Английская Википедия:Fort Defiance (British Columbia)
Шаблон:Use Canadian English Шаблон:Infobox
Fort Defiance was a small outpost that the crew of the Columbia Rediviva built as winter quarters during 1791–1792 on Meares Island in present-day British Columbia, Canada. American merchant and maritime fur trader Captain Robert Gray was in command.
Prelude
In early August 1791, John Kendrick arrived in Clayoquot Sound and acquired land from Wickaninnish, chief of the Tla-o-qui-aht, in exchange for firearms. An Opitsaht village was nearby. Kendrick fortified a small island, and like his Nootka Sound base, called it Fort Washington. In late August, Robert Gray, of the same trading company, arrived on the Columbia Redivia. Following a short overlap, Kendrick sailed away on the Lady Washington for China.[1]
Fort Defiance
On September 19, Gray located a narrow cove suitable for wintering the Columbia, and building a sloop.Шаблон:Sfn Two days later, construction of their winter quarters began. Completed by September 30, the main building measured Шаблон:Convert long by Шаблон:Convert wide and was two storeys tall.Шаблон:Sfn Using 5,470 bricks from Boston, they built a large brick fireplaceШаблон:Sfn and a forge.Шаблон:Sfn The main building had two cannons mounted and musket loop holes for defending against possible attack.Шаблон:Sfn Other structures included a blacksmith shop, two sawpits for cutting logs, cabins, and a boatbuilding shed.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn On completion, four cannons, 40 muskets, and various other weapons on the Columbia were transferred ashore. Robert Haswell assumed charge of the base and ten men.Шаблон:Sfn
Shipbuilding
The next task was constructing the sloop Шаблон:Ship, incorporating framing supplies carried in the Columbia's hold.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn On October 3, the keel was laid.Шаблон:Sfn While the 45-ton sloop was built on the beach, the whaleboat was built within the fort. The crew felled tall trees, floated them to the site, and shaped them into a mast and planks. On March 23, 1792, the ship was launched,Шаблон:Sfn making it the first American-built vessel in the Pacific Northwest.Шаблон:Sfn[2] Before setting sail with both ships in March, the Americans abandoned the fort,Шаблон:Sfn stripping it of anything useful.Шаблон:Sfn
First Nations interaction
For most of the winter relations with Wickaninnish and his people were good. On Christmas Day, Wickaninnish and a number of other chiefs dined aboard the Columbia, and on New Year's Day, the Americans were entertained onshore by Wickaninnish.[1]Шаблон:Sfn
During the winter, Gray's crew had foiled an attack planned by a Sandwich Island crew member and the Tla-o-qui-aht people. In final retaliation, on leaving the area, Gray ordered the destruction of 200 homes in the local Opitsaht village.[3] The ship's log noted that Gray had let his passions go too far.[4]Шаблон:Sfn
Archaeological site
The winter quarters in Disappointment Inlet (now called Lemmens Inlet)[5] were on the eastern side of the main body of Meares Island,[6] where the geography provided a natural defence against attacks.Шаблон:Sfn In Clayoquot Sound, just north of Tofino,Шаблон:Sfn Gray named the place Adventure Cove.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Researchers identified the site in 1966,Шаблон:Sfn and BC officially adopted the name in 1975. At that time, the little island in the cove was named Columbia Islet.[7][8] Fort Defiance is a protected Шаблон:Convert archaeological site.[9]
See also
- Robert Gray's Columbia River expedition
- John Kendrick's expeditions
- History of the West Coast of North America
Footnotes
References
- ↑ 1,0 1,1 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ within territory of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations (formerly referred to as the Clayoquot), one of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:BCGNIS
- ↑ Шаблон:BCGNIS
- ↑ Шаблон:BCGNIS
- ↑ Шаблон:BCGNIS
- ↑ Шаблон:BCGNIS
