VANCOUVER ISLAND. The laughing waters rapids, on the Puntledge. Canada, 1866

VANCOUVER ISLAND. The laughing waters rapids, on the Puntledge. Canada, 1866

Product SKU: P-5-00323

Price €11.79

'The laughing waters rapids, on the Puntledge, Vancouver Island' from Illustrated London News (1866). Antique wood engraved print, 15.0 x 23.0cm, 5.75 x 9 inches

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada, one of several North American regions named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific coast of North America between 1791 and 1794.

Indigenous people
Vancouver Island has been the homeland to many main indigenous peo

CAPTION BELOW PICTURE: 'The laughing waters rapids, on the Puntledge, Vancouver Island'

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada, one of several North American regions named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific coast of North America between 1791 and 1794.

Indigenous people
Vancouver Island has been the homeland to many main indigenous peoples for thousands of years. These are the Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Coast Salish. Kwakwaka'wakw territory includes northern Vancouver Island, with parts of the mainland, then Nuu-chah-nulth spanning from the northern western part of the island, to the south, covering the west coast, and Coast Salish covering the lower eastern part. Their cultures are connected to the natural resources abundant in the area.

European exploration
Europeans began to explore the island in 1774, when rumours of Russian fur traders caused the Spanish to send a ship, the Santiago north under the command of Juan José Pérez Hernández. In 1775, a second Spanish expedition under the Peruvian captain Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra was sent.
Vancouver Island came to the attention of the wider world after the third voyage of Captain James Cook, who landed at Nootka Sound of the island's western shore on March 31, 1778, and claimed it for the United Kingdom. The island's rich fur trading potential led the British East India Company to set up a single-building trading post in the native village of Yuquot (Friendly Cove) on Nootka Island, a small island in the sound.
The island was further explored by Spain in 1789 by Esteban José Martínez, who built Fort San Miguel on one of Vancouver Island's small offshore islets in the sound near Yuquot. This was to be the only Spanish settlement in what would later be Canada. The Spanish began seizing British ships, and the two nations came close to war in the ensuing Nootka Crisis, but the issues were resolved peacefully with the Nootka Convention in 1792, in which both countries recognized the other's rights to the area. Supervising the British activities was Captain George Vancouver from King's Lynn in England, who had sailed as a midshipman with Cook, and from whom the island gained its name. In 1792, the Spanish explorer Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and his crew were the first Europeans to circumnavigate Vancouver Island. While we know this island today as Vancouver Island the English explorer had not intentionally meant to name such a large body of land solely after himself. In his September 1792 dispatch log report for the British Admiralty, Captain Vancouver reveals that his decision here was rather meant to honour a request by the Peruvian seafarer Juan Francisco Quadra that Vancouver:
"would name some port or island after us both in commemoration of our meeting and friendly intercourse that on that occasion had taken place (Vancouver had previously feted Quadra on his ship);....and conceiving no place more eligible than the place of our meeting, I have therefore named this land...The Island of Quadra and Vancouver."
If Vancouver had been vain as some writers had charged, he could have chosen to name the entire Island exclusively after himself instead of sharing its name with Quadra and placing the latter's name before his. The newly discovered "Quadra's and Vancouver's Island" was the most prominent name on maps of the coast, and appeared on most British, French and Spanish maps of the period. But as Spanish interests in the region dwindled, so did Quadra's name. The Hudson's Bay Company played a major part in the transition; by 1824 'Vancouver's Island' had become the usual designation in its correspondence for the island. A quarter of a century later, Vancouver Island had become such a well known geographical feature, that the founding of the Colony of Vancouver Island in 1849 gave this name full official status. Period references to "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island until the naming of the city of Vancouver in 1885.

British settlement
Shortly thereafter, in 1846, the Oregon Treaty was signed by the British and the U.S. to settle the question of the U.S. Oregon Territory borders. It awarded all of Vancouver Island to what would be Canada, despite a portion of the island lying south of the 49th parallel. In 1849, the Colony of Vancouver Island was established. Following the brief governorship of Richard Blanshard, James Douglas, Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay post, assumed the role in 1851.
The first British settlement on the island was a Hudson's Bay Company post, Fort Camosack, founded in 1843, and later renamed Fort Victoria. Fort Victoria became an important base during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858, and the burgeoning town was incorporated as Victoria in 1862. Victoria became the capital of the colony of Vancouver Island, then retained that status when the island was amalgamated with the mainland in 1866. A British naval base, including a large shipyard and a naval hospital, was established at Esquimalt, British Columbia, in 1865 and eventually taken over by the Canadian military.
The economic situation of the colony declined following the Cariboo Gold Rush of 1861-1862, and pressure grew for amalgamation of the colony with the mainland colony of British Columbia (which had been established in 1858). The colony's third and last governor, Sir Arthur Kennedy oversaw the union of the two colonies in 1866.

(Source Wikipedia)

DATE PRINTED: 1866    

IMAGE SIZE: Approx 15.0 x 23.0cm, 5.75 x 9 inches (Medium)

TYPE: Antique wood engraved print

CONDITION: Good; suitable for framing. However, please note: Tight top margin; The image shown may have been scanned from a different example of this print than that which is offered for sale: The print you will receive is in Good condition but there may be minor variations in the condition compared to that shown in the image. Please check the scan for any blemishes prior to making your purchase. Virtually all antiquarian maps and prints are subject to some normal aging due to use and time which is not obtrusive unless otherwise stated. We offer a no questions asked return policy.

AUTHENTICITY: This is an authentic historic print, published at the date stated above. It is not a modern copy.

VERSO: There are images and/or text printed on the reverse side of the picture. In some cases this may be visible on the picture itself (please check the scan prior to your purchase) or around the margin of the picture.

ARTIST/CARTOGRAPHER/ENGRAVER: Unsigned

PROVENANCE: Illustrated London News

Packing

Items smaller than A4 size are usually packed in a stiffened, board-backed envelope. Larger items are rolled and packed in postal tubes. Large items which are too stiff to be rolled in wide-diameter tubes are mailed in all-board envelopes. In the unlikely event of damage in transit, please send the affected item or items back to us and we will provide a replacement or refund.

Delivery

Economy, tracked and express shipping options are available to all destinations worldwide. Over half our orders are sent to customers outside the United Kingdom and we have supplied over 30,000 buyers in over 70 different countries. We ship orders virtually every business day to customers in North America and Europe. The cost of delivery depends on the size of the largest item in your order, where you are located, and the delivery method that you choose at checkout. For orders received before 2pm, we can arrange delivery next day in the UK, within 2 business days to continental Europe and North America, and within 4 days to most other countries worldwide (excludes PO Box or APO/FPO (Military) addresses).

Returns

We accept returns for any reason if sent back to us within 14 days of receipt of your order. If any of your items are not as described, we will provide a full refund including reasonable return postage costs upon safe return to us. If you have changed your mind, you are responsible for the cost of returning the item to us. We describe the size, age and condition of all our products as fully and accurately as possible. Most of the items which we sell are in very good condition. However, the condition of antique and vintage prints and maps can vary. All of our product listings including a statement which classifies the condition as being either “Good”, “Fair”, or (rarely) “Poor” and which describes any material flaws, blemishes, imperfections or other significant features such as folds. Please read the description carefully before purchase.

You could also be interested in these...
Products You Recently Looked At