 |
Business | Industries | Finance | Tax |
| Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
|
|||||
| First Prev [ 1 2 ] Next Last |
George Vancouver's first voyage to the Pacific was aboard Captain James Cook's HMS Resolution on Cook's second voyage of exploration, from 1772-1775. It was Vancouver's first naval service. He was only fifteen years old.
Vancouver served under Cook again, during his third voyage of discovery, this time aboard the Resolution's sister ship, HMS Discovery. This voyage lasted from 1776-1779.
Upon his return to Britain in 1779 Vancouver was commissionedIn the military, a commissioned officer is a member of the service who derives authority directly from a sovereign power, and as such holds a commission from that power. Commissioned officers are authorized to use deadly force to carry out the lawful orde as a lieutenantA Lieutenant is a military or paramilitary officer. The word lieutenant derives from French; the lieu meaning "place" as in a position or territory; and tenant meaning "holding" as in "holding a position". The British monarch's representative in Ireland a. His first post as a lieutenant was serving aboard the sloop HMS Martin , on patrol duties in the English ChannelThe English Channel is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. In French it is called La Manche ("the sleeve"). It is about 350 miles long and at its widest i.
The next vessel Vancouver served in was the 74-gun ship of the lineShips of the line were 1st, 2nd, or 3rd-rated ships in the rating system of the Royal Navy. In the age of sail, after the development of the line of battle tactic in the mid 17th century, and up to the mid 19th century, a ship of the line (of battle was a HMS Flame . The Flame was one of the vessels participating in the British victory in the Battle of the Saintes12 April 1782: surrender of the Ville de Paris by Thomas Whitcombe, painted 1783, shows Samuel Hood's Barfleur center, attacking the French flagship Ville de Paris right. The Battle of the Saintes was a victory of a British fleet under Admiral Sir George in 1782.
While serving on the West Indies station Vancouver was able to put his surveying and cartographic skills he learned under Cook to use surveying Port RoyalThis article is about the former capital city of Jamaica. For the French convent, see Port-Royal. For information on the South Carolina town see: Port Royal, South Carolina. For the Canadian community and early French colony see: Port Royal, Nova Scotia P and Kingston Harbour . He was assisted in this task by Joseph Whidbey , who was to later serve as his sailing master , during his voyage of exploration.
In 1789 the Royal Navy was planning another voyage of exploration to the Pacific. It was to be commanded by Henry Roberts , another of the proteges of Captain Cook. Vancouver was to be his second in command. HMS Discovery was purchased specifically for this mission.
However a dispute when Spanish forces seized Nootka Island in Nootka Sound put the expedition on hold. Spain and Britain came close to going to war. An accomodation was arrived at, the Nootka Convention, and war was avoided. But the preparations for war had disrupted to preparations.
By the time the convention had been signed Roberts was no longer available to lead the expedition. Vancouver was given command.
He followed the coasts of Oregon and Washington northward. In October 1792 he sent Lieutenant William Robert Broughton with several boats from Broughton's own ship to explore the Columbia River. Broughton navigated as far as the Columbia River Gorge, sighting and naming Mt. Hood. Vancouver also entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca, between Vancouver Island and the mainland. He intended to explore every bay and outlet of this region, and many times had to use boats to do so, because the inlets were often too narrow for his ships. He met a Spanish exploring party led by Dionisio Alcala Galiano and Cayetano Valdes y Flores , and for some time they explored Puget Sound together. Afterwards, Vancouver went to Nootka (on Vancouver Island), then the region's most important harbour, where he was to get any British buildings or lands returned by the Spanish. The Spanish commander Bodega y Quadra was very cordial and he and Vancouver exchanged the maps they had made of their explorations, but no agreement was reached; they decided to await further instructions. After a visit to Spanish California, Vancouver used the winter to further explore the Sandwich Islands.
The next year he went back to British Columbia, and explored the coast further north. He got 56 degrees north, and because the more northern parts had already been explored by Cook, he then sailed south to California, hoping to be able to fulfull his task regarding Nootka; however, Bodega y Quadra was not there. He again spent the winter on the Sandwich Islands.
In 1794, he first went to Cook Inlet, the northernmost limit of his exploration, and from there he followed the coast southward to Baranov Island, which he had also reached the year before. He then set sail for England, choosing the route around Cape Horn, thus completing a circumnavigation.
At the end of the exploration. Vancouver determined that the Northwest Passage did not exist at the latitudes that had long been suggested. Various locations around the world have been named after George Vancouver, including Vancouver Island (originally Vancouver & Quadra Island) and the cities of Vancouver, Washington, USA and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
In turn, the family name Vancouver was derived from ' Van Coevorden', meaning 'from Coevorden', hence the locations mentioned were indirectly named after this town in the Netherlands.
| Politics | Business | Finance |
 |
 |
 |
|