Vessels: 18th Century Vessels in California

Northwestern North America (the Pacific Northwest) was little explored by European ships before the mid-18th century. But by the end of the century several nations were vying for control of the region, including Britain, Spain, Russia, and the United States. For centuries Spain had claimed the entire Pacific coast of North and South America. Spain made claims of discovery for the northwest coast of North America by citing the voyages of Cabrillo in 1542, Ferrelo in 1543, and Vizcaino in 1602–03. Thus when, in the mid-18th century, the Russians began to explore Alaska and establish fur trading posts, Spain responded by building a new naval base at San Blas, Mexico, and using it as a base for sending a series of exploration and reconnaissance voyages to the far northwest. These voyages, intended to ascertain the Russian threat and to establish "prior discovery" claims, were supplemented by the "effective settlement" of Alta California.

In 1769, the expedition of Portola officially claimed Alta California for Spain. Starting in 1774, Spanish expeditions were sent to northern Canada and Alaska to reassert Spain's claims and navigation rights in the area. By 1775 Spanish exploration had reached Bucareli Bay including the mouth of the Columbia River between present-day Oregon and Washington, and Sitka Sound. In 1821, with Mexico's successful revolt against Spain, Alta California became land of Mexico, a position held until 1848 and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. California statehood came in 1850.

Between 1743-1797, forty-two independent Russian companies made 101 voyages along the Aleutians, and obtained pelts worth around 8 million rubles. By the mid 1790s, only the Shelikhov-Golikov Company was left, and the owners petitioned for an official charter by the Imperial government granting them a twenty-year monopoly on the fur trade. On July 8, 1799, Emperor Paul 1 granted this charter to the Shelikhov-Golikov Company which reorganized as the Russiisko-Amerikanskia Company or RAC, and was now responsible for Russian settlement and the exploitation of Native peoples and furs in Russian America. [Makarova, Raisa V. Russians on the Pacific, 1743-1799, trans. Richard A. Pierce and Alton S. Donnelly. Kinsgston, Ont.: Limestone Press, 1975 (p. 209-217)]

NOTE: All fur-trading vessels necessarily had to pass the California Channel Islands, but early sailing vessels had to go way offshore to get favorable winds to sail north. Fur traders were attracted to the Northwest Coast by the publication of Captain Cook's expedition of 1778. It brought to light that sea otter skins, obtained for scraps of iron at Nootka Sound, were sold in Canton for the equivalent of $120 each.

Boston quickly became the leader in the China trade. Her sea merchant families conveyed an air of optimism to the Pacific shores and northwest, taking early advantage of the economic gains to be found in this unspoiled, last temperate coast. The Chinese ports with their high demand for skins were generally closed to the Russians.

18TH CENTURY VESSELS IN SPANISH CALIFORNIA
YEAR	NAME	VESSEL TYPE	MASTER	VESSEL OWNER	ACTIVITY
1754	San Sebastian			Spanish merchant ship
1769	San Jose			Spanish expedition ship (Portola)
1785	Sea Otter	small brig	British Captain James Hanna		sea otter trade
1786	Princesa	frigate	Don Esteban Jose Martinez	Spanish government	California sea otter trade
1786-1788	Imperial Eagle	British trader	Capt. Charles William Barkley	Robertson	California sea otter trade
1787	Favorita	frigate	Capt. Jose de Cañizares	Spanish government	California sea otter trade
1787-1790	San Carlos	packetboat		Spanish government	California sea otter trade
1787-1797	Lady Washington	90-ton brig	Capt. Robert Gray/John Kendrick	Boston	sea otter trade
1787-	Columbia Rediviva	ship	John Kendrick	Boston	sea otter trade
1788-1789	Aranzazu	frigate	Capt. Jose de Cañizares	Spanish government	California sea otter trade
1789-	Hope	ship	Capt. Joseph Ingraham	Boston	sea otter trade
1789-	Margaret	ship	Capt. Magee	Boston	sea otter trade
1793-1794	Butterworth	ship	Capt. William Brown	Alderman Curtis and others, London	California sea otter trade
1793	Jackal	schooner or cutter	Capt. Alexander Stewart/William Brown	Alderman Curtis and others, London	California sea otter trade
1793	Prince Lee Boo	sloop	Capt. Sharp/Gordon	Alderman Curtis and others, London	California sea otter trade
1794	Jenny	ship	Capt. John William Adamson	Sidenham Teast, Bristol	sea otter trade
1795	Phoenix (18th century)	bark	Capt. Hugh Moore	at Bengal	California sea otter trade
1796	Otter	ship	Capt. Ebenezer Dorr (1762-1847)	Dorr & Sons, Boston	California sea otter trade; lst Amer. ship to stop in California (Monterey)
1797	Alert	ship	Capt. Bowles	Boston	sea otter trade
1797	Alexander	ship	Capt. Dodge	Boston	sea otter trade
1797-1799	Eliza	ship	Capt. James Rowan	J. & T. H. Perkins and others, Boston	sea otter trade
1797	Hazard	ship	Capt. Swift	Boston	sea otter trade
1797	Jenny	ship	Capt. Bowers	Boston	sea otter trade
1798	Garland	brig	Capt. Bazilla Worth	owners at Boston	California sea otter trade
1798	Ulysses	ship	Capt. Lamb	Boston	sea otter trade
1799-1801	Enterprise	American trader	O'Cain as mate	Spanish government	California sea otter trade

SOLID MEN OF BOSTON IN THE NORTHWEST » William Dane Phelps (1802-1875) Solid Men of Boston in the Northwest, unpublished manuscript, Bancroft Library. 1870s. The manuscript describes the experiences of Boston ships on the Northwest Coast from 1787 to about 1812, but is principally an account of the Winship brothers and their ventures in the fur trade, 1803-1811. The authorship of this manuscript has been suggested by Miss Adele Ogden, from internal evidence and letter from Samuel Hooper to William D. Phelps, November 29, 1868, in the Phelps Collection, Widener Library, Harvard University:

» Ogden, Aldele 1941 California Sea Otter Trade. Berkeley: UC Press (1941)