For those armchair historians interested in the initial nautical exploration of inland Washington waters, this text is a significant addition to Northwest maritime history. Beginning in 1786 and continuing through 1792, The Early Exploration of Inland Washington Waters includes transcriptions of all of the logs and journals of the area's earliest explorers. This text follows the initial journey of John Meares, four intervening expeditions by the Spanish, and culminates with George Vancouver's voyage in 1792. This fascinating read includes the first European descriptions of Puget Sound Country and the people who lived here. It also records the events and history surrounding the naming of many prominent locations in the area by Vancouver including Puget Sound, Whidbey and Vashon Islands, Hood Canal, Admiralty Inlet, Mounts Rainer and Baker, etc. Readers will also be fascinated by the numerous Spanish names including the Haro Strait, Port Angeles, Padilla Bay, Sucia, Matia and Patos Islands as well as many more which did not stand the test of time. We owe our history to these early explorers; this text brings them to life.
A follow-up to the editor’s two previous collections of primary documents of maritime history in the Pacific Northwest, this book reproduces the journals and narratives of Charles Wilkes, an experienced nautical surveyor who led the U.S. Exploring Expedition through inland Washington waters in 1841, and ten of his crewmen. Special attention is given to the many placenames that Wilkes originated.
Picking up the narrative from his earlier volume, The Early Exploration of Inland Washington Waters: Journals and Logs from Six Expeditions, 1786–1792, Richard Blumenthal once again offers the reader a fascinating, firsthand look at the Northwest’s earliest maritime history. This volume reproduces twelve individual journals, each composed by one of George Vancouver’s men as they explored the Washington area in 1792. Providing additional details of exploration in inland areas not previously described, it contains a record of Peter Puget’s observations and explorations of Puget Sound and a detailed description of William Broughton's passage through San Juan Islands. These journals also provide detail regarding the day-to-day onboard activities of both officers and enlisted men. A brief biographical note is provided at the beginning of each man’s journal.
In 1528, the Spanish explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and his three companions were shipwrecked and, looking for help, began an eight-year trek through the deserts of the American West. Over three centuries later, the four "Great Surveys" in the United States were consolidated into the U.S. Geological Survey. The frontiers were the lands near or beyond the recognized international, national, regional, or tribal borders. Over the centuries, they hosted a complicated series of international explorations of lands inhabited by American Indians, Spanish, French-Canadians, British, and Americans. These explorations were undertaken for wide-ranging reasons including geographical, scientific, artistic-literary, and for the growth of the railroad. This history covers over 350 years of exploration of the West.
In the early sixteenth century, as voyages across the Atlantic became more feasible and consequently more frequent, international competition for possession of the New World intensified. Occupied by numerous Indian tribes, western North America was home to vast natural resources, alleged riches and a fabled waterway that would connect the Mississippi with the Pacific Ocean. Over the next two centuries, Spanish, French, British, Russian and American explorers flocked to the Trans-Mississippi West, competing with each other as well as the native Indian groups for possession of the western half of the continent. Beginning with the 1528 shipwreck of Spanish conquistador Cabeza de Vaca and ending with the negotiation of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, this volume presents a broadly based general survey of the events which took place in the Trans-Mississippi West during the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The book focuses on the international rivalries west of the Mississippi and the resulting intense military and commercial competition. Using a unique prismatic rather than chronological approach, the work examines six distinct groups--Native American Indians, Spanish, French, British, Russians and Americans--and the objectives of each with regard to the Trans-Mississippi West. Sources include contemporary journals of explorers such as Lewis and Clark. An epilogue evaluates the success of the respective quests while a brief chronology at the end of the text serves to orient the reader. Appendices address eight related topics including the Lewis and Clark expedition, firearms on the early frontier, and the coming of the horse.
Reachable only by ferry, Vashon Island is a breathtaking rural retreat from the bustling activity of nearby Seattle and Tacoma. The island’s first inhabitants, the sx???babš, took advantage of its evergreen forests and rich marine resources. In 1792, George Vancouver was the first Anglo to discover the island and named it after Captain James Vashon. By the late 1800s, the first white settlers had established farms and greenhouses that supplied nearby cities with berries, tomatoes and cucumbers. Ferries drove development in the later half of the century, introducing new industries and tourism to the area. While both influenced by and isolated from the mainland, the island developed its own unique character treasured by locals. Merging human and natural history, author Bruce Haulman presents the rich heritage of this thriving community.
This text is a continuation of the author's previous narratives which included the original source material from the earliest maritime exploration in the Pacific Northwest. The author's first two books traced the visits by the Spanish and George Vancouver to inland Washington waters. These books included transcriptions of the actual journals of our earliest explorers. This follow-up book resumes the saga and follows Vancouver and the Spanish in 1792 through British Columbia waters while they complete their circumnavigation of Vancouver Island. It contains the journals of George Vancouver, Alcala Galiano and Cayetano Valdéz and four of Vancouver's men. These journals provide the first European descriptions and observations of our inland waters as well as the First Nations encountered while they rowed their longboats through previously uncharted territory. Complete with all of their charts, this is a fascinating read directly from the men who made our early history.Richard W. Blumenthal is the author of five historical texts on northwest maritime history. All are available at InlandWatersPublishing.com He lives in Bellevue, Washington.
