Vancouver's Discovery Of Puget Sound: Portraits And Biographies Of The Men Honored In The Naming Of Geographic Features Of Northwestern America

Vancouver's Discovery Of Puget Sound: Portraits And Biographies Of The Men Honored In The Naming Of Geographic Features Of Northwestern America by Edmond Stephen Meany. The book collects portraits and biographical portraits of the men whose names adorn the Puget Sound region and its Northwest coast, interleaving narrative of exploration with the biographies of figures such as Captain George Vancouver, Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, Peter Puget, James Cook, and others. Relying on Vancouver's own journal and a wealth of English, Spanish, and American sources, Meany traces the voyages, diplomatic exchanges, and rivalries that produced a mosaic of toponyms—Port Discovery, Nootka, Quadra and Vancouver Island, and Puget Sound itself. The text also previews and discusses deconstructions of colonial contact, the exchange of knowledge, and the lasting memorials—monuments, portraits, and maps—establishing how geographic naming preserved memory of navigators, diplomats, and sailors. Rich in both biography and geography, the work serves as a reference for historians, geographers, and readers interested in the broader story of the Pacific Northwest. Read more