzoni (?), Ensenada de Estero (Frederick Arm, with Estero Basin and Estero Peak beyond), Canal de los Nodales (Nodales Passage), Canal de Olavide (Mayne Passage) and Brazo de Salamanca (Loughborough Inlet). Only the names Nodales Passage, Estero Basin and Estero Peak remain to remember the Spanish visit. Several other Spanish names were given to features in this region by Captain George Richards in 1859 when he surveyed in HMS Plumper. These include Sutil Channel, Maurelle Island and Quadra Island.

When Galiano and Valdes emerged from Fondeadero de Bauza at the end of July, they joined the Johnstone Strait along which Vancouver had sailed ten days earlier on his way to reach the ocean. They anchored opposite Brazo de Cardenas (Port Neville) on 29 July while the pilots charted the inlet. From here, they sailed on to anchor in Port Harvey at the eastern of Cracroft Island. They stayed here a week while Vernaci made a reconnaissance of Brazo de Retamal (Havannah Channel / Call Inlet), Brazo de Vernacci (Knight Inlet), Brazo de Balda (Thompson Sound) and Canal de Baldinat (Tribune Channel) to the north.

On Vernaci's return, the Sutil and Mexicana continued to the west. On 8 August, the passed Puerto de Bauza (Beaver Cove) and sailed along the Canal de la Descubierta (Broughton Strait) to anchor off the village of Sisiaquis (Cheslakees). The ships reached Puerto de Guemes (Port Hardy) on 10 August and they stayed here for nearly two weeks. Vancouver, who had been sailing ahead of Galiano and Cayetano, had chosen not to follow this coast and had sailed through another channel, Queen Charlotte Sound, to reach Smith Sound.

On 23 August, the Spanish ships departed from Puertode Guemes and passed along the Salida de los Goletas (Goletas Channel). They went inside the Islas de Cordon and along the south side of Nigei and Hope Islands. When Vancouver saw Galiano's charts in Nootka he realised that these were islands and named them Valdes and Galiano Island respectively but the names were eventually replaced. Reaching the western end of Hope Island, Galiano realised he had come to the Pacific Ocean. He called the headland Punta Mexicana and the corresponding one at the south side of the strait, Punta Sutil, to honour their ships.

The ships rounded Cape Scott and sailed down the coast to anchor in Nootka Sound on 31 August 1792. They had showed that the land against which Nootka Sound lay was, in fact, an island. However, on their arrival at Nootka they found Vancouver and his ships already at anchor, having arrived three days earlier. Galiano and Valdes only stayed at Nootka long to restock and to report to Bodega. They informed him about the unsuitability of Nunez Gaona, which caused Bodega to rethink what he was prepared to concede to the British. The Spanish and Vancouver compared and shared the results of their journey around the island that Vancouver soon proposed should be called Quadra's and Vancouver's Island (Isla de Quadra y Vancouver) denoting the co=operative effort of the last three months. After two days the Sutil and the Mexicana were on their way south to Mexico.

It is difficult to assess the voyage of Galiano and Valdes. For the first part of their survey they were only checking on the earlier work of Quimper, Eliza and Narvaez while during the middle part they were working alongside Vancouver and his crew. A map produced by Bodega in 1792 depicts the shorelines mapped by the Spanish and the British and virtually all of the new outline north and east of Vancouver Island is attributed to the British. Only the area near the Goletas Channel and the heads of a couple of inlets can be identified as stemming from the work of Galiano's party. However, it would be unfair to deny that they contributed considerably to charting the region. Cardero's narrative is an invaluable record of life in the region at the time.

The Galiano expedition gained somewhat from the demise of Malaspina when that sailor returned to Spain. The Spanish authorities, having embargoed the results of Malaspina's four year voyage, looked for something to offset the acclaim that the British and the French were receiving for the published accounts of Vancouver's and Laperouse's voyages respectively. The voyage of Galiano and Valdes seved that purpose and it formed the central part of a work by Martin Fernandez de Narvette that was eventually published in 1802.

Caamano's expedition to Prince of Wales Island, 1792.

Jacinto Caamano anchored in Nootka Sound on 14 May in command of the Aranzazu carrying supplies for the settlement. Caamano was the brother-in-law of Eliza and had been considered to captain the Mexicana before he injured himself in a riding accident. Bodega decided that Caamano should go north to survey the region south of Bucareli Bay and look for Colnett's supposed Strait of Fonte. On 13 June, Caamnao sailed north and, reaching Bucareli Bay on the 24th, he anchored in Puerto San Antonio. On 28 June Caamano sent his pilots off in longboats to survey the surrounding passages and inlets. He soon made contact with local Tlingit and, despite not many being in the sound at that time of year, wrote a detailed description of them.

The French frigate La Flavie visited the sound briefly, looking for the missing explorer Laperouse. A few days later an unidentified fur trader also made a quick visit. The longboats returned on 8 July having made successful surveys. Caamano made ready to leave Bucareli Bay and did so on the 11th but conditions worsened and forced him back into Bucareli. Finally, on 17 July, the Aranzazu sailed and began a systematic return south, exploring many of the islands and inlets to the east of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Caamano put in first at Puerto de Baylio Bazan (Port Bazan) on Dall Island and then passed the southern point of Dall Island, Cabo de Munoz Gocens (Vancouver somehow changed this name to Cape Muzon!), to cross the Entrada de Don Juan Perez (already known on British charts by its present name, Dixon Entrance) on 20 July. He reached land and realised it was a small island, off the north coast of Queen Charlotte Island. He called it Isla Langara (Langara Island) after anchoring off its eastern shore in Puerto de Florida Blanca (Parry Passage) near Holland Point. Juan Perez had stood off the northern shore 18 years earlier.The Spanish were immediately visited by local Haida, including a local chief, Taglas Cania (who had already met William Douglas (Taglas)).

Caamano had the harbour surveyed and, on the 22nd, landed on Graham Island, west of Gunia Point, to take possession. The next day he retraced his path back across Dixon Entrance to Cape Muzon on Dall Island He sighted a large inlet to the north but was wary of entering it, even though he could see an American brig (the Hancock?) at anchor. Instead, he sent his pilot, Juan Pantoja, to examine the western shores of the inlet. The larger inlet, separating Dall island from land to the east, Caamano called Puerto de Cordova y Cordova (Cordova Bay). Sailing east past Point Nunez and Cape Chacon, the southern points of Prince of Wales Islands, Caamano crossed, on 23 July, the entrance to a very large inlet that he named Entrada de Nuestra Senora del Carmen (Clarence Strait).

Caamano made long-distance observations up this strait. A few weeks later when he was back in Nootka, Caamano met the American fur traders who had already ventured up this strait in their vessels, the Columbia and the Adventure. Caamano obtained information from them and he was able to add it to his chart fixing and ascribing names to features. He did not realise that one island was, in fact, three separate islands (Gravina, Annette and Duke) and called it Isla de Gravina. He named the passage to their east, Canal de Revilla Gigedo (Revillagigedo Channel) and a side inlet, Bocas de Quadra (Vancouver used these names when he surveyed the area a year later. However, I feel Caamano's Bocas de Quadra equates with the inlet Vancouver called Behm Canal and that Vancouver applied the name Boca de Quadra to a smaller inlet ten kilometres to the south). Vancouver retaineed the name for a headland that separates the northern parts of Clarence Strait and Behm Canal, as Caamano Point, after his Spanish predecessor.

Caamano passed a small island, Zayas Island (named after one of the pilots), which today has points called Jacinto and Aranzazu, remembering the explorer and his ship. The island lies off Dundas Island, near where Clarence Strait, Dixon Entrance and Hecate Strait converge. The Aranzazu sailed back to the north coast of Graham Island, the northernmost part of the Queen Charlotte Islands (it was not yet realised by the Spanish that they were several islands). He sighted two possible harbours, Puerto de Estrada (Masset Harbor) and Puerto de Mazarredo (Virago Sound) but did not land. He then sailed east before turning south and entering a large passage, the Hecate Strait on 27 July 1792.

The Aranzazu kept close to the eastern side of Hecate Strait (Caamano later named this strait Estrecho del Almirante Fontes on his chart. He was critical of Colnett, whose earlier chart he was following, who had placed Fonte's strait somewhere to the east, in the region of Douglas Channel). The expedition passed a multitude of small islands, Archipelago de las 11,000 Virgenes (the small islands near Porcher Island) before entering a narrow passage on 30 July. This was the Canal del Principe (Principe Channel), which separates Isla de la Calamidad (Banks Island) to the southwest from Enriquez (Pitt Island) to the northeast. Caamano still thought that Enriquez or Pitt was the mainland. He named an inlet on Enriquez, Puerto Canaveral but its location has moved as the name, Port Canaveral, is now applied to a small bay on McCauley Island and no longer to the entrance to Petrel Channel.

On 31 July, Caamano sailed into Bahia de Gorostiza (Nepean Sound), looking for Puerto de Bala, as reported by Colnett, near the southern point of Banks Island. It could not be found, which gave Caamano another opportunity to criticise Colnett, so he sailed east through the Otter Channel between Pitt and Campania Islands. A safe anchorage was located on the southeastern coast of Pitt Island Pitt. They were soon visited by Tsimshians. Caamano called his anchorage Surgidero de San Roque and took possession for Spain.

Caamano was now close to the channels that Colnett had suggested might lead to a Northwest Passage. He therefore prepared his longboats for another period of exploration. On 2 August, Juan Zayas, the second pilot, set off with 26 men in two boats with supplies for eight days. They ventured up Verney Passage as far as the meeting with Devastation Channel and Gardner Canal (interestingly Vancouver's very thorough survey in 1793 missed Verney Passage). The boats returned on the 6th discounting the Northwest Passage. Caamano removed Fonte's name and called the extensive inlet Bocas y Brazos de Monino instead.

Jammisit, a Tsimshian Chief, and his entourage became regular visitors to the Spanish ship. Jammisit and Caamano exchanged names. Meanwhile, the inlets and passages around various islands (Gil, Estevan and Campania, all named by Caamnao) were navigated and charted. A detailed chart of Purto de Gaston (Union Passage) was prepared and Caamano suspected strongly that an entrance nearby would lead back to Hecate Strait (he was correct: it was the Grenville Channel that Vancouver's men rowed through in 1793). After a month at San Roque, Caamano departed on 30 August and continued south via Caamano Sound, Caamano sailed through the Canal de Laredo (Laredo Channel), along the east side of Isla de Aristazabal (Aristazabal Island) and on into Laredo Sound.

The Aranzazu re-entered open water on 31 August and headed southwest to miss the Islas San Joaquin (Scott Islands) off the tip of Vancouver Island. Caamano sailed round the islands before passing the Brooks Peninsula and proceeding on to Nootka where he anchored on 8 September 1792.

Caamano's voyage was one of the most useful of the Spanish voyages of exploration. His chart, while not the most exact, showed many new features. Vancouver realised the value of Caamano's work by using many of the names given by Caamano.

Spanish withdrawal from Nootka.

The good relationship did not prevent both men strongly putting their country's respective cases for the future of the Northwest Coast and Nootka. Bodega had used his time in the Sound talking to people and accummulating evidence, which he presented to Vancouver. At this stage Bodega was prepared to evacuate Nootka and establish a Spanish base at Neah Bay at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca but maintaining Spanish rights and access to the region. For his part, Vancouver argued that Spain only had rights as far north as California, the region they had explored and settled by April 1789. Ships of all other nations should have free entry to harbours such as Nootka. Bodega soon heard negative reports about Neah Bay as a safe harbour and backtracked on evacuating Nootka. Neither man had real authority to make concessions and an impasse resulted. Instructions and news were required from Europe and Mexico by both sides but none arrived in 1792.

As negotiations dragged on, Bodega and Vancouver took time off to go to Tahsis together to visit Maquinna. On their return to Friendly Cove, Vancouver wrote to Bodega to tell him he could not accept Bodega's proposals and he would soon put to sea, pending the arrival of further orders. Bodega replied, holding his own position. On 14 September, a young Spanish servant of Bodega was murdered, after which all the Nootkans disappeared.

Robert Gray in the Columbia and Joseph Ingraham, in the Hope, entered Nootka shortly after Vancouver had arrived. As they had both been in Nootka at the time of the incidents involving Martinez, Meares and Colnett, Bodega sought them out and obtained signed statements from both men, which supported Spanish claims and undermined the evidence provided by Meares. However, Vancouver was suspicious of the role that the Americans had played at Nootka and their motives at this time. The deadlock was further complicated when the Portuguese ship, Sao Jose o Fenix arrived on the 16th, under the command of Robert Duffin. Duffin had been in Meares' crew and he now gave evidence that supported Meares.

Bodega decided to leave Nootka for the year. As Alonso de Torres had already left in the Santa Gertrudis, he sailed on the Activa on 21 September and headed for Neah Bay. The American ships sailed at the same time and all had reassembled at Neah Bay by the 26th. Caamano was left in charge at Nootka. Bodega and Gray had already held talks about the sloop Adventure and Gray now agreed to sell it to the Spanish for 80 sea otter pelts. Three days later the ships began to leave the Northwest Coast. The Activa, with Bodeaga on board, sailed in company with the Orcasites (the new name for the Adventure) under the command of Lopez de Haro. Fidalgo took the Princesca back to Nootka, while Gray and Ingraham sailed off in their ships.

Meanwhile, Vancouver was still at Nootka, where Fidalgo had returned from Neah Bay and had resumed in charge. Caamano, who had shared charts and information with Vancouver, sailed in the Aranzazu for San Blas on 4 October. Vancouver would use Caamano's information on his own charts and maintain Caamano's nomenclature. As Vancouver intended to spend the winter in the Hawaiian Islands, he sent Zachary Mudge off in the Sao Jose o Fenix to Macao and on to Britain with news of his negotiations. Vancouver left Nootka himself on 12 October with his three ships, the Discovery, the Chatham and the Daedalus.

Bodega reached Monterey on 10 October to fin new instructions from Revillagigedo that Juan Carrasco had jus brought slowly from San Blas. Bodega dispatched Lopez de Haro back to Nootka in the ,i>Orcasites. Fidalgo was to exclude all non-Spanish and British ships from Nootka Sound. Bodega forwarded news to Revillagigedo via the Santa Gertrudis while he settled in to spend the winter at Monterey. On xx November 1792, Vancouver arrived in Monterey and resumed his friendship with Bodega. The Spanish and British parties stayed until January 1793. On the 13th, Vancouver sailed for Hawaii while Bodega sailed south to San Blas. William Broughton, the captain of the Chatham, went with Bodega so that he could proceed to Europe via Mexico with news of Nootka.

1793.

Revillagigedo, the Viceroy of Mexico, consulted many of his officers who had spent time in Nootka in order to help decide what Spain should do next. Valdes and Galiano, who had explored in the Strait of Georgia in 1792, gave conflicting recommendations. Valdes was against Spain expending further effort exploring the region while Galiano was in favour.Bodega's assistant, Felix de Cepeda, entered a report advocating that Spain should not maintain settlements north of California. Jose Mozino, who had travelled with with Malaspina, gave similar advice in his "Noticias de Nutka".Revillagigedo sent a long report to Madrid in which he set out the reasons for Spain to abandon the Northwest Coast and concentrate on California.

Before abandoning the Northwest Coast though, Revillagigedo sent the Activa, under Francisco de Eliza, and the Mexicana, under Juan Martinez y Zayas, north to investigate the Oregon coast and the Columbia River. The ships left San Blas on 30 April but separated. Eliza reached the Oregon coast before turning back having achieved very little. Zayas reached Neah Bay, where he waited in vain until August for Eliza. He then sailed south investigating Grays Harbour and managing to get 25 kilometres up the Columbia River before running aground.

Meanwhile, Ramon Saavedra was sent north in the San Carlos to replace Salvador Fidalgo in charge at Nootka. He sailed from San Blas on 23 March and arrived at Nootka on 9 May. Fidalgo took the Princesca south on 9 June. Saavedra was still at Nootka when Vancouver brought his two ships back on 5 October. No senior Spanish was present with whom Vancouver could continue negotiations and, unfortunately, there had been no messages from either Europe or Mexico with further instructions. Vancouver left for Monterey.

A new Governor of Alta California, Jose Joaquin de Arrillaga, had taken over at Monterey and he was not predisposed to be friendly toward the British. The Spanish had received reports that the British were spying and had territorial ambitions so Arrillaga sent orders to all Spanish ports that they should not entertain Vancouver. Vancouver was surprised at the unwelcome reception he received at San Francisco and quickly moved on to Monterey. Arrillaga, himself, gave Vancouver a colder reception on 1 November, which angered Vancouver so much that he left again on the 5th.

1794.

In Mexico, Juan Fransisco Bodega y Quadra died on 26 March 1794 after a long illness. He was buried in the Convento de San Fernando in Mexico City. Bodega was replaced as Commandant of San Blas and Commissioner for Nootka by Jose Manual de Alava. He sailed north with Fidalgo in the Princesca on 16 June but only arrived at Nootka on 31 August. Vancouver had gone directly to Alaska at the start of his 1794 explorations so he did not reach Nootka until 1 September. Here he found the recently arrived Alava in charge and heard, with great sorrow, about the death of Bodega. To his further dismay, there were no instructions or him. Vancouver decided to wait. Interestingly, despite Revillagigedo's instructions, the American, John Kendrick, was at Nootka with the Lady Washington, although he left on 11 September..

Alava and Vancouver displayed the usual courtesies and went together to see Maquinna at Tahsis. No further instructions arrived and both parties decided to leave Nootka intending to meet again in Monterey. Vancouver sailed from the sound for the last time on 15 October 1794. Alava, who remarked that he could not understand why so much trouble had occurred over Nootka, sailed the following day. Despite Vancouver spending three years negotiating, Nootka was still Spanish and Saavedra stayed on in charge of the small contingebt based there.

When the ships arrived in Monterey, there was finally news of the Third Nootka Convention. Alava would return north for a final ceremony but another British officer was on his way to replace Vancouver and represent Britain. Vancouver was no longer needed and he, and his crew, could go home. There were also replacements on the Spanish side. Revillagigedo's place as Viceroy had been taken by Maques de Branciforte, who showed no interest at all in matters to do with the Northwest Coast. Arrillaga had returned to Mexico and the British once more received a cordial welcome.

1795.