Editing George Vancouver (section)

====Vancouver Expedition====
{{Main|Vancouver Expedition}}
Departing England with two ships, HMS ''Discovery'' and {{HMS|Chatham|1788|6}}, on 1 April 1791, Vancouver commanded an expedition charged with exploring the Pacific region. In its first year the expedition travelled to Cape Town, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, and [[Hawaii]] (then known as the [[Sandwich Islands]]), collecting botanical samples and surveying coastlines along the way. He formally claimed at Possession Point, [[King George Sound]] Western Australia, which  became the town of [[Albany, Western Australia]], for the British. Proceeding to North America, Vancouver followed the coasts of modern-day [[Oregon]] and Washington northward. In April 1792 he encountered American Captain [[Robert Gray (sea-captain)|Robert Gray]] off the coast of Oregon just prior to Gray's sailing up the [[Robert Gray's Columbia River expedition|Columbia River]].

Vancouver entered the [[Strait of Juan de Fuca]], between [[Vancouver Island]] and the modern Washington state mainland, on 29 April 1792. His orders included a survey of every inlet and outlet on the west coast of the mainland, all the way north to Alaska. Most of this work was in small craft propelled by both sail and oar; manoeuvring larger sail-powered vessels in uncharted waters was generally impractical and dangerous.

Vancouver named many features for his officers, friends, associates, and his ship ''Discovery'', including:
* [[Mount Baker]] – after ''Discovery's'' 3rd Lieutenant [[Joseph Baker (captain)|Joseph Baker]], the first on the expedition to spot it
* [[Mount St. Helens]] –  after his friend, [[Alleyne FitzHerbert, 1st Baron St Helens]]
* [[Puget Sound]] – after ''Discovery's'' 2nd lieutenant [[Peter Puget]],<ref name=wing>{{cite book
|author1=Wing, Robert  |author2=Newell, Gordon
|title=Peter Puget: Lieutenant on the Vancouver Expedition, fighting British naval officer, the man for whom Puget Sound was named
|publisher=Gray Beard Publishing
|year=1979|isbn=0-933686-00-5
}}</ref> who explored its southern reaches.
* [[Mount Rainier]] –  after his friend, Rear Admiral [[Peter Rainier (Royal Navy officer, born 1741)|Peter Rainier]].
* [[Port Gardner]] and [[Port Susan]], Washington –  after his former commander Vice Admiral [[Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner|Sir Alan Gardner]] and his wife Susannah, Lady Gardner.
* [[Whidbey Island]] – after naval engineer [[Joseph Whidbey]].
* [[Discovery Passage]], [[Discovery Island (British Columbia)|Discovery Island]], [[Discovery Bay, Washington|Discovery Bay]], [[Port Discovery, Washington|Port Discovery]] and [[Discovery Park (Seattle)]].
* [[Orford Reef]], after [[Horace Walpole]]
After a Spanish expedition in 1791, Vancouver was the second European to enter [[Burrard Inlet]] on 13 June 1792, naming it for his friend [[Sir Harry Burrard-Neale, 2nd Baronet|Sir Harry Burrard]]. It is the modern-day main harbour area of the City of Vancouver beyond [[Stanley Park]]. He surveyed [[Howe Sound]] and [[Jervis Inlet]] over the next nine days.<ref>Little, Gary. [http://www.garylittle.ca/van250.html George Vancouver (1757–2007). 250th Birth Anniversary, Survey of the Southwest Coast of BC, June 1792] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009220119/http://www.garylittle.ca/van250.html |date=9 October 2007 }}</ref> Then, on his 35th birthday on 22 June 1792, he returned to [[West Point Grey|Point Grey]], the present-day location of the [[University of British Columbia]]. Here he unexpectedly met a Spanish expedition led by [[Dionisio Alcalá Galiano]] and [[Cayetano Valdés y Flores]]. Vancouver was ''"mortified"'' (''his word'') to learn they already had a crude chart of the [[Georgia Strait|Strait of Georgia]] based on the 1791 exploratory voyage of [[José María Narváez]] the year before, under command of [[Francisco de Eliza]]. For three weeks they cooperatively explored the Georgia Strait and the [[Discovery Islands]] area before sailing separately towards [[Nootka Sound]].

After the summer surveying season ended, in August 1792, Vancouver went to Nootka, then the region's most important harbour, on contemporary Vancouver Island. Here he was to receive any British buildings and lands returned by the Spanish from claims by Francisco de Eliza for the [[Spanish crown]]. The Spanish commander, [[Juan Francisco Bodega y Quadra]], was very cordial and he and Vancouver exchanged the maps they had made, but no agreement was reached; they decided to await further instructions. At this time, they decided to name the large island on which Nootka was proven to be located as ''Quadra and Vancouver Island''. Years later, as Spanish influence declined, the name was shortened to simply [[Vancouver Island]].<ref>''The Voyage of George Vancouver 1791–1795, Volume 1''. W. Kaye Lamb (ed.). Hakluyt Society. 1984. {{ISBN|978-0-904180-17-6}}. p. 247</ref>

[[File:The Discovery on the rocks.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|right|The ''Discovery'' ran aground in early August 1792 on hidden rocks in [[Queen Charlotte Strait]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]], near Fife Sound.]]
While at Nootka Sound Vancouver acquired Robert Gray's chart of the lower Columbia River. Gray had entered the river during the summer before sailing to Nootka Sound for repairs. Vancouver realised the importance of verifying Gray's information and conducting a more thorough survey. In October 1792, he sent Lieutenant [[William Robert Broughton]] with several boats up the [[Columbia River]]. Broughton got as far as the [[Columbia River Gorge]], sighting and naming [[Mount Hood]].<ref name="Etulain2004">{{cite book|last=Etulain|first=Richard W.|title=Western Lives: A Biographical History Of The American West|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8yXv_OdXxBUC&pg=PA97|year=2004|publisher=UNM Press|isbn=978-0-8263-3472-5|pages=97–101|access-date=2 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610105943/https://books.google.com/books?id=8yXv_OdXxBUC&pg=PA97|archive-date=10 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Vancouver sailed south along the coast of Spanish [[Alta California]], entered [[San Francisco Bay]], later visiting [[Monterey, California|Monterey]]; in both places, he was warmly received by the Spanish.<ref name="Rolle">{{Cite book |last=Rolle |first=Andrew |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/13333829 |title=California: A History |publisher=Harlan Davidson |year=1987 |isbn=0-88295-839-9 |edition=4th |location=Arlington Heights, IL |pages=78–79 |oclc=13333829 |access-date=18 June 2021 |archive-date=20 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220154843/https://www.worldcat.org/title/california-a-history/oclc/13333829 |url-status=live }}</ref> Later he visited [[Chumash people|Chumash]] villages at [[Point Conception]] and near [[Mission San Buenaventura]].<ref name="nps.gov">McLendon, Sally and Johnson, John R. (1999). [http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/chis/chumash.pdf ''Cultural Affiliation and Lineal Descent of Chumash Peoples in the Channel Islands and the Santa Monica Mountains''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531221633/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/chis/chumash.pdf |date=31 May 2009 }} Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History pp. 139–40 (98–99) Accessed 18 June 2010</ref> Vancouver spent the winter in continuing exploration of the [[Hawaiian Islands|Sandwich Islands]], the contemporary name of the islands of Hawaii.