Puget Sound long remained hidden from Spanish and Russian eyes in their explorations of the NW coasts. George Vancouver reached the sound in 1792.
Vancouver did not come to the coast simply to find new land and to map the entire area from South to North. He had to represent the business interests of the English crown in new commercial opportunities, like the maritime fur trade.
Furthermore, it was not his first time in the NW coast either. In fact, a 14-year-old George, born in England and grown up close to the sea, trained with the greatest mariner of the time, James Cook. Following him, he had already embarked on two voyages to the Pacific. But it was him, Vancouver, who first “discovered” Puget Sound.
On board of the ships Discovery and Chatham, Vancouver left England on April 1, 1791. He arrived on the NW coast a year later.
The coast could provide moments of complete serenity, but it was not a benign place. Even sailors who come only in summer know its many moods. One such mariner, approaching the coast on April 16, 1792, instantly felt its anger […] Then he got close enough that his soundings reached bottom.
Robin Fisher
In April 1792 Vancouver sailed east up the Strait of Juan de Fuca and and ventured into its inner heart. It was then that the majestic landscape of the Sound opened up to his gaze.
Spring had sprung. Mountain ranges were snow-capped, the sky was brilliant blue and some emerald green cedar trees reached the water’s edge here and there. In addition scenic small islands shone like gems in the bay.1 On May 19, 1792, Vancouver reached the bay of present-day Seattle while on May 29, 1792 he named Puget Sound after his lieutenant.
“Casting our eyes along the shore we had the satisfaction of seeing it much broken. A light pleasant breeze springing up […] the surface of the sea was perfectly smooth, and the country before us exhibited every thing that bounteous nature could be expected to draw into one point of view. Between us and this snowy range, the land, which on the sea shore terminated in low perpendicular cliffs, or on beaches of sand and stone, rose here in a very gentle ascent, and was well covered with a variety of stately forest trees. But also, extensive spaces that wore the appearance of having been cleared by art.
G. Vancouver
Vancouver’s process was linear and thorough. While the vessels were anchored in sheltered coves, in-tent observatories were set up on shore to take astronomical readings. Secondly, separate small crews were sent out to explore the surroundings. Upon their return another section of coastline was added to the chart. In the same way the process went on to map the coast up to Alaska.2
After that, on June 4, 1792, on the birthday of King George III, Vancouver landed near modern Everett and took possession of the region. He named it “New Georgia” in honor of Britain’s reigning monarch.3 As a result, others would have soon come to explore the land, exploit its natural resources and look for spots where to settle.
Once home, Vancouver started writing an account of his Voyage. He took pride in describing what he had observed with his own eyes.
We can say he had time to think it over and build a narrative to impress. He wanted to show that, unlike the “theoretical geographers” who imagined America from their libraries, he had actually been there. He was, in fact, leaving information for sailors who, for instance, needed to know how deep a harbor was.4
Vancouver covered the coast with names. Many of these remain to this day, including Admiralty Inlet, Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Port Townsend, Hood’s Canal, Whidbey Island, Deception Pass, and Vashon Island.
He also drew the first map of the area. We can define it a mental work of appropriating the place more than anything else, since the land had already been inhabited for centuries.
In fact, before the English captain began remaking names, the Natives of the region called the Strait “x̌ʷəlč”. This, pronounced “whulge”, in Lushootseed dialect is an onomatopoeic Coast Salish word denoting the sound of waves and meaning “a stretch of saltwater”.5 As David B. Williams reminds in his book “Homewaters: a Human and Natural History of Puget Sound” it was “more of a way to delineate a relationship to place”. Most of the names with which Natives designated the places talk about a sentimental history indeed.
In general Vancouver’s attitude towards the Natives of the coast was cold and distant.
While lack of curiosity kept him from recording their customs and traditions, he sometimes made interesting observations. As first encounters were motivated by trade relations, he noted, for instance, that northern First Nations women held a great deal of power when it came to manage the exchanges.6 However peaceful these were at first, in the second and third summer things became more tense with a couple of violent incidents that discouraged further contacts.
Nearly seventy years later, the Denny Party settled on Elliot Bay to build a new city. Fun fact? In Vancouver’s map Elliot Bay was a mere nameless depression along the jagged coastline.
“… We begin exploring round Elliott Bay, taking soundings … After a careful examination of the harbor, timber and feed for stock, we on the 15th of February, located and marked three claims in one body.”
Arthur Denny, Pioneer Days, 16-17
From that moment on the official story of the Seattle, as we all know her, really began.
By Valentina Chiarello
References:
- Northwest Power and Conservation Council, George Vancouver.
- R. Fisher, Vancouver’s Coastline – Putting the Northwest on the Map.
- Washington State Archives, Territorial Timeline. https://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/timeline/detail.aspx?id=16
- Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest, George Vancouver, A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean. https://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/Classroom%20Materials/Reading%20the%20Region/Discovering%20the%20Region/Commentary/4.html
- David B. Williams, Explorer George Vancouver names Puget’s Sound for naval officer Peter Puget on May 29, 1792. 3/05/2020 HistoryLink.org Essay 20969
- R. Fisher, Vancouver’s Coastline – Putting the Northwest on the Map
