Overview

George Vancouver (1757-1798) was an English sea captain and member of several expeditions to the South Pacific and the coast of North America in the late eighteenth century. He was instrumental in the gathering and dissemination of knowledge about the Pacific Coast of the continent of North America. On several visits to the area, he explored it, met with natives and the Spanish, and surveyed and mapped its features from Alaska to Monterey in California. His work helped to establish the claim of Great Britain to ownership of western Canada. He also studied and charted many Pacific Ocean islands, including Hawaii, and made allies of natives for England everywhere. He proved that a practical and usable Northwest Passage through North America did not...