154-473: Charles William Barkley (c. 1759 – 16 May 1832) was a ship captain and maritime fur trader . He was born in Hertford , England, son of Charles Barkley. His name is sometimes erroneously spelled Barclay due to the misspelling "Barclay Sound" (in what is now Vancouver Island , British Columbia ) on early Admiralty charts, which arose from a mistake from Land District records. The misspelling originated in 1859 with
308-526: A pidgin trade-language which remains a distinctive aspect of Pacific Northwest culture, was developed by speakers of indigenous, Russian, French and English languages during this era. Native Hawaiian society was similarly affected by the sudden influx of Western wealth and technology, as well as by epidemic diseases. In the Southern Hemisphere, the maritime fur trade era proved brief but intense. Expeditions of sealers (and then of whalers ) led to
462-474: A series of mission stations along the coast. Spanish exploration voyages to the far north were launched in 1774, 1775, and 1779. In 1784, the center of Russian activity shifted east to Kodiak Island and hunting operations were extended into Cook Inlet . The two empires seemed destined to clash, but before direct Russian-Spanish contact was made new powers appeared on the Northwest Coast—Britain and
616-556: A coasting voyage before departing. The first London ship to do this was the schooner Cadboro , in 1827. However, its voyage did not get beyond the Strait of Georgia and only 2 sea otter and 28 land otter and beaver skins were acquired. In 1828 the HBC decided to deploy three ships for the coast trade, but setbacks caused delays. The William and Ann was lost in 1829, and the Isabella in 1830, both at
770-522: A dispute arose between Colnett and Martínez, leading to the seizure of several British ships and the arrest of their crews. This incident led to the Nootka Crisis, an international crisis between Britain and Spain. War was averted with the first Nootka Convention of 1790. American traders were largely influenced by an unauthorized report published by John Ledyard in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1783. By
924-881: A few key ports of call and stayed longer. Eventually, acquiring enough furs for the China trade in a single year was no longer possible. Some traders wintered in Hawaii, returning to the coast in the spring, but many wintered on the North West Coast, usually in one of the key trading harbors. These harbors included "Clemencitty" on Tongass Island , today called Port Tongass; the several " Kaigani " harbors on south Dall Island north of Cape Muzon , including American Bay and Datzkoo Harbor (known as Taddiskey or Tattasco); " Nahwitti " or "Newhitty" on northern Vancouver Island ; and "Tongass" in Clarence Strait , today called Tamgas Harbor, which
1078-484: A gourmet delicacy in China. American traders began acquiring Fijian bêche-de-mer in 1804 and trepanging boomed there. Bêche-de-mer became Fiji's leading export by 1830. Depletion led to a decline and the end of the trade by 1850. Trepanging was also done from 1812 in Hawaii and from 1814 in the Marquesas. Other side trades included Chilean copper from Valparaíso , scrimshaw (whale teeth), tortoise shells and meat from
1232-521: A lease of the southeastern sector of what is now the Alaska Panhandle, as far north as 56° 30' north latitude. American traders developed the "Golden Round" trade route around the world. Ships sailed from Boston to the Pacific via Cape Horn , then to the North West Coast, arriving in the spring or early summer. They would spend the summer and early autumn fur trading on the coast, mainly between Sitka and
1386-491: A major challenge even after they became experienced with the coast's geography and indigenous peoples. The American system not only raised the price of furs but also lowered the value of trade goods. Furthermore, the indigenous people knew that increased competition served their interests and gave them bargaining power. They had no desire to see the Americans abandon the coast trade. Therefore, the HBC had to not just match but exceed
1540-696: A man, and Rose de Freycinet, wife of Louis de Freycinet , as a stowaway. Barkley continued his merchant captain career. He commanded Princess Frederica , sailing in the Indian Ocean into 1791. Then he returned to the Pacific Northwest coast, in command of the 80-ton brig Halcyon . He traded for sea otter pelts in Sitka Sound , then sailed to the Hawaiian Islands , China, and Mauritius. In late November, 1792, Barkley's Halcyon met and briefly sailed with
1694-554: A permanent fur-trading post at Nootka Sound. However, Spain had also decided to permanently occupy Nootka Sound and assert sovereignty on the North West Coast. The decision was mostly due to Russian activity in Alaska and Russia's threat to occupy Nootka Sound themselves. Spanish naval officer Esteban José Martínez arrived at Nootka in May 1789 and built Fort San Miguel . When the Argonaut arrived,
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#17328377037791848-705: A profitable beaver fur trade with China. Due to the East India Company's (EIC) control over British trading in Canton the NWC turned to American shipping companies. Starting in 1792 the NWC had beaver furs shipped to China by American firms. After the acquisition of Fort George (Astoria) in 1815 the NWC began to supply the Columbia District by sea through the Boston-based firm of Perkins and Company. After arriving at Fort George
2002-507: A role in entrepreneurs hunting the species to the point of disappearance. A " COSEWIC reassessment in May 2022 resulted in a conservation status of Special Concern" for sea otters in Canada. Sea otter distribution extends from the north of Japan all the way to the vicinity of Cedros Island, Mexico. The species stayed approximately within the arc of the Northern Pacific until pressure from
2156-619: A very high profit." He concluded that the American traders made more money from selling slaves, rum, and gunpowder than they did from fur trading. The Chinese sought this mammal's fur due to its great commercial value and its 'prime coat' all year long. The pelt was used by the wealthy Chinese as clothing decoration (robe trimming) and the Russians used it as an ornamental piece. The other furs that were sent to Europe and America were changed to 'coat collars or hats'. Due to this great demand and worth of
2310-476: Is 4,200 years (at Yuquot, Nootka Island ). Because post-glacial sea-levels are known to have risen, overtaking earlier locations, most scholars will date the beginnings of human habitation beyond 9,000 years BP before present . In the late 18th century, Clayoquot Sound and the Native American peoples were explored by ship by various Europeans and Americans who were involved mainly in the fur trade . In 1791,
2464-492: Is no doubt, however, that Meares had the sloop North West America built in Nootka Sound, the first nonindigenous vessel built in the Pacific Northwest. Meares and others organized another expedition the following year. A number of vessels sailed to Nootka Sound, including Argonaut under James Colnett , Princess Royal , under Thomas Hudson, and Iphigenia Nubiana and North West America . Colnett intended to establish
2618-821: Is phasing out salmon farms by 2022 in the Discovery Islands on Vancouver Island's east side. The members of three major First Nations band governments of the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples inhabit the Clayoquot Sound: the Hesquiaht in the North, the Ahousaht in the middle, and the Tla-o-qui-aht in the south. The latter group is based in the village of Opitsaht on Meares Island . The village of Tofino lies opposite Opitsaht on
2772-491: Is very complex — a "labyrinth of waters", according to George Simpson — with thousands of islands, numerous straits and fjords , and a mountainous, rocky, and often very steep shoreline. Navigational hazards included persistent rain, high winds, thick fogs , strong currents , and tides , and hidden rocks. Wind patterns were often contrary, variable, and baffling, especially within the coastal straits and archipelagoes , which makes sailing dangerous. Early explorations before
2926-557: The 51st parallel , the Russian colonies in America were forced to ignore the ban and engage in smuggling. On the Northwest Coast itself the fur trade was supplemented with slave trading . The pre-existing indigenous slave trade was enlarged and expanded upon by fur traders, especially the American traders. While working the coast for furs, traders would purchase slaves around the mouth of
3080-618: The Aleutian (1740s onwards following the Bering expedition of 1741) island chains, reaching the Alaska Peninsula by the 1760s. In 1774, the Spanish followed the Russian fur traders. British crews started trading in the furs of the north-eastern Pacific in 1778, and American traders arrived in the area in 1788, focusing on the coast of present-day British Columbia . The trade boomed around
3234-434: The Aleutian chain . By the 1760s, they were regularly sailing to Kodiak Island. Notable Russian traders in the early years of the trade include Nikifor Trapeznikov (who financed and participated in 10 voyages between 1743 and 1768), Maksimovich Solov'ev, Stepan Glotov, and Grigory Shelikhov . As traders sailed farther east, the voyages became longer and more expensive. Smaller enterprises were merged into larger ones. During
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#17328377037793388-583: The Canadian province of British Columbia . It is bordered by the Esowista Peninsula to the south, and the Hesquiaht Peninsula to the North. It is a body of water with many inlets and islands. Major inlets include Sydney Inlet, Shelter Inlet, Herbert Inlet, Bedwell Inlet, Lemmens Inlet, and Tofino Inlet. Major islands include Flores Island , Vargas Island, and Meares Island . The name is also used for
3542-566: The Columbia Bar . The HBC's shipping was inadequate for the coast trade until the middle 1830s. In 1835 two ships were added to the HBC's coast fleet. One of them, the Beaver , was a steamship , and it proved extremely useful in the variable winds, strong currents, and long narrow inlets. To strengthen its coast trade the Hudson's Bay Company built a series of fortified trading posts, the first of which
3696-772: The Columbia District . Starting in 1811 the American Pacific Fur Company (PFC) challenged the NWC in the Pacific Northwest, but during the War of 1812 the PFC, at risk of being captured by the British Navy, sold its entire operation to the NWC. The PFC had built Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River. Under the NWC it was renamed Fort George, and became the Columbia District's Pacific seaport. The NWC sought to establish
3850-550: The Columbia River and in the Strait of Juan de Fuca , then sell or trade them on the northern coast. Few traders admitted to slaving, although some wrote about it in detail. Further information comes from sources such as reports by HBC officers. Aemelius Simpson of the Hudson's Bay Company wrote in 1828 that American traders on coast trafficked in slaves, "purchasing them at a cheap rate from one tribe and disposing of them to others at
4004-487: The Columbia River by Robert Gray . George Dixon explored the Dixon Entrance and was the first to realize that Haida Gwaii was not part of the mainland. Russian maritime fur trading in the northern Pacific began after the exploration voyages of Vitus Bering and Aleksei Chirikov in 1741 and 1742. Their voyages demonstrated that Asia and North America were not connected but that sea voyages were feasible, and that
4158-638: The French Revolutionary Wars diminished Britain's available manpower and investment capital. The country also concentrated its foreign trade activities in India. British maritime fur traders were hindered by the East India Company (EIC) and South Sea Company (SSC). Although the SSC was moribund by the late 18th century, it had been granted the exclusive right to British trade on the entire western coast of
4312-589: The Galápagos Islands , sugar from Manila , and, from Java , areca nuts (so-called betel nuts) and coffee beans . Sealing boomed in the Juan Fernández Islands and the Juan Fernández fur seal was rapidly exploited to near-extinction. The northern fur seal rookeries were controlled by Russia, so Americans acquired northern fur seal skins through trade rather than sealing. Another side trade
4466-527: The Hawaiian Islands where a maidservant named Wynee (Winée) was taken aboard. Wynee became the first Native Hawaiian , or "Kanaka", to reach British Columbia. From Hawaii, Barkley sailed the Imperial Eagle to Nootka Sound , on the west coast of Vancouver Island, arriving in June 1787. At 400 tons, the Imperial Eagle was the largest ship to ever enter the main harbour of Friendly Cove in Nootka Sound. Barkley
4620-473: The Imperial Eagle as purser, but was killed in an affray with the natives on the North West Coast. Barkley was among the backers, subscribing £3,000 to the venture. John Meares , who was also attempting to avoid license fees by falsely sailing under the Portuguese flag, was also one of the backers. Barkley and his wife, Frances Barkley , left for the Pacific via Cape Horn on 24 November 1786. They stopped in
4774-434: The Imperial Eagle was confiscated. Barkley sued for damages and received £5,000 for the loss of his ten-year contract. At the same time, John Meares gained possession of Barkley's nautical gear and his journal. Frances Barkley later wrote that Meares, "with the greatest effrontery, published and claimed the merit of my husband's discoveries therein contained, besides inventing lies of the most revolting nature tending to vilify
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4928-686: The North American continental fur trade since the 17th century, entered the Pacific coast trade in the 1820s with the intention of outcompeting the Americans - a goal accomplished by about 1840. In its late period, after about 1840, the maritime fur trade in the northern Pacific was largely conducted by the British Hudson's Bay Company and by the Russian-American Company (the RAC, which operated from 1799 to 1867). The trade in fur-seal skins from
5082-588: The Pacific Northwest coast of North America. The ship, which was renamed Imperial Eagle and falsely registered as an Austrian in an attempt to avoid the cost of acquiring a trading licence from the East India Company, was owned by various supercargoes , including several East India Company directors in England, who together called themselves the Austrian East India Company. Daniel Beale organised
5236-504: The Panic of 1825 . Tea prices plummeted and the China trade's volume collapsed by about a third. By this time, the old maritime fur trade on the Northwest Coast and the Old China Trade itself were dying. The final blow came with the depression of 1841–43, following the Panic of 1837 . Over time, the maritime fur traders concentrated on different parts of the North West Coast. In the 1790s,
5390-463: The Russo-American Treaty of 1824 , resulted in the HBC's decision to enter the coast maritime fur trade and drive out the Americans. By the early 1820s American traders were taking 3,000 to 5,000 beaver skins, mostly from New Caledonia, to Canton every year. By the early 1830s the number had reached 10,000 annually, which was as many as the HBC itself was acquiring from New Caledonia and half of
5544-491: The Ukase of 1821 which announced Russian hegemony over the Northwest Coast from 45°50′ north latitude onwards in a northern direction. The only Russian attempt to enforce the ukase of 1821 was the seizure of the US brig Pearl by the Russian sloop Apollon , in 1822. The Pearl , a maritime fur trading vessel, was sailing from Boston to Sitka. On a protest from the US government, the vessel
5698-462: The War of 1812 , but after 1815, Americans were able to resume and expand the maritime fur trade, and continued to dominate. The Russian entry to the Northwest Coast, beyond Prince William Sound, was slow because of a shortage of ships and sailors. Yakutat Bay was reached in 1794 and the settlement of Slavorossiya , originally intended to be the colonial capital, was built there in 1795. Reconnaissance of
5852-637: The indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska . Entrepreneurs also exploited fur-bearing skins from the wider Pacific (from, for example, the Juan Fernández fur seal ) and from the Southern Ocean . The trade mostly serviced the market in Qing China , which imported furs and exported tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese goods, which were then sold in Europe and in
6006-660: The intensive farming operation, occurred in 2019. The densely packed farms have the disadvantage of providing conditions that allow for the rapid spread of disease. A highly contagious virus variant found in Norwegian salmon farms has been found in Clayoquot Sound farmed salmon. Environmental advocacy organizations have stated such events are evidence of the environmental damage associated with this type of fish farming. The British Columbia provincial government has closed other salmon farming sites on Vancouver Island. For instance, it
6160-489: The "golden round": The Americans had a perfect golden round of profits: first, the profit on the original cargo of trading goods when exchanged for furs; second, the profit when the furs were transmuted into Chinese goods; and, third, the profit on those goods when they reached America. In the later years of the North West Trade the pattern became more complex as additional markets and side voyages were incorporated. As
6314-522: The 1780s, Grigory Shelikhov began to stand out as one of the most important traders through the Shelikhov-Golikov Company . In 1784, Shelikhov founded the first permanent Russian settlement in North America, at Three Saints Bay on Kodiak Island. Shelikhov envisioned a continual extension of the Russian maritime fur trade, with trading posts being set up farther and farther along the coast all
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6468-534: The 1789 fur trading season was over, Gray sailed the Columbia to China via Hawaii, then to Boston via the Cape of Good Hope . The arrival of the Columbia at Boston was celebrated for being the first American circumnavigation of the world. However, the venture was not a commercial success. The ship's owners financed a second attempt and Gray sailed the Columbia from Boston only six weeks after arriving. Gray's second voyage
6622-569: The 1790s, American traders were outcompeting the British and soon came to dominate the maritime fur trade south of Russian America. The opening of the trade came at a good time for New England's merchants. It provided a way to escape the depression that had followed the American Revolutionary War . It presented new trading opportunities that more than made up for the closure of British home and colonial ports to US imports. First Nations along
6776-399: The 1830s, however, the missions of Alta California had been secularized by Mexican authorities and deserted by Indian labourers. The trade slid into unprofitability. The decline of the American trade with Alta California left just one significant alternative to the ever-dwindling sea otter trade—the provisioning of the settlements of Russian America, which lasted until the Americans abandoned
6930-457: The American ship took a cargo of NWC beaver furs to Canton, exchanged them for China goods and conveyed them to Boston for sale. Even though Perkins and Company took 25% of the proceeds the arrangement was still about 50% more profitable than using British ships and selling furs in Canton through the EIC for bills payable on London and returning from China with no cargo. In 1821, after tensions between
7084-410: The Americas from Cape Horn to Bering Strait and for 300 leagues (around 900 mi (1,400 km)) out into the Pacific Ocean. This, coupled with the EIC monopoly on British trade in China, meant sea otter skins were procurable only in the preserve of one monopoly and disposable only in that of the other. To operate legally, British maritime fur traders had to obtain licenses from both companies, which
7238-471: The Barkleys hired a native Hawaiian named Wynee as a maidservant. Wynee was the first native Hawaiian to visit the Pacific Northwest—the first of many Kanakas . Barkley explored the coast south of Nootka Sound, discovering the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the process. He was the first trader to visit Neah Bay , a Makah settlement that later became an important port of call for maritime fur traders. John Meares , who had also served under Cook, sailed to
7392-478: The British and American system, where the natives hunted sea otters and prepared the furs on their own, and were essentially independent agents of the fur trade. The Russians did not trade freely with the native Alaskans; rather, they imposed a fur tribute known as yasak . The yasak system, which was widely used in Siberia, essentially enslaved the natives. In 1788, it was banned in Russian America, only to be replaced by compulsory labor . The British entry into
7546-476: The Chinese port of Guangzhou (Canton), where they worked within the established Canton system . Furs from Russian America were mostly sold to China via the Mongolian trading town of Kyakhta , which had been opened to Russian trade by the 1727 Treaty of Kyakhta . Large-scale economic issues played a role in the decline of the maritime fur trade and the China trade in general. Before the 19th century, Chinese demand for Western raw materials or manufactured goods
7700-477: The Clayoquot Sound region, including both land and water, is 350,000 hectares (860,000 acres). More than 200,000 hectares (490,000 acres) have been included as the subject of a multi-year study using Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM) to identify areas prone to geologic and geomorphic hazards, in particular, landslides, soil erosion, and sedimentation. The study is also to identify and characterize terrain conditions associated with these hazards. The region contains
7854-467: The Columbia River. In late autumn they sailed to the Hawaiian Islands, where they typically spent the winter, then from Hawaii to Macau on the Pearl River Delta , arriving in autumn. Trading in Canton did not begin until November, when tea shipments were ready. The Americans had to hire pilots to take their ships up the Pearl River to Canton's "out port" of Whampoa . Foreign ships were not allowed in Canton itself. Trading took weeks or months, after which
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#17328377037798008-445: The EIC and HBC. It was also hoped that the company would be able to conduct maritime trade with China and Japan, although this goal was not realized. In 1818 the Russian government took control of the RAC from the merchants who held the charter. The explorer and naval officer Ferdinand Petrovich von Wrangel was the first president of the company during the government period. In 1867, the Alaska Purchase transferred control of Alaska to
8162-443: The EIC, instead trying to conceal the illegal activity by using the flag of Portugal. They arrived at Nootka Sound in May 1788. Meares later claimed that Chief Maquinna sold him some land and on it Meares had a building erected. These claims later became a point of dispute during the Nootka Crisis . Spain, which sought control of Nootka Sound, rejected both claims; the true facts of the matter have never been fully established. There
8316-414: The EIC. In 1824 and 1825 the HBC sold 20,000 beaver and 7,000 land-otter skins in China through the EIC, but the arrangement did not prove advantageous for either firm. In the wake of the NWC's forced merger into the HBC, George Simpson reorganized operations in New Caledonia and the Columbia Department . His efforts and keen fiscal sense, combined with a resurgence of American traders on the coast after
8470-421: The East India Company was taking legal action against the owners of the Imperial Eagle for trading without a license. The owners, including John Meares , decided to avoid the legal problems by selling the Imperial Eagle and breaking their contract with Barkley. Charles and Frances Barkley stayed in Mauritius for over a year, where they had their first child. They then sailed to Kolkata (Calcutta), India, where
8624-494: The Forests Minister of British Columbia, Andrew Petter , and the Environment Minister, Elizabeth Cull , officially accepted the 127 panel recommendations, on behalf of the NDP government. Members of Greenpeace were reported to play a significant role in these protests and instigated a boycott of BC forest products to apply pressure on the industry. After the government accepted the scientific panel's recommendations, specifically deferring logging until an inventory of pristine areas
8778-413: The HBC to gain this level of experience, but the Americans still had several advantages. For a number of reasons they were willing and able to pay high prices for furs—much higher than the HBC could match without taking large financial losses. The American ventures were global in scope. They tapped multiple markets of which the North West Coast was but one. By the 1820s American ships routinely spent years in
8932-418: The Hooghly River, Calcutta, India while Charles was still a boy. Charles went on to sail to the West Indies in the merchantman Bestsy . He made seven voyages to the Far East for the East India Company and rose rapidly in the company's service. He was married in 1786, he soon after left the East India Company, taking what was apparently his first command, the 400-ton ship Loundon , ready for a trading voyage to
9086-431: The NWC and HBC had erupted into violence the NWC was forced to merge into the HBC. As a result, the HBC acquired the Columbia District and its trade with China. At first the system of shipping furs via the American Perkins and Company was continued, but in 1822 the United States Customs Service imposed a heavy ad valorem duty on the proceeds. The HBC stopped using American middlemen and instead tried selling furs through
9240-418: The North West Coast altogether in the early 1840s. From the first decade of the 19th century until 1841 American ships visited Sitka regularly, trading provisions, textiles, and liquor for fur seal skins, timber, and fish. This trade was usually highly profitable for the Americans and the Russian settlements depended on it. Thus when Tsar Nicholas I issued the ukase of 1821, banning foreign trade north of
9394-427: The North West Coast in 1786. He spent the winter in Prince William Sound , his ship trapped by ice and his men dying of scurvy . He was rescued by the timely arrival of Dixon and Portlock. Meares organized a second expedition of two ships, the Felice Adventurero and Iphigenia Nubiana . Meares was captain of the Felice and William Douglas was captain of the Iphigenia . Meares decided not to license his ships with
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#17328377037799548-410: The North West trade developed it became riskier to depend solely upon acquiring sea otter furs through trade with the indigenous people of the coast. Diversification began in the first decade of the 19th century if not earlier, and increased over time. Maritime fur trading voyages were no longer solely about taking sea otter furs from the North West Coast to Canton. Other commodities and markets throughout
9702-457: The Northwest Coast in 1785, at which time it was mostly unexplored. Although noncommercial exploration voyages continued, especially by the Spanish Navy, the maritime fur traders made a number of significant discoveries. Notable examples include the Strait of Juan de Fuca , Clayoquot Sound , and Barkley Sound , all found by Charles William Barkley , Queen Charlotte Strait by James Strange , Fitz Hugh Sound by James Hanna , Grays Harbor and
9856-418: The Northwest Coast natives, along with increased warfare, potlatching , slaving , and depopulation due to epidemic disease. However, the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast were not overwhelmed by rapid change, and some cultural practices flourished. For instance, the importance of totems and traditional nobility crests increased, and the Chinook Jargon ( Chinook jargon : Chinuk wawa ),
10010-430: The Pacific coastal regions of northern North America - including otters , fish , and bears - the water, soil, ecosystems and resources were devastated by the maritime fur trade. The Pacific Northwest was one of the last significant nonpolar regions in the world to be explored by Europeans. Centuries of reconnaissance and conquest had brought the rest of North America within the claims of imperial powers. During
10164-412: The Pacific were added to the system. Sandalwood , mainly from Hawaii, became an important item of the China trade. Just as the sea otter trade was waning the sandalwood trade boomed, peaking in 1821, then declined. Hawaiian sandalwood was depleted by 1830. Fiji and the Marquesas Islands were the other principal sources of sandalwood. Most had been cut by 1820. Fiji was also a source of bêche-de-mer ,
10318-452: The Pacific, making several voyages between various places such as California, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Canton. American ships were usually stocked with a surplus of trade goods intended for trade on the North West Coast. It was always best to get rid of any extra trade goods on the North West Coast, "dumping" them at any price, before leaving. They would use up stowage space that could be used more profitably elsewhere. The HBC therefore faced
10472-458: The Russians, the population of Russian America peaked at 10,313 in 1838. An additional 12,500 people were known local residents not included in the colonial register. An estimated 17,000 more local residents were present but unknown to the Russians. Thus, the total population of the Russian–occupied parts of Russian America was approximately 40,000. Colony Ross, known as Fort Ross today, was built in California just north of San Francisco Bay . It
10626-424: The Southern Ocean peaked in the 1810s and had become unprofitable due to over-exploitation of the source resources by 1863. The term "maritime fur trade" has been used by historians from the 1880s onwards to distinguish the coastal ship-based fur trade from the continental land-based fur trade of, for example, the North West Company (1779–1821) of Montreal and the American Fur Company (1808–1847). Historically,
10780-505: The Tlingit abandoned their fort and left the area. Tlingit accounts of the battle refuse to admit defeat or give the Russians credit for taking the Tlingit fort. The Russians destroyed the abandoned Tlingit fort and named the new Russian fort Novo-Arkhangelsk (New Archangel), also known as Fort Archangel Michael and Fort Saint Michael. The confrontations at Sitka in 1802 and 1804 played a significant role in subsequent Tlingit-Russian relations for generations. Novo-Arkhangelsk soon became
10934-405: The United States and the commercial interests of the Russian American Company were sold to Hutchinson, Kohl & Company of San Francisco , who then merged with several other groups to form the Alaska Commercial Company . The Russian population in America never surpassed 1,000—the peak was 823 in 1839. However, the RAC employed and fed thousands of natives. According to official census counts by
11088-622: The United States. The maritime fur trade was pioneered by the Russians, veterans of the Eurasian fur trade . Against the background of the Siberian fur trade , Russians reached the Pacific coast of Asia, and first encountered the valuable sea-otter resources of the northern Pacific Ocean in the 17th century. The promyshlenniki then worked their way eastwards from Kamchatka along the Commander and
11242-654: The United States. When the clash came, at Nootka Sound in 1789, it was not between Spain and Russia but between Spain and Britain. The British first reached the region by sea in 1778, during James Cook 's third voyage, and by land in 1793, when Alexander Mackenzie's transcontinental explorations reached the Pacific. The first British maritime fur trader, James Hanna , arrived on the Northwest Coast in 1785. The first American traders, John Kendrick and Robert Gray , arrived by sea in 1788. The Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived overland in 1805. The early maritime fur traders were explorers, as well as traders. The Northwest Coast
11396-421: The beginning of the 19th century. A long period of decline began in the 1810s. As the sea-otter population became depleted over time, the maritime fur trade diversified and transformed, tapping new commodities, while continuing to focus on the Northwest Coast of North America and on markets in China. It lasted until the middle- to late-19th century. Russians controlled most of the coast of present-day Alaska during
11550-526: The bulk exploitation of these mammals range from 150,000 to 300,000. Sea otters are "slow breeders, only one sometimes two pups being born at a time" each year, which makes the population vulnerable in conditions of intensive hunting. While Russians developed the maritime fur-trade based on sea-otter pelts, societies from eastern North America gradually moved their largely beaver -based fur-harvesting enterprises further and further westward. Eventually, rather than sending all their furs to Atlantic markets,
11704-592: The coast as far as Haida Gwaii was carried out by James Shields, a British employee of the Golikov-Shelikhov Company. In 1795, Alexandr Baranov sailed into Sitka Sound , claiming it for Russia. Hunting parties arrived in the following years. By 1800, three-quarters of the Russian-American Company's sea otter skins came from the Sitka Sound area, amounting to several thousand per year. Sitka Sound
11858-414: The coast between Nootka Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca , including Barkley Sound , Loudoun Channel, Cape Beale, and Imperial Eagle Channel. In honour of the indigenous chief Wickaninnish , Barkley gave the name Wickinninish Sound to what is now called Clayoquot Sound . He rediscovered the strait allegedly described by Juan de Fuca and named the strait as such on his chart. Barkley's Imperial Eagle
12012-530: The coast referred to American traders in the Chinook jargon as Boston or Boston-men – after their main port in New England. One of the first and most notable American maritime fur traders was Robert Gray . Gray made two trading voyages, the first from 1787 to 1790 and the second from 1790 to 1793. The first voyage was conducted with John Kendrick and the vessels Columbia Rediviva and Lady Washington . After
12166-497: The coast trade to drive away the American traders. This goal was achieved during the 1830s. By 1841, the American traders had abandoned the North West Coast. For a time, the North West Coast trade was controlled by the HBC and the RAC. Following the 1846 resolution of the Oregon Territory controversy between the United States and England, and the American purchase of Alaska in 1867, American hunters returned to hunting sea otters in
12320-499: The company for the maritime fur trade. The EIC usually allowed British vessels to import furs into Canton, but required the furs to be sold via EIC agents, and the company took a percentage of the returns. Worse, the EIC did not allow the British fur traders to export Chinese goods to Great Britain. Thus, the last and most profitable leg of the maritime fur trade system—carrying Chinese goods to Europe and America—was denied to British traders. The first trading vessel dispatched solely for
12474-509: The company monopolistic control over trade in the Aleutian Islands and the North America mainland, south to 55° north latitude (approximating the present border on coast between British Columbia and Alaska). The RAC was modeled on Britain's East India Company (EIC) and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Russian officials intended the company to operate both as a business enterprise and a state organization for extending imperial influence, similar to
12628-493: The complex inner waters were explored and mapped by José María Narváez and Juan Carrasco ; their commander, Francisco de Eliza , met and befriended Wickaninnish , the chief of the Tla-o-qui-aht peoples. These explorers recognized the region's wealth of natural resources. These resources attracted growing numbers of non-First Nations peoples, who limited First Nation access to land, and generated resentment among
12782-671: The continental fur-industry began to tap into the trans-Pacific market in China from 1792 onwards. The fur trade's killing of beavers proved devastating for the North American beaver population. The natural ecosystems that came to rely on the beavers for dams , water and other vital needs were also devastated leading to ecological destruction , environmental change, and drought in certain areas. Following this beaver populations in North America would take centuries to recover in some areas, while others would never recover. The killing of beavers had catastrophic effects for many species living in
12936-766: The early 1760s. Stepan Glotov encountered Kodiak Island in 1763. In 1768, an expedition was carried out by the Russian Navy, under Pyotr Krenitsyn and Mikhail Levashev . Two ships sailed from Kamchatka to the Alaska Peninsula for the purpose of assessing the existing Russian activity and the possibilities of future development. Reports about the voyage, meant to be kept secret, spread through Europe and caused alarm in Spain. The Spanish government, already concerned about Russian activity in Alaska, decided to colonize Alta California and sent exploratory voyages to Alaska to assess
13090-552: The early 21st century, the communities surrounding Clayoquot Sound (Tofino, Ucluelet, and Ahousaht) have been developing new sources of income. They are emphasizing ecotourism and selective logging, based on co-management strategies. The land around Clayoquot Sound includes vast coastal temperate rain forest , rivers, lakes, marine areas and beaches. It includes part of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and some of Strathcona Provincial Park . The total size of
13244-527: The early part of this era, the ships would typically stop at the Commander Islands to slaughter and preserve the meat of Steller's sea cows , a defenseless sea mammal whose range was limited to those islands. They were hunted not only for food, but also for their skins, used to make boats, and their subcutaneous fat, used for oil lamps . By 1768, Steller's sea cow was extinct. As furs were depleted on nearby islands, Russian traders sailed farther east along
13398-463: The entire maritime fur trade era. The North American coast further south saw fierce competition between, and among, trading vessels from Great Britain and from the United States . The British were the first to operate in the southern sector, but were unable to compete against the Americans, who dominated from the 1790s to the 1830s. The British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), which had had experience in
13552-456: The expedition visited Canton and were surprised by how much money the Chinese were willing to pay for the furs. A profit of 1,800% was made. James King , one of the commanders after Cook's death, wrote, "the advantages that might be derived from a voyage to that part of the American coast, undertaken with commercial views, appear to me of a degree of importance sufficient to call for the attention of
13706-639: The first European settlements in Tasmania ( Van Diemen's Land ) and New Zealand - lands which Europeans had known but largely ignored since the 17th century. Settler colonialism in the South Pacific resulted during the course of the 19th century in genocides (in fur-sources like Tasmania and the Chatham Islands ) and in cultural disruption and temporary numerical decline for the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand. The trade's effect on China and on Europe
13860-422: The first decade of the 19th century. Returns of 2,200% or higher were common, although when taking into account the cost of buying and outfitting vessels, the 2,200% return would be closer to 525%. The trade's boom years ended around 1810, after which a long decline was marked by increasing economic diversification. By 1810, the supply of sea otter pelts had fallen due to overhunting. American trade declined during
14014-403: The first in a series of economic booms and busts, while boosting convict capitalism. In economic terms, the most profitable furs came from the pelts of the sea otter ( Enhydra lutris ), especially from those of the northern sea otter ( Enhydra lutris kenyoni ), which inhabited the Pacific coastal waters of North America between the Columbia River in the south and the Aleutian Islands in
14168-413: The government agent William Eddy Banfield who issued certificates identifying the "Barclay Land District." The name was corrected to Barkley Sound in 1904. (Banfield's own name was misspelled in the name of the town of Bamfield , also on Vancouver Island.) At the age of 11, Charles Barkley went to sea with his father, who was the commander of the East India Company ship Pacific . His father drowned in
14322-503: The indigenous people. The name has since been transferred to nearby Destruction Island . The Native Hawaiian maidservant named Wynee (Winée) was left in China. Later she was found there by John Meares and sailed with him back to her homeland but she died of illness on 5 February 1788 during the voyage and her body was committed to the deep. He then left China and sailed with a cargo to Mauritius . While in Mauritius, Barkley learned that
14476-521: The interior to the coast via indigenous trade networks from New Caledonia—today the Omineca and Nechako districts of the Central Interior of British Columbia . During the 1820s, the British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), which considered the interior fur trade to be its domain, began to experience significant losses as a result of this diversion of furs to the coast. To protect its interests, the HBC entered
14630-591: The larger region of land around the waterbody (essentially its watershed). The name Clayoquot is derived from the name of a subgroup of the Nuu-chah-nulth, who lived at Clayoqua . In the late 20th century, this group merged into the multi-group band government known as the Tla-o-qui-aht , meaning "different" or "changing" in their language. First Nations have inhabited the area for thousands of years. The oldest dated location within Nuu-cha-nulth territory
14784-399: The largest area of intact (unlogged) temperate rainforest left on Vancouver Island. Clayoquot Sound is home to wolves , black bears , cougars , grey whales , orcas , porpoises , seals , sea lions , river otters , bald eagles , osprey , marbled murrelets , Pacific loons , Roosevelt elk , martens , and raccoons . In 2000, Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve was designated as
14938-459: The late 18th and early 19th centuries, a number of empires and commercial systems converged upon the Northwest Coast, by sea as well as by land across the continent. The Russian and Spanish empires were extended into the region simultaneously, from opposite directions. Russian fur companies expanded into North America along the Aleutian Islands, reaching the Fox Islands and the Alaska Peninsula in
15092-557: The late 1980s, the situation escalated when the government approved MacMillan Bloedel Corporation's permit to log Meares Island. The First Nations peoples expressed their opposition to the MacMillan Bloedel Corporation logging in the Clayoquot Sound by several peaceful protests and blockades of logging roads from 1980 to 1994. In the summer of 1993, over 800 protestors were arrested, and many were tried for interfering with approved industry. Protestors included members of
15246-463: The local Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and Ahousaht First Nation bands, as well as NDP MP Svend Robinson , and environmental groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of Clayoquot Sound . International mass media covered the protests and blockades, helping to create national support for environmental movements in British Columbia and foster strong advocacy for anti-logging campaigns. Media reported
15400-474: The locals. Government support of private company resource extraction allowed for the growth of such industry over time. Logging companies were active in harvesting timber in the Clayoquot Sound area as late as the 1980s and 1990s. In the late 20th century, First Nations became more active in trying to defend their rights and resources. They developed Native lobbying organizations and insisted on negotiations regarding governmental policies about such resources. In
15554-577: The maritime fur trade dates to 1778 and the third voyage of Captain James Cook. While sailing north to search for the fabled Northwest Passage , Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands . On the Northwest Coast, he spent a month in Nootka Sound , during which he and his crew traded with the Nuu-chah-nulth from the village of Yuquot . They ended up with over 300 furs, mostly sea otter, but thought them of no great value. Later, after Cook had been killed in Hawaii,
15708-505: The maritime fur trade era—by Juan Pérez , Bruno de Heceta , Bogeda y Quadra , and James Cook —produced only rough surveys of the coast's general features. Detailed surveys were undertaken in only a few relatively small areas, such as Nootka Sound , Bucareli Bay , and Cook Inlet . Russian exploration before 1785 had produced mainly rough surveys, largely restricted to the Aleutian Islands and mainland Alaska west of Cape Saint Elias . British and American maritime fur traders began visiting
15862-436: The maritime fur trade was not known by that name and was rather usually called the "North West Coast trade" or the "North West Trade". The term "North West" was rarely spelled as the single word "Northwest", as is common today. The maritime fur trade brought the Pacific Northwest coast into a vast, new network of international trade , centered on the north Pacific Ocean, global in scope, and based on capitalism but not (for
16016-412: The maritime fur trade, the Russians had spent over 40 years establishing and expanding their maritime operations in North America. A number of colonies were being established over a large region stretching from the Aleutian Islands to Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound . Many ships sailed from Kamchatka to Alaska each year. The Russians not only had an early start, but they also controlled the habitats of
16170-514: The maritime fur trade. They sailed from England on the King George and Queen Charlotte and spent 1786 and 1787 exploring and trading on the North West Coast. They spent the winters in Hawaii, where they were among the first visitors after Cook. Charles William Barkley , another early British trader, sailed the Imperial Eagle from England to the North West Coast via Hawaii, 1786–1788. He
16324-648: The maritime fur trading era. After six members of his crew were killed by indigenous people, on 24 July 1787, near the mouth of the Hoh River , Barkley decided to set sail for Guangzhou (Canton), China , to sell his sea otter pelts. He arrived in Macau in December 1787. His trading venture resulted in a profit of £10,000. Barkley gave the name Destruction River to what is now called the Hoh River, after his crew members were killed by
16478-449: The maritime fur trading vessels Margaret , under James Magee , and Hope , under Joseph Ingraham . Little is known of his latter years. They were probably not prosperous. Upon his death at the age of 73 he left two sons and two daughters, and was survived by his wife Frances. Maritime fur trade The maritime fur trade , a ship-based fur trade system, focused largely on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from
16632-462: The maritime fur-trade forced it to move north. The start of the decline in sea-otter numbers began with the first Russian expeditions in this region. Aleut hunters supplied sea-otter skins as tribute or as ransom to the Russians, and the Aleut people became "the main purveyor of prime otter skins to Russian traders and American adventurers". Retrospective estimates of worldwide sea-otter numbers before
16786-609: The most part) on colonialism . A sort of triangular trade network emerged linking the Pacific Northwest coast, China, the Hawaiian Islands (first generally known to the Western world following James Cook's visit in 1778 ), Britain, and the United States (especially New England ). The trade had a major effect on the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest coast, especially the Aleut , Sugpiaq , Tlingit , Haida , Nuu-chah-nulth , and Chinook peoples . A rapid increase of wealth occurred among
16940-518: The most successful American firms involved in the Northwest Trade was Perkins and Company . The maritime fur trade was dominated by American traders from the 1790s to the 1820s. Between 1788 and 1826, American merchant ships made at least 127 voyages between the United States and China, via the Northwest Coast. The returns were lucrative. During the late 1810s, the return on investment ranged from about 300% to 500%. Even higher profits were common in
17094-401: The most valuable sea otters. The Kurilian, Kamchatkan, and Aleutian sea otters' fur was thicker, glossier, and blacker than those on the Northwest Coast and California. The four grades of fur were based on colour, texture, and thickness. The most prized furs were those of Kurilian and Kamchatkan sea otters, Aleutian furs were second-grade, those of the Northwest Coast third, and the poorest grade
17248-631: The mountains near the coast until it reached 141° west longitude , after which the boundary ran north along that line of longitude to the Arctic Ocean. Aside from boundary adjustments to the Alaska Panhandle , stemming from the Alaska boundary dispute of the late 19th century, this is the current boundary of the state of Alaska. In 1839 the RAC-HBC Agreement was signed, giving the Hudson's Bay Company
17402-471: The north and west. Sea otters possess a thicker fur than any other mammal, and the sea otter's habit of coat-grooming prevents molting. The "dark [thick] and silver tipped fur" accounts for sea otters' exploitation during a time when their pelts became fashionable in Imperial Chinese high society. Fashionable popularity fed the market demand for sea-otter pelts in China, Europe and America, and played
17556-440: The northern coast could unload furs and take on trade goods without having to navigate the Columbia River and its hazardous bar. Later coastal posts included Fort Stikine (1840), Fort Durham (1840), and Fort Victoria (1843). It was not easy for the HBC to drive the Americans away from the North West Coast. The Americans had decades of experience and knew the coast's complex physical and human geography. It took until 1835 for
17710-432: The perceived injustice of numerous individuals being arrested for joining peaceful protests and blockades. In some cases, law enforcement responded aggressively, which eventually helped strengthen public support for non-violent protests. After the 1990 protests, the provincial government made its first significant change in policy. It commissioned a scientific panel to examine issues related to Clayoquot Sound. In July 1995,
17864-492: The person he thus pilfered." After this series of events Charles and Frances Barkley found themselves stranded in Mauritius, without a ship and burdened with a newborn. Over the course of two years they managed to make their way to the Netherlands, then England. Frances was the first woman to sail around the world without deception. Only two women are known to have sailed around the world before Frances: Jeanne Baré , disguised as
18018-626: The point of armed battles such as the 1816 Battle of Seven Oaks , was mostly over control of Rupert's Land, east of the Continental Divide. Around the turn of the 19th century the NWC expanded its operations westward, across the Rocky Mountains into the mostly unexplored Pacific Northwest. By the 1810s the NWC had established new fur trading operations west of the Rockies, in New Caledonia and
18172-425: The prices paid by Americans if they hoped to drive the Americans away. Beaver fur prices on the coast could be many times what the HBC was paying in the interior. There was no hope of making a profit. In order to compete on the coast the HBC had to take large, long-term financial losses. Clayoquot Sound Clayoquot Sound / ˈ k l ɑː k w ɒ t / is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in
18326-465: The primary settlement and colonial capital of Russian America. After the Alaska Purchase , it was renamed Sitka, and became the first capital of Alaska Territory . The Russian-American Company (RAC) was incorporated in 1799, putting an end to the promyshlenniki period and beginning an era of centralized monopoly. Its charter was laid out in a 1799 ukase by the new Tsar Paul , which granted
18480-525: The principal investors. An early trader, Emilian Basov, traded at Bering Island in 1743, collecting a large number of sea otter, fur seal , and blue Arctic fox furs. Basov made four trips to Bering Island and nearby Medny Island and made a fortune, inspiring many other traders. From 1743 to the founding of the Russian-American Company in 1799, over 100 private fur-trading and hunting voyages sailed from Kamchatka to North America. In total, these voyages garnered over eight million silver rubles . During
18634-599: The provincial government and Nuu-chah-nulth first nations signing the Interim Measures Act (IMA) on March 19, 1994. (This followed protests in 1993 that gained international coverage on this issue, increasing the pressure.) Since the IMA was signed, the First Nations and government have negotiated to co-manage local land and resources, including economic development strategies. With the reduction in logging in this area, in
18788-503: The public." The crews of the two ships were so eager to return to Nootka Sound and acquire more furs, they were "not far short of mutiny". Nevertheless, they sailed for England, arriving there in October 1780. Accounts of Cook's voyage and the sea otter trade were published in the 1780s, triggering a rush of entrepreneurial voyages to the Northwest Coast. British interest in the maritime fur trade peaked between 1785 and 1794, then declined as
18942-533: The purpose of the fur trade was the British Sea Otter commanded by James Hanna in 1785. In his brief visit to the coast, he obtained 560 pelts, which fetched a profit of $ 20,000 in Canton. The promise of such profits encouraged other traders. George Dixon and Nathaniel Portlock , former members of Cook's crew, became partners in the King George's Sound Company , formed in 1785 for the purpose of developing
19096-527: The region was rich in furs. Private fur traders, mostly promyshlenniki , launched fur trading expeditions from Kamchatka , at first focusing on nearby islands such as the Commander Islands . Unlike fur trading ventures in Siberia, these maritime expeditions required more capital than most promyshlenniki could obtain. Merchants from cities such as Irkutsk , Tobolsk , and others in European Russia , became
19250-636: The region, both from land and sea. Hunting throughout the Aleutian and Kuril Islands by American commercial outfits also contributed to the near-extinction of the species by the late 1800s. From 1779 to 1821 two British fur trading companies, the Montreal-based North West Company (NWC) and the London-based Hudson's Bay Company, competed for control of the fur trade of what later became Western Canada. The struggle, which eventually reached
19404-613: The sea otters pelt, the Russian-America Company (RAC) annual expenses was around 1000,000 rubles each year and profited over 500,000 rubles per year. The fur of the Californian southern sea otter, E. l. nereis , was less highly prized and thus less profitable. After the northern sea otter was hunted to local extinction , maritime fur traders shifted to California until the southern sea otter was likewise nearly extinct. The British and American maritime fur traders took their furs to
19558-672: The ships were loaded with Chinese goods such as teas, silks, porcelains, sugar, cassia , and curios . They left in the winter and used the northeasterly monsoon winds of the South China Sea to reach the Sunda Strait and then used the southeasterly trade winds to cross the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope. From there the ships sailed to Boston, where they traditionally docked at the India Wharf . Frederic William Howay described that as
19712-659: The southern part of the North West Coast, including the Columbia River . Although the mouth of the river had been spotted by the Spanish explorer Bruno de Heceta in 1775, no other explorer or fur trader had been able to find it and enter the river. Gray was the first to do so. He named the river after his ship. The event was later used by the United States in support of their claims to the Pacific Northwest. Other notable American maritime fur traders include William F. Sturgis , Joseph Ingraham , Simon Metcalfe and his son Thomas Humphrey Metcalfe , Daniel Cross, John Boit , James Magee , and John DeWolf , among many others. One of
19866-483: The southern promontory of the entrance to the sound. In 1985, for the first time in British Columbia history, the courts froze resource development on crown land because of a related Aboriginal title claim. Chiefs of the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht first nations obtained an injunction halting logging on Meares Island in Clayoquot Sound pending treaty negotiations with the provincial government. These negotiations resulted in
20020-468: The threat and strengthen Spanish claims of sovereignty on coast north of Mexico. The province of Alta California was established by José de Gálvez in 1769, just as the Krenitsyn-Levashev expedition was concluding. Five separate expeditions were dispatched to Alta California in 1769. By 1782, presidios had been established at San Diego , Monterey , San Francisco and Santa Barbara , linked by
20174-519: The total output of the entire Columbia Department. In addition, the Americans were paying higher prices for the furs, which forced the HBC to do the same. The HBC effort to gain control of the coastal fur trade began in the late 1820s. It took some time for the HBC to acquire the necessary ships, skilled seamen, trade goods, and intelligence about the coast trade. Simpson decided that the "London ships", which brought goods to Fort Vancouver and returned to England with furs, should arrive early enough to make
20328-562: The voyage of the Imperial Eagle when he returned to London from Canton on the HCS General Coote in August 1786. Beale had been the purser of, successively, the HC ships Walpole and General Coote on voyages between London and Canton in 1783–1786: in 1783 he joined the Canton partnership of John Henry Cox and John Reid in their mercantile ventures. Beale's brother or cousin, John Beale, sailed in
20482-408: The way to California. He sought exclusive control of the trade, and in 1788 Empress Catherine II decided to grant his company a monopoly only over the area it already occupied. Other traders were free to compete elsewhere. Catherine's decision was issued as the imperial ukase (proclamation) of 28 September 1788. By the time of Catherine's ukase of 1788, just as other nations were entering
20636-649: The west coast of Vancouver Island, especially Nootka Sound, was frequently visited. By the 1810s, the locus had shifted to the Queen Charlotte Islands and Alexander Archipelago , and in the 1820s, farther north to areas near Sitka Sound . After about 1830, it shifted south to the area from Dixon Entrance to Queen Charlotte Sound . During the early years, ships tended to cruise the coast, seeking trading opportunities whenever they arose. Later, ships spent more time in specific harbors. As fur resources dwindled and prices rose, ship captains increasingly concentrated on
20790-654: Was Fort Langley , established in 1827 on the Fraser River about 50 km (31 mi) from the river's mouth. The next was Fort Simpson , founded in 1831 at the mouth of the Nass River , and moved in 1834 several miles to the present Port Simpson . In 1833 Fort McLoughlin was established on an island in Milbanke Sound and Fort Nisqually was built at the southern end of Puget Sound . An overland trail linked Fort Nisqually and Fort Vancouver, so HBC vessels trading along
20944-533: Was accompanied by his wife, Frances Barkley , who became the first European woman to visit the Hawaiian Islands and the first woman to sail around the world without deception. Only two women are known to have sailed around the world before Frances: Jeanne Baré , disguised as a man, and Rose de Freycinet, wife of Louis de Freycinet , as a stowaway. Barkley chose to sail under the flag of Austria to evade paying for EIC and SSC licences. During their stop in Hawaii,
21098-521: Was also where serious competition between the Russians, British, and Americans first arose. In July 1799, Baranov returned to Sitka Sound on the brig Oryol and established the settlement of Arkhangelsk, also known as Fort Archangel Gabriel. In June 1802, Tlingit warriors attacked the settlement and killed or captured most of the 150 Russians and Aleuts living there. Baranov led an armed expedition to retake Sitka by force in June 1804. The Russian warship Neva joined Baranov at Sitka. A new Russian fort
21252-680: Was completed, Greenpeace lifted the boycott. After the inventory, the government reduced the Annual Allowable Cut, and clear-cuts in the area were limited to a maximum of four hectares. In addition, once biological and cultural inventories were completed, the government required Eco-Based Planning. The sound's ecological features have made it a major site for the farming of salmon , a fish traditional to this area. Floating feedlots have been installed, consisting of giant fenced pens. There are roughly twenty such farms in operation. A massive die-off of fish, possibly linked to an algal bloom caused by
21406-412: Was difficult and expensive. Some traders obtained a license from the EIC only, figuring the SSC was unable to enforce its monopoly. Others obtained only the SSC license and took their furs to England, where they were trans-shipped to China. Some traders tried to evade the licenses by sailing their ships under foreign flags. The EIC's primary focus in China was the tea trade, with never much interest within
21560-500: Was established while the Tlingit prepared to defend themselves with a well-armed fort of their own. Tension rapidly escalated into skirmishes and negotiations broke down. In early October, the Russians attacked the Tlingit fort with cannon from the Neva and from a land party. The Tlingit responded with powerful gun and cannon fire of their own. The Battle of Sitka continued for several days until
21714-922: Was located on the Farallon Islands . Three ranches were established: the Kostromitinov Ranch on the Russian River near the mouth of Willow Creek, the Khlebnikov Ranch in the Salmon Creek valley about a mile (1.6 km) north of the present day Bodega , and the Chernykh Ranch near present-day Graton . Fort Ross employed native Alaskans to hunt seals and sea otters on the California coast. By 1840, California's sea otter population had been severely depleted. The Russian Emperor Alexander I issued
21868-429: Was minimal, but for New England, the maritime fur trade and the significant profits that it made helped revitalize the region by contributing to its transformation from an agrarian to an industrial society. The wealth generated by the maritime fur trade was invested in industrial development, especially textile manufacturing . In Britain's Australian colonies, furs became the earliest international export items and fuelled
22022-452: Was notable in several ways. After spending the summer trading on the Northwest Coast, Gray wintered on the coast. In Clayoquot Sound , Gray's crew built a house, dubbed Fort Defiance , and had the sloop Adventure built, the first American vessel built on the Northwest Coast. It was launched in March 1792 under the command of Robert Haswell . During the 1792 trading season, Gray concentrated on
22176-431: Was outlawed but smuggled into China on a large and increasing scale. Before long, China was being drained of specie and saturated with Western goods. At the same time, intense speculation in the China trade by American and British merchant companies began. By the 1820s, too many firms were competing for an overstocked market, resulting in bankruptcies and consolidation. The inevitable commercial crisis struck in 1826–27, after
22330-412: Was perennially short of foods supplies. After Mexico gained independence in 1821 the American trade with Alta California continued in a slightly modified form. American traders brought mostly clothing, cottons, silks, lace, cutlery, alcohol, and sugar, which were traded for hides and tallow at a profit generally between 200% and 300%. The California Hide Trade became a major industry in its own right. By
22484-506: Was released and compensation paid. Britain and the United States protested the ukase and negotiations ultimately resulted in the Russo-American Treaty of 1824 and the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1825 . These treaties established 54°40′ as the southern boundary of exclusively Russian territory. The Anglo-Russian treaty delineated the boundary of Russian America fully. The border began on the coast at 54°40′, then ran north along
22638-473: Was said to be the most popular wintering place for American ships in the 1830s. Many significant trading sites were on the Queen Charlotte Islands, including Cloak Bay , Masset , Skidegate, Cumshewa , Skedans , and Houston Stewart Channel , known as "Coyah's Harbor", after Chief Koyah . As marine furs became depleted in the early 19th century, American ship captains began to accept increasing numbers of land furs such as beaver , which were brought from
22792-642: Was small, but bullion (also known as specie) was accepted, resulting in a general drain of precious metals from the West to China. The situation reversed in the early 19th century for a variety of reasons. Western demand for Chinese goods declined relative to new options (for example, coffee from the West Indies began to replace tea in the United States), while Chinese demand for Western items increased, such as for English manufactures, American cotton goods, and opium which
22946-575: Was smuggling along the Pacific coast of the Spanish Empire , where foreign trade was prohibited by Spanish law. This trade peaked in the 1810s, then faded in the 1820s. Traders concentrated on Alta California , which produced a surplus of grain, beef, tallow , and hides , but was chronically short of manufactured goods. American ships brought goods to the missions of Alta California in exchange for grain, beef, and Californian sea otter skins. The grain, beef, and other provisions were taken to Sitka, which
23100-421: Was surprised to find John Mackay , who had come to Nootka Sound with James Strange over a year before. Mackay had volunteered to remain at Nootka and work to establish relationships until Strange returned the next year. But Strange never returned. By the time Barkley arrived Mackay had learned the Nuu-chah-nulth's language and customs, adapted himself to their ways, and married a young native girl. At first Mackay
23254-448: Was the RAC's southernmost outpost and operated from 1812 to 1841, and was established as an agricultural base for supplying the northern settlements with food as well as for conducting trade with Alta California . The Ross Colony included a number of settlements spread out over an area stretching from Point Arena to Tomales Bay . The administrative center was Port Rumianstev at Bodega Harbor , off Bodega Bay . An artel hunting camp
23408-802: Was the first non-indigenous vessel to enter Neah Bay , in July 1787. John Meares , in the Feliz Aventureira , stopped at Neah Bay in June 1788, and Charles Duncan in Princess Royal did so in August 1788. Robert Gray , in the Lady Washington , entered Neah Bay in April 1789, and in July 1789 José María Narváez did so in the Santa Gertrudis la Magna . Within the next few years a number of others visited Neah Bay and it became an important fur trading stop during
23562-631: Was those of Californian sea otters. Russia also controlled the sources of sable furs, the most valuable fur-bearing land mammal. The Russian system differed from the British and American systems in its relationship with indigenous peoples. Using the same method they had used in Siberia, the Russians employed or enserfed Aleut and Alutiiq people, the latter being a subgroup of the Yupik Eskimo people. The Aleut and Alutiiq people were expert sea otter hunters, noted for their use of kayaks and baidarkas . Russian ships were mainly used for transporting and assisting native hunting parties. This differed from
23716-464: Was welcomed and befriended by Maquinna, but after unknowingly breaking a taboo he was exiled from Maquinna's house and forced to survive on his own. Barkley took Mackay on board Imperial Eagle . Mackay's experience helped Barkley gain an edge in the fur trade. Barkley stayed at Nootka Sound for about a month, acquired 700 prime sea otter skins, and many more of inferior quality. From Nootka he sailed south, trading, exploring, and naming various parts of
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