Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America, 1792

The first English translation of a key document in the early history of California, the Pacific Northwest, and British Columbia

In 1792, Spanish naval officer and explorer Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra sailed from San Blas, Mexico, to Nootka Sound, on the west coast of present-day Vancouver Island. For nearly three years, he had been immersed in the aftermath of the Nootka Crisis of 1789, a dispute between Britain and Spain over sovereignty in the North Pacific. He was journeying north as his government’s commissioner to hand over Spanish-occupied territory at Nootka. This book offers the first published English translation of Bodega’s journal, a remarkable account of his travels along the Northwest Coast of America, encounters with Native peoples—most notably, Chief Maquinna—and the friendship that developed between Bodega and his British counterpart, George Vancouver.

Until now, Bodega’s journal has been available only in Spanish publications or in manuscript form. This much-needed English-language edition results from the collaboration of three preeminent scholars of the Pacific Northwest, who provide an in-depth introduction and extensive footnotes that make the translation accessible to a contemporary audience.

Also included in this edition is a generous selection of Bodega’s original charts and illustrations created by the artists who worked with José Mariano Moziño and José Maldonado, two scientists who—at Bodega’s insistence—accompanied him on his expedition to Nootka.