George Vancouver began his naval career as a midshipman during Captain James Cook’s second and third voyages (1772-8). In 1791, he was commissioned by the Admiralty to travel to the north-west coast of Canada and negotiate an end to the escalating trade conflict between Britain and Spain in the Nootka Sound. The voyage also involved further exploration of the region’s coastline.

This extensive account of the voyage was edited by Vancouver’s brother, John, and published in three volumes in 1798. Vancouver’s surveys were important in establishing British dominance in the region into the nineteenth century.