I have in my study an old streamer trunk that nowadays is my treasure trove of Meares Island history. I doubt if there is such a cache of materials on this subject elsewhere, for the various items...
2. First Encounters
In March 1778, when he made landfall on the Oregon coast—referred to as Nova Albion by the British in recognition of seadog Francis Drake’s 1579 claim for his sovereign Queen Elizabeth I at...
3. Sea Otter Hunters
The previous chapter provided an introduction to the maritime fur trade. In this chapter we dig deeper to examine in more detail the contact and conflict that flowed from the early encounters, when...
4. Buying and Selling Clayoquot
In late summer 1788, we are reminded, the American ship Columbia Rediviva, sailing out of Boston, arrived on the Northwest Coast. Her master was John Kendrick, born about the year 1740 in Harwich,...
5. Fort Defiance and the Destruction of Opitsat
At this point it is worth considering the importance of personality and character as agents in historical process. John Kendrick, though not free from engagement in violent episodes on the coast,...
6. Tales the Tonquin Tells
We will find no makúk in this next chapter of Clayoquot history, no meeting of minds and aspirations. Communication across cultural lines is one of humanity’s most stubborn problems. Gestures...
7. The In-between Time
The old coastal order was changing quickly when the British warships Sulphur and Starling, on reconnaissance to see if the Russians had arrived at Nootka Sound, came to anchor in Friendly Cove on...
