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116-652: Portland Inlet was mapped by the Vancouver Expedition in 1793 and named Brown Inlet, with George Vancouver later changing the name to honour the British House of Portland . This article about a fjord is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a location on the North Coast of British Columbia , Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Vancouver Expedition The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795)

232-610: A 900 lb. anchor off Whidbey Island on 9 June 1792. In June 2014, an anchor was raised and will be assessed to see if it is actually the sole remaining relic of Vancouver's 1792 voyage into Puget Sound . In the expectation of receiving from the Spanish at Nootka Sound title to a large tract of the coast and of forming a settlement to sustain the fur traders, on 4 June 1792, the King's Birthday, at Admiralty Inlet (the entrance to Puget Sound) Vancouver took formal possession, near Possession Point at

348-516: A London streetcorner. Vancouver was no match for the political opponents ranged against him, and he was dying as well. His massive cartographical work was a few hundred pages short of completion at his death on 10 May 1798, but was finished by Puget. Geopolitically, the expedition reduced Spanish influence in the Pacific Northwest and helped define the boundaries of the Oregon boundary dispute nearly

464-613: A century later. It also assisted in the unification of the Kingdom of Hawai'i , which lasted until it was overthrown by pro-American elements in 1893. The expedition left the world hundreds, perhaps thousands, of place-names and plant species names. A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World , by George Vancouver. A 1798 edition of the work is available online in 3 volumes: A modern edition (1984) by W. Kaye Lamb

580-541: A detailed survey northward. On 28 April, they encountered the American Captain Gray of the Columbia Rediviva with which they had a fruitful sharing of information; much of what Meares had told them about Gray's explorations, the latter said, was fiction. In June 1792, Discovery and Lieutenant Broughton's Chatham lay anchored in a bay they named Birch Bay . Historians believe that HMS Chatham lost

696-425: A few days later, sailing south along the west coasts of Chichagof and Baranof Islands . On the morning of 2 August they reached a cove on the southeast coast of the latter island, which Vancouver later named Port Conclusion. Two boat parties under Whidbey and Johnstone were sent out the next morning; both returned on the 20th "in the midst of a deluge of rain". While Whidbey proceeded up Stephens Passage and completed

812-608: A friendly and helpful reception from the Spanish. The other ships arrived by the 26th. Vancouver sailed south along the coast of Alta California , visiting Chumash villages at Point Conception and near Mission San Buenaventura . Bodega y Quadra offered to facilitate another message via New Spain (Mexico) and the Atlantic route, however Vancouver sent Lt. Broughton. Puget took his place as HMS Chatham' s commander, angering Menzies who preferred his friend James Johnstone , sailing master of Chatham . After resting and reprovisioning,

928-685: A map showing a narrow and crooked Strait of Anian separating Asia from the Americas . The strait grew in European imagination as an easy sea lane linking Europe with the residence of Khagan (the Great Khan) in Cathay (northern China ). Cartographers and seamen tried to demonstrate its reality. Sir Francis Drake sought the western entrance in 1579. The Greek pilot Juan de Fuca , sailing from Acapulco (in Mexico) under

1044-618: A meticulous journal of the expedition ) and his servant John Ewin (or Ewing). A Hawaiian man named Towereroo , whom Captain Charles Duncan had brought to England, was put on Discovery that he might return home. Finally, the Muster includes a Widow's Man , rated able seaman , but in fact merely an accounting fiction. On 1 April 1791, Discovery and Chatham set sail from Falmouth , England. They reached Santa Cruz in Tenerife on 28 April; this

1160-467: A mixed blessing; putting a crew on the prize required Vancouver to get additional hands where he could. During a storm, he ordered Menzies' servant to aid the crew, leaving Menzies' plants to be damaged; this further angered Menzies. Off the Cape Verde Islands , Discovery caught up with a British convoy escorted by HMS  Sceptre and, in relative safety, arrived at Shannon. Vancouver departed

1276-487: A month fighting his way through Hudson Strait. In September 1619, he found the entrance to Hudson Bay and spent the winter near the mouth of the Churchill River. Cold, famine , and scurvy destroyed so many of his men that only he and two other men survived. With these men, he sailed for home with Lamprey on July 16, 1620, reaching Bergen , Norway, on September 20, 1620. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built

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1392-575: A mutiny on the Bounty . Pitt was flogged for exchanging a piece of ship's iron for the romantic favours of a lady. Towereroo, not subject to such discipline, decided he preferred the comforts of Tahiti and had to be made to leave. Proceeding to winter in Hawaiʻi, Vancouver arrived in March 1792. He had been a young midshipman on Cook's fatal landing 13 years earlier, so avoided coming ashore at Kealakekua Bay . He

1508-615: A northern Atlantic passage to the Spice Islands . An English expedition was launched in 1576 by Martin Frobisher , who took three trips west to what is now the Canadian Arctic in order to find the passage. Frobisher Bay , which he first charted, is named after him. As part of another expedition, in July 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert , who had written a treatise on the discovery of the passage and

1624-525: A number of points and inlets, such as Point Roberts , Point Grey , Burrard Inlet , Howe Sound , and the Jervis Inlet . On 13 June, near Point Roberts, Chatham encountered the Sutil and Mexicana , of the Spanish exploring expedition. On 21 June 1792, dealing with poor weather and dwindling food supplies, Vancouver decided to head back to HMS Discovery some 84 miles away; on their return they encountered

1740-512: A possible trade route to Asia, but were blocked by North, Central, and South America, by ice, or by rough waters (e.g. Tierra del Fuego ). An ice-bound northern route was discovered in 1850 by the Irish explorer Robert McClure whose expedition completed the passage by hauling sledges. Scotsman John Rae explored a more southerly area in 1854 through which Norwegian Roald Amundsen made the first complete passage entirely by ship in 1903–1906. Until 2009,

1856-609: A record which stood for 236 years, before being blocked by ice. On May 9, 1619, under the auspices of King Christian IV of Denmark–Norway , Jens Munk set out with 65 men and the king's two ships, Einhörningen (Unicorn), a small frigate , and Lamprenen (Lamprey), a sloop, which were outfitted under his own supervision. His mission was to discover the Northwest Passage to the Indies and China. Munk penetrated Davis Strait as far north as 69°, found Frobisher Bay, and then spent almost

1972-471: A route motivated much of the European exploration of both coasts of North America, also known as the New World. When it became apparent that there was no route through the heart of the continent, attention turned to the possibility of a passage through northern waters. There was a lack of scientific knowledge about conditions; for instance, some people believed that seawater was incapable of freezing. (As late as

2088-470: A severe shipping hazard (hence, the name). En route to Tahiti, the crew of Chatham furthermore discovered the Chatham Islands (29 November) before reaching Tahiti on 26 December; Discovery meanwhile discovered Rapa Iti (which Vancouver called "Oparo") and arrived at Tahiti on 30 December. Putting in at Tahiti , Vancouver enforced rigid discipline to avoid the personal connections that had led to

2204-411: A ship's hull . Cargo routes may thus be slow and uncertain, depending on prevailing conditions and the ability to predict them. Because much containerized traffic operates in a just-in-time mode (which does not tolerate delays well) and because of the relative isolation of the passage (which impedes shipping companies from optimizing their operations by grouping multiple stopovers on the same itinerary),

2320-551: A way through the continent. Cartier became persuaded that the St. Lawrence was the Passage; when he found the way blocked by rapids at what is now Montreal , he was so certain that these rapids were all that was keeping him from China (in French, la Chine ), that he named the rapids for China. Samuel de Champlain renamed them Sault Saint-Louis in 1611, but the name was changed to Lachine Rapids in

2436-592: Is accordingly called the Northeast Passage (NEP). The various islands of the archipelago are separated from one another and from Mainland Canada by a series of Arctic waterways collectively known as the Northwest Passages , Northwestern Passages or the Canadian Internal Waters . For centuries, European explorers, beginning with Christopher Columbus in 1492, sought a navigable passage as

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2552-585: Is now known that his claims of loss were somewhat exaggerated, Britain had recently waged war against Spain and seemed ready to resume hostilities; the Parliament readied the fleet in the Nootka Crisis . Roberts and Vancouver left Discovery to serve in the Channel Fleet while Discovery became a depot ship for processing those taken in by the press gang . The Spanish backed down from their earlier stance in

2668-596: The Arctic pack ice prevented regular marine shipping throughout most of the year. Arctic sea ice decline , linked primarily to climate change , has rendered the waterways more navigable for ice navigation . The contested sovereignty claims over the waters may complicate future shipping through the region: the Canadian government maintains that the Northwestern Passages are part of Canadian Internal Waters , but

2784-530: The Bering Strait (separating Russia and Alaska), into the Pacific Ocean. In the 21st century, major changes to the ice pack due to climate change have stirred speculation that the passage may become clear enough of ice to permit safe commercial shipping for at least part of the year. On August 21, 2007, the Northwest Passage became open to ships without the need of an icebreaker . According to Nalan Koc of

2900-546: The Inuit and people of the Dorset culture who inhabited the region. Between the end of the 15th century and the 20th century, colonial powers from Europe dispatched explorers to discover a commercial sea route north and west around North America. The Northwest Passage represented a new route to the established trading nations of Asia . England called the hypothetical northern route the "Northwest Passage". The desire to establish such

3016-524: The McClure Arctic Expedition discovered the Northwest Passage in 1850. In 1906, the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first to complete the passage solely by ship, from Greenland to Alaska in the sloop Gjøa . Since that date, several fortified ships have made the journey. From east to west, the direction of most early exploration attempts, expeditions entered the passage from

3132-638: The Milne Inlet , on Baffin Island 's north shore, were bound for ports in Asia. Those freighters did not sail west through the remainder of the Northwest Passage; they sailed east, rounded the tip of Greenland, and transited Russia's Northern Sea Route. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Northwestern Passages as follows: On the West. The Eastern limit of Beaufort Sea from Lands End through

3248-653: The NASA satellite images suggested that the Arctic had entered a "death spiral" caused by climate change, Professor Mark Serreze , a sea ice specialist at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said: "The passages are open. It's a historic event. We are going to see this more and more as the years go by." However, some thick sections of ice will remain hard to melt in the shorter term. Drifting and persistence of large chunks of ice, especially in springtime, can be problematic as they can clog entire straits or severely damage

3364-654: The Nootka Convention . They agreed to meet again at the Royal Presidio of Monterey, California . On 21 September Bodega y Quadra left Nootka Sound and Salvador Fidalgo became the commandant of the establishment there. Vancouver sent Lieutenant Mudge back to England on the Portuguese-flagged merchantman Fenis and St. Joseph to get further instructions. The captain of the trading ship Jenny asked Vancouver to return two Hawaiians to Hawaiʻi. Thus enlarged,

3480-595: The Nootka Sound Convention , whose terms resulted in inconsistent instructions for the British and Spanish officers sent to implement them. Vancouver returned to Discovery as the expedition's commander. Vancouver understood from the discussions he had with ministers and officials in London prior to his departure that his task was to receive back from the Spanish commander at Nootka Sound land and property confiscated from

3596-577: The Norwegian Polar Institute , this was the first time the Passage has been clear since they began keeping records in 1972. The Northwest Passage opened again on August 25, 2008. It is usually reported that ocean thawing will open up the Northwest Passage (and the Northern Sea Route ) for various kind of ships, making it possible to sail around the Arctic ice cap and possibly cutting thousands of miles off shipping routes. Warning that

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3712-637: The Strait of Georgia . To fully explore this new inland sea, an expedition under Dionisio Alcalá Galiano was sent in 1792. He was explicitly ordered to explore all channels that might turn out to be a Northwest Passage. In 1776, Captain James Cook was dispatched by the Admiralty in Great Britain on an expedition to explore the Passage. A 1745 act, when extended in 1775, promised a £20,000 prize for whoever discovered

3828-737: The Tres Maria Islands on 17 December for provisions and botanizing, and spent Christmas at sea. Returning home, the expedition put in at the Cocos Island , the Galápagos Islands and the Juan Fernández Islands , reprovisioning whenever possible but beginning to suffer from scurvy. Although they had orders to avoid Spanish possessions in the Pacific, necessity required some refitting and they had, in addition, orders to survey as much of

3944-487: The University of Alberta , examined remains from sites associated with the expedition. This led to further investigations and the examination of tissue and bone from the frozen bodies of three seamen, John Torrington , William Braine and John Hartnell , exhumed from the permafrost of Beechey Island . Laboratory tests revealed high concentrations of lead in all three (the expedition carried 8,000 tins of food sealed with

4060-517: The Vancouver Expedition (led by George Vancouver who had previously accompanied Cook) surveyed in detail all the passages from the Northwest Coast . He confirmed that there was no such passage south of the Bering Strait. This conclusion was supported by the evidence of Alexander MacKenzie , who explored the Arctic and Pacific Oceans in 1793. In the first half of the 19th century, some parts of

4176-419: The sailing ship , Le Griffon , in his quest to find the Northwest Passage via the upper Great Lakes . He made his way across Lake Erie and Lake Huron , making port on Mackinac Island before landing at Washington Island at the mouth of Green Bay to trade for furs with Pottawatomie Indians. La Salle stayed behind while the ship sailed back to Mackinac with the furs. Le Griffon disappeared in 1679 on

4292-465: The 30th degree of north latitude northwestward toward Cook's River; and further, to obtain every possible information that could be collected respecting the natural and political state of that country." These explorations were in part to discover water communication into the North American interior (whether a Northwest Passage or, more likely, navigable rivers existed) and to facilitate the research of

4408-663: The Admiralty had ordered the precaution that ships not make such long voyages alone; therefore the armed tender HMS  Chatham was assigned to the expedition. The chartered merchant ship, Daedalus , would rendezvous at Nootka Sound a year later with supplies. The expedition was supposed to take two or three years. The Muster of the expedition lists 153 men. Most were naval officers or sailors, many of whom would distinguish themselves in future service, including Peter Puget , Joseph Baker , Joseph Whidbey , William Broughton , Zachary Mudge , Thomas Manby , and Robert Barrie . There

4524-686: The Alaskan region. His ship was wrecked off the Kamchatka Peninsula , as many of his crew were disabled by scurvy. The Spanish made several voyages to the northwest coast of North America during the late 18th century. Determining whether a Northwest Passage existed was one of the motives for their efforts. Among the voyages that involved careful searches for a Passage included the 1775 and 1779 voyages of Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra . The journal of Francisco Antonio Mourelle , who served as Quadra's second in command in 1775, fell into English hands. It

4640-512: The Arctic Ocean, thereby proving that there was no strait connecting Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Most Northwest Passage expeditions originated in Europe or on the east coast of North America, seeking to traverse the Passage in the westbound direction. Some progress was made in exploring the western reaches of the imagined passage. In 1728 Vitus Bering , a Danish-born Russian navy officer, used

4756-530: The Arctic and Hudson Bay. In 1611, while in James Bay , Hudson's crew mutinied. They set Hudson and his teenage son John, along with seven sick, infirm, or loyal crewmen, adrift in a small open boat. He was never seen again. A mission was sent out in 1612, again in Discovery , commanded by Sir Thomas Button to find Henry Hudson and continue through the Northwest Passage. After failing to find Hudson, and exploring

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4872-909: The Atlantic Ocean via the Davis Strait and through Baffin Bay , both of which are in Canada. Five to seven routes have been taken through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, via the McClure Strait , Dease Strait , and the Prince of Wales Strait , but not all of them are suitable for larger ships. From there ships passed through westward through the Beaufort Sea and the Chukchi Sea , and then southwards through

4988-583: The British East India Company and the Muscovy Company, set out in 1606 to follow up on Weymouth's discoveries and find the Northwest Passage. After his ship ran aground and was nearly crushed by ice, Knight disappeared while searching for a better anchorage. In 1609, Henry Hudson sailed up what is now called the Hudson River in search of the Passage; encouraged by the saltiness of the water in

5104-422: The British fur traders at Nootka Sound, plans were made for a small party of convicts and marines to be sent from New South Wales to make a subsidiary settlement on the Northwest Coast: one of the ships to be used for this task was to have been the Discovery , which Vancouver afterwards commanded during his expedition. He believed that once he had accepted restitution of Nootka Sound and its associated territory he

5220-410: The British fur traders in July 1789 and to establish a formal British presence there to support and promote the fur trade. Proposals to establish a British settlement on the Northwest Coast had been discussed in commercial and official circles in the 1780s, encouraged by the success of the similar project at Botany Bay and Norfolk Island . During the war scare with Spain that resulted from the arrest of

5336-415: The Canadian Arctic to chart the last unknown swaths of the Northwest Passage. Confidence was high, as they estimated there was less than 500 km (310 mi) remaining of unexplored Arctic mainland coast. When the ships failed to return, relief expeditions and search parties explored the Canadian Arctic, which resulted in a thorough charting of the region, along with a possible passage. Many artifacts from

5452-523: The East Coast to Cape Sherard (Cape Osborn) ( 74°35′N 80°30′W  /  74.583°N 80.500°W  / 74.583; -80.500 ) and across to Cape Liverpool, Bylot Island ( 73°44′N 77°50′W  /  73.733°N 77.833°W  / 73.733; -77.833 ); down the East coast of this island to Cape Graham Moore, its southeastern point, and thence across to Cape Macculloch ( 72°29′N 75°08′W  /  72.483°N 75.133°W  / 72.483; -75.133 ) and down

5568-520: The East coast of Baffin Island to East Bluff, its Southeastern extremity, and thence the Eastern limit of Hudson Strait . On the South. The mainland coast of Hudson Strait; the Northern limits of Hudson Bay ; the mainland coast from Beach Point to Cape Bathurst . As a result of their westward explorations and their settlement of Greenland, the Vikings sailed as far north and west as Ellesmere Island , Skraeling Island for hunting expeditions and trading with Inuit groups. The subsequent arrival of

5684-426: The King made a formal proclamation of accession, declaring that they were "Tanata no Britanee" (People of Britain). Vancouver's assistance to the King was helpful, particularly in lending tools and skilled workers for building him an armed 36-foot craft, the Britannia . The armaments may have aided Kamehameha's decisive victory at Battle of Nu'uanu , allowing him to unify the islands. The expedition left Hawaiʻi for

5800-401: The Little Ice Age is thought to have been one of the reasons that European seafaring into the Northwest Passage ceased until the late 15th century. In 1539, Hernán Cortés commissioned Francisco de Ulloa to sail along the Baja California Peninsula on the western coast of North America. Ulloa concluded that the Gulf of California was the southernmost section of a strait supposedly linking

5916-557: The Northeast. The Coast of Ellesmere Island between C. Columbia and C. Sheridan the Northern limit of Baffin Bay . On the East. The East Coast of Ellesmere Island between C. Sheridan and Cape Norton Shaw ( 76°29′N 78°30′W  /  76.483°N 78.500°W  / 76.483; -78.500 ), thence across to Phillips Point ( Coburg Island ) through this Island to Marina Peninsula ( 75°55′N 79°10′W  /  75.917°N 79.167°W  / 75.917; -79.167 ) and across to Cape Fitz Roy ( Devon Island ) down

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6032-443: The Northwest Passage (north of the Bering Strait) were explored separately by many expeditions, including those by John Ross , Elisha Kent Kane , William Edward Parry , and James Clark Ross ; overland expeditions were also led by John Franklin , George Back , Peter Warren Dease , Thomas Simpson , and John Rae . In 1826 Frederick William Beechey explored the north coast of Alaska, discovering Point Barrow. Sir Robert McClure

6148-481: The Northwest Passage and other Arctic routes are not always seen as promising shipping lanes by industry insiders, at least for the time being. The uncertainty related to physical damage to ships is also thought to translate into higher insurance premiums, especially because of the technical challenges posed by Arctic navigation (as of 2014, only 12 percent of Canada's Arctic waters have been charted to modern standards). The Beluga group of Bremen , Germany, sent

6264-422: The Pacific with the Gulf of Saint Lawrence . His voyage perpetuated the notion of the Island of California and saw the beginning of a search for the Strait of Anián. The strait probably took its name from Ania, a Chinese province mentioned in a 1559 edition of Marco Polo 's book; it first appears on a map issued by Italian cartographer Giacomo Gastaldi about 1562. Five years later Bolognino Zaltieri issued

6380-497: The Southwest coast of Prince Patrick Island to Griffiths Point, thence a line to Cape Prince Alfred, the Northwestern extreme of Banks Island , through its West coast to Cape Kellet, the Southwestern point, and thence a line to Cape Bathurst on the mainland ( 70°36′N 127°32′W  /  70.600°N 127.533°W  / 70.600; -127.533 ). On the Northwest. The Arctic Ocean between Lands End, Prince Patrick Island, and Cape Columbia , Ellesmere Island . On

6496-449: The Spanish Manila-Acapulco galleons trade route active since 1565, had established the strategic and commercial value of exploring and claiming the Pacific Ocean access, both for its wealth in whales and furs and as a trade route to the " Orient ". Britain was especially interested in improving its knowledge of the Southern Pacific whale fisheries, and in particular the locations of the strategically positioned Australia , New Zealand ,

6612-451: The Spanish ships under the respective commands of Capt. Galiano and Valdés (whom Lt. Broughton had already met), near present-day Vancouver , British Columbia . Both were exploring and mapping the Strait of Georgia, seeking a possible Northwest Passage and a determination of whether Vancouver Island was an island or part of the mainland. The two commanders established a friendly relationship and agreed to assist one another by dividing up

6728-399: The Spanish-British boundary at the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but Vancouver insisted on British rights to the Columbia River. Vancouver also objected to the new Spanish post at Neah Bay . Bodega y Quadra insisted on Spain retaining Nootka Sound, which Vancouver could not accept. In the end the two agreed to refer the matter to their respective governments. Following the Mutiny on the Bounty ,

6844-429: The United States claims that they are an international strait and transit passage, allowing free and unencumbered passage. If, as the head of a Canadian mining company claims, parts of the eastern end of the Passage are barely 15 metres (49 ft) deep, the route's viability as a Euro-Asian shipping route is reduced. In 2016, Chinese shipping line COSCO expressed a desire to make regular voyages of cargo ships using

6960-414: The badly worn condition of the ships made further survey of the Chilean coast impractical and passage for Cape Horn hazardous. Nonetheless, Vancouver spent much time searching for the island of Isla Grande, previously reported at 46.40.S, and confirmed its nonexistence. About this time, Lt. Broughton and Lt. Mudge left England in HMS  Providence to assist Vancouver; they reached Monterey long after

7076-766: The boats, explored Cascade , Cousins and Roscoe Inlets and Fisher and Dean Channels , while Johnstone explored Burke Channel and North and South Bentinck Arms . The former, in passing the north point of what he named King Island , proved its insular nature. The day before leaving Restoration Cove (10 June), Johnstone was again sent out to explore. The ships meanwhile sailed to the rendezvous east of Yeo Island , where Johnstone met them on 18 June, having explored Spiller and Mussel Inlets and Bullock , Spiller , Mathieson , and Finlayson Channels —in doing so sailing around Yeo, Pooley , Roderick , Susan , and Dowager Islands . They left their anchorage on 19 June, proceeding up Finlayson and Princess Royal Channels along

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7192-527: The coast as possible. Vancouver therefore put into Valparaiso in the Viceroyalty of Peru and present day Chile , on 25 March for five weeks of repairs with the help of the Spanish. The expedition's officers enjoyed an official visit to the Capitan General and Royal Governor of Chile, Don Ambrosio O'Higgins de Vallenar , at the capital Santiago . On 5 May, Discovery and Chatham sailed from Valparaiso, planning to reunite at St. Helena should weather separate them. The onset of Southern Hemisphere's winter and

7308-477: The coast, south of Parry Channel and west of Baffin Island. This area was mostly mapped in 1848–1854 by ships looking for Franklin's lost expedition. The first crossing was made by Roald Amundsen in 1903–1906. He used a small ship and hugged the coast. Before the Little Ice Age (late Middle Ages to the 19th century), Norwegian Vikings sailed as far north and west as Ellesmere Island , Skraeling Island and Ruin Island for hunting expeditions and trading with

7424-408: The continental shore a day after Johnstone and Barrie. He returned 3 July, having circumnavigated what was named "Hawkesbury's Island" (which was really four islands: Gribbell , Loretta, Hawkesbury , and Maitland Islands) and explored Gardner Canal , Ursula , Devastation and Douglas Channels and Kitimat and Kildala Arms. After dispatching Whidbey and Barrie to the north, the ships anchored off

7540-440: The crew may have survived into the early 1850s, no evidence has ever been found of any survivors. In 1853, explorer John Rae was told by local Inuit about the disastrous fate of Franklin's expedition, but his reports were not welcomed in Britain on account of his reports of cannibalism amongst the surviving crews. Starvation , exposure and scurvy all contributed to the men's deaths. In 1981 Owen Beattie , an anthropologist from

7656-619: The diaries of several officers, with the completion of their survey, they felt great joy at realizing they could return home. A few days after their return they left Port Conclusion. Unfortunately, as they set out for Nootka, Isaac Wooden was lost in a boating accident off Cape Ommaney, one of the few to die on the expedition. The treacherous rocks off the Cape were accordingly named Wooden Rocks . Vancouver advanced to post rank on 28 August 1794. Four days later, Discovery and Chatham put into Nootka; all were saddened to learn that Quadra had suddenly died. Brigadier General José Manuel de Álava ,

7772-405: The difficult extinction of a fire on board the ship, he sailed to Greenland , where he traded goods with the Inuit peoples on July 8, 1746. He crossed to the town of Fort Nelson and spent the summer on the Hayes River . He renewed his efforts in June 1747, without success, before returning to England. In 1772, the English fur trader Samuel Hearne travelled overland northwest from Hudson Bay to

7888-529: The east side of Princess Royal Island , anchoring two-thirds up its east coast two days later. From here, Johnstone and Barrie were dispatched to the north, returning on the 29th. They explored the northern reaches of Princess Royal Channel, as well as Whale and Squally Channels, circumnavigating Gil Island in the process—named by Jacinto Caamaño the previous year. The day after their return they sailed out of their cove to another one further north, where they awaited Whidbey's return, who had been sent out to survey

8004-403: The estuary, he reached present-day Albany, New York , before giving up. On September 14, 1609, Hudson entered the Tappan Zee while sailing upstream from New York Harbor . At first, Hudson believed the widening of the river indicated that he had found the Northwest Passage. He proceeded upstream as far as present-day Troy before concluding that no such strait existed there. He later explored

8120-420: The expedition made its final departure. Deciding (correctly) that Vancouver would not have left his surveying task unfinished, they departed to chart the coast of east Asia. On 2 July, Discovery and Chatham put in at St. Helena and learned that the nation was at war; their battered ships were nearly the weakest vessels in the Atlantic. However, they captured a Dutch East Indiaman by surprise. This proved

8236-420: The expedition moved south; Whidbey in Daedalus surveying Grays Harbor while the other two ships dared the bar of the Columbia River . The smaller Chatham made it over the bar and sent small boats upriver. Discovery , whose crew was beginning to suffer from scurvy , proceeded to northern Spanish Las Californias province, reaching the Golden Gate and the Royal Presidio of San Francisco on 14 November to

8352-686: The expedition returned to Hawaiʻi to winter. During their winter in Hawaii, the Discovery sailed around the north side of the Island of Hawaiʻi , and the Chatham the south, meeting at Kealakekua Bay . Vancouver left some cattle, sheep, and more plants that Menzies had collected in California. He met the former British sailor John Young , now an advisor to Kamehameha who acted as an interpreter and helped negotiate with King Kamehameha (I) . Vancouver conducted surveys of

8468-507: The expedition were found over the next century and a half, including notes that the ships were ice-locked in 1846 near King William Island , about halfway through the passage, and unable to break free. Records showed Franklin died in 1847 and Captain Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier took over command. In 1848 the expedition abandoned the two ships and its members tried to escape south across the tundra by sledge . Although some of

8584-498: The expedition worked its way eastward. The weather was often freezing, as a result of which not only their store of live turtles (kept for meat) but Menzies' quarterdeck greenhouse froze, killing all his plants. While at Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound, they traded with the Russian settlements and natives alike. By 9 July, they had anchored in what was named Port Althorp, a cove on the northwest coast of Chichagof Island . Soon Whidbey

8700-608: The expedition's politically well-connected botanist, Archibald Menzies . A change to a more conciliatory British policy toward Spain after he left England in April 1791, a result of challenges arising from the French Revolution , was not communicated to Vancouver, leaving him in an embarrassing situation in his negotiations with the Spanish commander at Nootka. Although Vancouver and Bodega y Quadra were friendly with one another, their negotiations did not go smoothly. Spain desired to set

8816-500: The expedition, had been murdered on Oahu . Vancouver and Whidbey shared astronomer duties, which later led to friction over pay. On 11 August, the expedition sailed south, reaching Nootka Sound on 28 August, where they exchanged friendly 13-gun salutes with a Spanish frigate commanded by Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra . Relations between Bodega y Quadra and Vancouver were very cordial and even friendly, but they could not reconcile their conflicting instructions and interpretations of

8932-565: The expedition, including William Bligh , George Vancouver , and John Gore , thought the existence of a route was 'improbable'. Before reaching 65°N they found the coastline pushing them further south, but Gore convinced Cook to sail on into the Cook Inlet in the hope of finding the route. They continued to the limits of the Alaskan peninsula and the start of the 1,200 mi (1,900 km) chain of Aleutian Islands. Despite reaching 70°N , they encountered nothing but icebergs. From 1792 to 1794,

9048-469: The far north is blocked by ice. The eastern entrance and main axis of the northwest passage, the Parry Channel, was found in 1819. The approach from the west through Bering Strait is impractical because of the need to sail around ice near Point Barrow . East of Point Barrow the coast is fairly clear in summer. This area was mapped in pieces from overland in 1821–1839. This leaves the large rectangle north of

9164-476: The final time on 15 March 1794. They spent late April and early May charting the furthest reaches of what Vancouver renamed Cook Inlet ; Vancouver himself reached the head of Knik Arm , while Whidbey reached the head of Turnagain Arm . The last days of May and the second half of June were spent charting Prince William Sound : Whidbey the western half to Bligh Island, and Johnstone from there east and southwards. From here

9280-570: The first Western commercial vessels through the Northern Sea Route (Northeast Passage) in 2009. Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that "ships entering the North-West passage should first report to his government". The first commercial cargo ship to have sailed through the Northwest Passage was SS  Manhattan in August 1969. SS Manhattan , of 115,000 deadweight tonnage ,

9396-561: The flag of the Spanish crown, claimed he had sailed the strait from the Pacific to the North Sea and back in 1592. The Spaniard Bartholomew de Fonte claimed to have sailed from Hudson Bay to the Pacific via the strait in 1640. The first recorded attempt to discover the Northwest Passage was the east–west voyage of John Cabot in 1497, sent by Henry VII in search of a direct route to the Orient . In 1524, Charles V sent Estêvão Gomes to find

9512-489: The heads of Portland Canal , Fillmore and Nakat Inlets , and Boca de Quadra and circumnavigated Revillagigedo Island (during which he was attacked by Tlingit near what was named Escape Point, having two of his men injured), Johnstone and Barrie explored the channels to the southeast, including Work Channel and Khutzeymateen and Quottoon Inlets . They left Salmon Cove on 18 August, arriving in Port Stewart, just to

9628-530: The islands while Menzies collected specimens. During the visit Vancouver met with Kamehameha and presented him with a Red Ensign . At this time Ireland was not part of a united kingdom which meant the union jack did not contain Saint Patrick's Cross . This version of the Red Ensign, as well as the current version which added the cross in 1801, was the unofficial flag of the Kingdom of Hawaii until 1816. Over

9744-489: The legendary (and non-existent) Isla Grande , and the Northwest Passage . A new ship was purchased, fitted out, and named HMS  Discovery after one of Cook's ships. Her captain was Henry Roberts and Vancouver his 1st Lieutenant. Plans changed when the adventurer John Meares reported that the Spanish had impounded his ship and seized hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of goods at Nootka Sound . Although it

9860-553: The mid-18th century, Captain James Cook had reported that Antarctic icebergs had yielded fresh water, seemingly confirming the hypothesis.) Explorers thought that an Open Polar Sea close to the North Pole must exist. The belief that a route lay to the far north persisted for several centuries and led to numerous expeditions into the Arctic. Many ended in disaster, including that by Sir John Franklin in 1845. While searching for him

9976-623: The mid-19th century. In 1602, George Weymouth became the first European to explore what would later be called Hudson Strait when he sailed Discovery 300 nautical miles (560 km) into the Strait. Weymouth's expedition to find the Northwest Passage was funded jointly by the British East India Company and the Muscovy Company . Discovery was the same ship used by Henry Hudson on his final voyage. John Knight , employed by

10092-739: The new Governor of Nootka, was cooperative and friendly, but no instructions had arrived to enable the commanders to resolve the situation. Álava and Vancouver were on friendly terms, jointly conducting local explorations, including a large celebration with Maquinna . On 6 October, the survey ships departed for Monterey. Daedalus was sent back to England with the troublesome Mr. Pitt, who had worn out his welcome with multiple disciplinary infractions. On 6 November, Discovery put into Monterey in Alta California, to learn that while negotiations had most likely been concluded in Europe, there were still no instructions. The expedition left on 2 December, reached

10208-512: The north coast of Gil Island . They returned on the 15th, after having explored Gilttoyees Inlet and the length of Grenville Channel to the northwest point of Porcher Island . The same day the ships left, sailing up Principe Channel between Banks and Pitt Islands. On the 21st they were hit by a storm, only being saved by the timely arrival of a whaleboat sent out from the Butterworth of London, under William Brown, whose merchant squadron

10324-417: The northwest coast of Prince of Wales Island—which they reached a couple days later. The boats were once again sent out: Johnstone charted the south coast of Kupreanof Island , while Whidbey explored the southeast part of Kuiu Island , reaching the head of Affleck Canal . The latter returned on 21 September; the ships left Port Protection the next day. Again, the expedition visited Nootka Sound (where there

10440-618: The passage to the Eastern United States and Europe, after a successful passage by Nordic Orion of 73,500 tonnes deadweight tonnage in September 2013. Fully laden, Nordic Orion sat too deep in the water to sail through the Panama Canal . The Northwest Passage has three sections: Many attempts were made to find a salt water exit west from Hudson Bay, but the Fury and Hecla Strait in

10556-452: The passage. Initially the Admiralty had wanted Charles Clerke to lead the expedition, with Cook (in retirement following his exploits in the Pacific) acting as a consultant. However, Cook had researched Bering's expeditions, and the Admiralty ultimately placed their faith in the veteran explorer to lead, with Clerke accompanying him. After journeying through the Pacific, to make an attempt from

10672-527: The rest of the expedition. On 29 September, they landed in Australia , at what Vancouver named King George the Third's Sound . They quickly surveyed the south coast of Australia and landed at Dusky Sound , New Zealand on 2 November for resupplying and botanising, before departing on 21 November. The ships proceeding separately, both discovered the sub-Antarctic Snares Islands (23 November) which Vancouver considered

10788-655: The return trip of her maiden voyage. In the spring of 1682, La Salle made his famous voyage down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico . La Salle led an expedition from France in 1684 to establish a French colony on the Gulf of Mexico. He was murdered by his followers in 1687. Henry Ellis , born in Ireland, was part of a company aiming to discover the Northwest Passage in May 1746. After

10904-464: The ship to report; Baker brought Discovery safely home to Long Reach on the Thames, completing her four-and-a-half-year mission on 20 October 1795. The expedition returned to a Britain more interested in its ongoing war than in Pacific explorations. Vancouver was attacked by the politically well-connected Menzies for various slights. Thomas Pitt challenged Vancouver to a duel and attempted to beat him on

11020-545: The southern end of Whidbey Island, of all the coast and hinterland contiguous to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, including Puget Sound, under the name of New Georgia . Vancouver had decided to use his ships' small boats for the detailed exploration and surveying of the region's complex and sometimes shallow waterways. On 12 June, Vancouver, along with Puget and some of the crew, sailed north from Birch Bay in Discovery’s two smaller sailing yawls. In four days they found and charted

11136-476: The strait first discovered by Semyon Dezhnyov in 1648 but later accredited to and named after Bering (the Bering Strait ). He concluded that North America and Russia were separate land masses by sailing between them. In 1741 with Lieutenant Aleksei Chirikov , he explored seeking further lands beyond Siberia . While they were separated, Chirikov discovered several of the Aleutian Islands while Bering charted

11252-407: The survey of the east coast of Admiralty Island (including Seymour Canal and Glass Peninsula ) and the continental shore opposite it, Johnstone charted the west, north, and east coasts of Kuiu Island, proving its insularity; the two met each other off the northeast coast of Kupreanof Island, Whidbey having investigated the channel to the east of the island before being stopped by shoals. According to

11368-425: The surveying work and sharing charts. They worked together in this way until 13 July, after which each resumed circumnavigating Vancouver Island separately. Galiano's ships reached Nootka Sound , completing the circuit, on 31 August. Vancouver's ships had arrived earlier. Thus Vancouver was the first European to prove the insularity of Vancouver Island (Meares' claims on the matter having been ignored), while Galiano

11484-423: The west coast of Hudson Bay, Button returned home due to illness in the crew. In 1614, William Gibbons attempted to find the Passage, but was turned back by ice. The next year, 1615, Robert Bylot , a survivor of Hudson's crew, returned to Hudson Strait in Discovery , but was turned back by ice. Bylot tried again in 1616 with William Baffin . They sailed as far as Lancaster Sound and reached 77°45′ North latitude,

11600-464: The west of Revillagigedo Island, a few days later. From here, Johnstone went to the north, circumnavigating what was named "Duke of York's Island" (in reality three islands: Wrangell , Zarembo , and Etolin Islands ), as well as sighting Mitkof Island and exploring to the head of Duncan Canal . On 6 September, a few days after his return, they weighed anchor, sailing to what was named Port Protection, on

11716-462: The west, Cook began at Nootka Sound in April 1778. He headed north along the coastline, charting the lands and searching for the regions sailed by the Russians 40 years previously. The Admiralty's orders had commanded the expedition to ignore all inlets and rivers until they reached a latitude of 65°N . Cook, however, failed to make any progress in sighting a Northwestern Passage. Various officers on

11832-533: The winter, Vancouver ordered numerous improvements to the small boats that did the detailed survey work, to provide better shelter and supplies for the crew. These improvements would enable the crews to continue their survey of one of the most complex coasts in the world, proceeding as far north as 56°30'N on the west coast of North America, exploring until weather ended their 1793 survey season. They reached Fitz Hugh Sound on 26 May, arriving at what Vancouver named Restoration Cove two days later. Vancouver, with two of

11948-565: Was a backer of Frobisher, claimed the territory of Newfoundland for the English crown. On August 8, 1585, the English explorer John Davis entered Cumberland Sound , Baffin Island. The major rivers on the east coast were also explored in case they could lead to a transcontinental passage. Jacques Cartier 's explorations of the Saint Lawrence River in 1535 were initiated in hope of finding

12064-556: Was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy . The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continents. The expedition at various times included between two and four vessels, and up to 153 men, all but 6 of whom returned home safely. Several previous voyages of exploration including those of Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook , and

12180-628: Was a large detachment of Marines; whether these were to assist with exploration in hostile territory or to discourage mutiny is not recorded. Two 16-year-old aristocrats, the Honorable Thomas Pitt (nephew of the British Prime Minister, William Pitt The Younger ) and the Honorable Charles Stuart (son of a Marquis), were brought aboard as able seamen; they proved troublesome. Among the supernumeraries were Menzies (who kept

12296-435: Was credited with the discovery of the Northwest Passage in 1851 when he looked across McClure Strait from Banks Island and viewed Melville Island . However, this strait was not navigable to ships at that time. The only usable route linking the entrances of Lancaster Sound and Dolphin and Union Strait was discovered by John Rae in 1854. In 1845, a lavishly equipped two-ship expedition led by Sir John Franklin sailed to

12412-444: Was dispatched to survey the area. He returned on the 27th. Despite constant rain and more than one hostile encounter with a large group of Tlingits , he was able to explore up Lynn Canal to the heads of both Chilkat and Chilkoot Inlets , and follow the length of the west coast of what was later named Admiralty Island , rounding its southern point to spend a night near Point Townshend on its southeast coast. They left Port Althorp

12528-555: Was disturbed by the frequent request for firearms, and tried to avoid escalating the ongoing civil war, spending the winter in Oʻahu , where, however, three of his men were killed in a skirmish (or possibly following it; taken to Puʻu o Mahuka Heiau to be ritually sacrificed ). He made arrangements for his tiny fleet to winter and re-supply in Hawaiʻi for the duration of the expedition. Discovery and Chatham proceeded to North America. On 16 April they made landfall at about 39°N and started

12644-520: Was intended as a rest stop and opportunity to study the botany of the region, but ended in a drunken brawl in which several members of the crew were thrown into the bay or suffered injuries. On 7 May, the two ships left Tenerife; Chatham arrived at Cape Town on 6 June and Discovery two days later. After more botanizing, socializing, and recruiting replacements for deserters, the ships left on 17 August. The surgeon took ill during an outbreak of dysentery (one sailor died); Menzies assumed his duties for

12760-471: Was no resolution of the conflicting orders), Spanish Alta California, and Hawaiʻi. During the expedition's final winter in Hawaiʻi, Baker accompanied Menzies, Midshipman George McKenzie and another man whose name is not recorded, on the first recorded ascent of Mauna Loa . They summitted on 16 February and, using a barometer , measured its height to within 50 feet of the modernly accepted value. Vancouver continued to negotiate with Kamehameha; on 25 February,

12876-658: Was renamed The Voyage of George Vancouver 1791–1795 , and published by the Hakluyt Society of London, England. Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage ( NWP ) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean , along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Siberia

12992-419: Was safely anchored off the north coast of Stephens Island. From Brown they learned of a "large opening" to the north ( Clarence Strait ), which he had earlier investigated. With this news, the ships left the next day, reaching Salmon Cove, on the west side of Observatory Inlet , two days later. The same day (24 July), Johnstone and Barrie were sent out; the following day Vancouver left. While Vancouver explored to

13108-469: Was the first to circumnavigate it. Vancouver had not set out from Nootka but rather began at the Strait of Juan de Fuca, while Galiano began his circumnavigation at Nootka. In August, while Vancouver was exploring in small boats to the north, Daedalus arrived in Nootka Sound and dispatched the brig HMS Venus with the news that her Captain, Richard Hergest, and William Gooch , sent as astronomer for

13224-401: Was the largest commercial vessel ever to navigate the Northwest Passage. The largest passenger ship to navigate the Northwest Passage was the cruise liner Crystal Serenity of gross tonnage 69,000. Starting on August 10, 2016, the ship sailed from Vancouver to New York City with 1,500 passengers and crew, taking 28 days. In 2018, two of the freighters leaving Baffinland 's port in

13340-574: Was to make preparations for founding a British colony there that, at least initially, would have had a close connection with the New South Wales colony. Supplies and materials for establishing the colony were sent on the Daedalus storeship. He was also instructed "to receive back in form a restitution of the territories on which the Spaniards had seized, and also to make an accurate survey of the coast, from

13456-458: Was translated and published in London , stimulating exploration. Captain James Cook made use of the journal during his explorations of the region. In 1791 Alessandro Malaspina sailed to Yakutat Bay , Alaska, which was rumoured to be a Passage. In 1790 and 1791 Francisco de Eliza led several exploring voyages into the Strait of Juan de Fuca , searching for a possible Northwest Passage and finding

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