The Northwest Coast
British Navigation, Trade and Discoveries to 1812
"The voyages of Cook and Vancouver heralded a vast influx ofirrepressible Europeans -- fur traders, whalers, administrators,visitors, missionaries, miners, botanists, and sailors -- people ofevery class and distinction. They came to conquer the Pacific, itsislands, and its continents for 'God, gold, and glory.' Theybrought with them their morals, ideologies, knowledge, technology,plants, and animals. They also brought diseases, rum, and guns. Theybrought with them powers to build and powers to destroy."
-- from the Epilogue
The Northwest Coast was irrevocably changed the day that CaptainJames Cook sailed into Nootka Sound in 1778. Cook's discovery ofthe sea otter population along the coast initiated the maritime furtrade, which, in turn, led to feverish competition among severalnations, especially Britain, Russia, and the United States, as well asthe celebrated rivalry between Spain and Britain for control of Nootka.By 1812, a toe-hold of British empire was established and theaboriginal way of life was shattered.
The Northwest Coast documents Britain's rise topre-eminence in this far-flung corner of the empire. It shows how therelentless activities of its commercial interests, the adroit use ofits naval power, and the steely resolve of its diplomats securedBritish claims to dominion and rights to trade along the NorthwestCoast. Written by a leading maritime scholar and based on freshresearch into known manuscripts and printed works on Pacific trade andexploration, this book incorporates new interpretations on explorationand commercial activity in this area. It documents the interaction,often violent, between British sailors and aboriginal people; depictsmany of the rivalries among British mariners; and examines variousclaims to the discovery of the Northwest Passage.
The Northwest Coast significantly expands and updates theauthor's award-winning book, Distant Dominion. Gough'scompelling narrative combined with his extensive use of quotations fromthe journals and correspondence of explorers and merchant tradersprovide insights into the motives and attitudes of these early pioneersof the empire.
This is an important work, indispensable to any collection of Canadiana, British Columbian, or Pacific Northwest history.
... readers will be impressed with the thorough and readable descriptions of adventurous merchants, official explorers and statesman like imperial visions. There is no hesitation in recommending this book most enthusiastically. It is the assured work of a scholar who has mastered his subject after years of study, and a brief review cannot begin to do it justice.
In Gough's pages we follow in the wake of the three masted ship; tool of empire and harbinger of British dominion of the Pacific.
Illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgments
1. The 'Backside of America'
2. Nova Albion
3. The Strait of Anian and Other Northwest Passages
4. Sea Otter Pelts, Muscovites, and Mandarins
5. Merchant Sea Traders
6. Meares and a Scheme of Empire
7. Botany Bay and Nootka Sound
8. Encroachments in the Spanish Lake
9. Impasse
10. A Voyage of Discovery
11. Westward the Course of Empire
12. Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
