José María Narváez

José María Narváez (* 1768 in Cádiz , Spain ; † August 4, 1840 in Guadalajara , Mexico ) was a Spanish naval officer , explorer and navigator who became famous for his discoveries in the Pacific Northwest of what is now Canada.

In 1791, as commander of the schooner Santa Saturnina, he led the first voyage of discovery to the Strait of Georgia and what is now British Columbia ( Sunshine Cost ) in Canada. He was one of the first Europeans to step onto Burrard Inlet .

Life

Narváez was admitted to the Royal Naval Academy for Midshipmen in 1782 and committed to naval warfare that same year. In 1784 he was sent to New Spain for his first stop in Havana . For three years he stayed in the ports of Veracruz , New Orleans , Mantanzas and Campeche . In November 1787 he was promoted to segundo piloto and reassigned to the San Blas . At the time, the Spanish naval base was operating on the west coast of Mexico, where he arrived in 1788. First he accompanied the San Carlos as a pilot, the captain Gonzalo López de Haro .

1788 trip to Alaska

In response to Russian activity in Alaska, the Spanish government began sending ships to explore. This was also meant to confirm sovereignty . In March 1788 two ships were sent to reconnaissance, the Princesa under the leadership of Esteban José Martínez and the San Carlos von Haro. Narváez sailed on board the San Carlos as a pilot. The ships reached Prince William Sound in May. Shortly thereafter, evidence of Russian fur trade was found. In June, Haro sailed the San Carlos west of Kodiak Island . The Spaniards traded with the locals who visited the ship on twelve canoes. The locals had slips of paper with Russian script, apparently proof of payment that Haro acquired through the trade because he wanted indisputable evidence of Russian business in the region.

On June 30, 1788, Haro sent Narváez on a dinghy to explore a Russian settlement on the Three Saints Bay . Narváez found the settlement and became the first Spaniard to contact a large contingent of Russians in Alaska. The Russian commander Evstrat Delarov accompanied Narváez to the San Carlos . The Spaniards gave Delarov a barrel of wine and other gifts. After Delarov's return to his outpost, Narvaez was given a Russian map of the Alaskan coast showing the positions of seven Russian settlements with almost 500 men. Delarov told Narváez that the Russians intended to occupy the port of Nootka Sound . Upon returning from Narváez on the San Carlos , Haro and the crew sailed east to rejoin Martínez on Sitkinak Island .

Directed by the information Narváez had acquired, the expedition headed southwest to explore Unalaska Island . There was a large Russian settlement there under the leadership of Potap Kuzmich Zaikov . Martínez arrived on July 29th and Haro on August 4th. Martínez went ashore and stayed at the base. He offered the Russians food and wine. Zaikov gave Martínez three tickets to cover the Aleutian Islands and confirmed the Russians' plan to take Nootka Sound next year.

Martínez had problems with officers and the crew, including Haro and Narváez, because of his aggression. While on Unalaska, Martínez temporarily arrested Haro. During this time Narváez was the commandant of the San Carlos . Haro was released from his command before the expedition was over on August 18, 1788.

1789 expedition to Nootka Sound

Despite the unresolved relationship between Martínez and Haro, both were commissioned to sail together in 1789 and take possession of Nootka Sound. Narváez again served as Haro's first pilot and commanded the San Carlos . The two ships sailed from San Blas on February 17th and reached Nootka on May 5th, 1789. Three merchant ships were already there, one English and two from the new nation of the United States . Three more English ships arrived during the summer, one being the Northwest America built by John Meares in Nootka Sound the previous year. In pursuit of the assertion of Spanish sovereignty, Martínez captured this ship.

On June 21, Narváez was Martínez with the captured Northwest America , in Santa Gertrudis la Magna renamed (later Santa Saturnina ) was to the three inlets south of Nootka Sound - Clayoquot Sound , Barkley Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca sent to explore this. Narváez sailed more than 25 leuge (approximately 65 miles or 105 km) into the Juan de Fuca Strait . At that time only a few immigrants had crossed the strait, but none as far as Narváez. At the beginning of July he was back in Nootka Sound. In his report to Martínez he recommended Port Renfrew as an anchorage.

While Narváez was gone, Martínez denied the successful occupation of Nootka. After a fight with the British captain James Colnett , he captured him and seized several English ships and their crew. These events escalated into an international crisis. Martínez forced a group of Chinese workers to work on the Spanish fortress of Fort San Miguel and construct other structures. Shortly after Narváez returned in July, Martínez intercepted a newly arrived English ship, the Princess Royal . The Spaniards shot the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) Chief Callicum , the son of the leader Maquinna .

Martínez believed that Juan de Fuca Street was the entrance to the legendary Northwest Passage and was of great strategic importance. On July 27th, Martínez gave Haro and Narváez the leadership of the San Carlos and captured the Princess Royal and sent them both back to San Blas with the news. They arrived in late August 1789. In October, Martínez completely evacuated Nootka Sound and returned to San Blas with the prisoners.

1790 Reoccupation of Nootka

Later in 1789, the new viceroy Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas took over the regime of New Spain. Together with Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra , the naval commander of San Blas, Horcasitas tried to expand Spanish rule in the Pacific Northwest. He sent another expedition to reoccupy Nootka Sound. Quadra loaded every cannon he found on the frigate Concepción , the San Carlos, and the captured English Princess Royal , renamed Princesa Real . Francisco de Eliza was given command of the Concepción and the whole expedition; he was also the appointed commander of Nootka. Salvador Fidalgo was in command of the San Carlos and Manuel Quimper of the Princesa Real . Martínez no longer held a competent rank.

Eliza's three ships sailed from San Blas on February 3, 1790. At the beginning of April two more frigates joined the fleet - the Princesa under Jacinto Caamaño with Narváez as pilot and the Aranzazu under Juan Bautista Matute. This was the largest Spanish force sent north at the time. Eliza reached Nootka on April 4, 1790 and found no ships present. The Nuu-chah-nulth natives, disconcerted by the events of last summer, had withdrawn to safer territory. After reoccupying the San Miguel Fortress and other buildings, Eliza sent two scouting expeditions.

Fidalgo scouted Alaska northward on the San Carlos , while Quimper explored the Juan de Fuca Strait with the Princesa Real with López de Haro and Juan Carrasco as pilots . Both ships were unable to return to Nootka, instead they sailed to San Blas. After these ships left Caamaño, Narváez arrived on the Aranzazu . He remained under Eliza's command for the next two years and took part in various voyages of discovery.

1791 explorations

At the beginning of 1791 more ships came and settled Nootka. Quadra suggested to Eliza further exploration of Juan de Fuca Street. On May 4, 1791, Eliza set out with the San Carlos together with pilots Juan Pantoja and José Antonio Verdía. The San Carlos was accompanied by the schooner Santa Saturnina nicknamed La Orcasitas (originally Northwest America , built by Meares in Nootka). Narváez led the Santa Saturnina with the pilot Juan Carrasco. The schooner was about 10 meters long, had eight oars and had a 20 day supply of food. In addition, the San Carlos carried an eight meter long dinghy with thirteen oars.

Clayoquot Sound map created during the expedition in 1791 with Francisco de Eliza

The expedition first stopped at Clayoquot Sound and stayed there for about two weeks. Narváez and Carrasco spent a week exploring the Inner Canal, another week collaborating on a map of Sound they named Puerto Clayucuat . While Narváez was busy with this work, Eliza befriended the leader Wickaninnish . Eliza wrote that he was honored with a dance by over 600 young men. Eliza also reported five large native settlements in Clayoquot Sound, each with a population of over 1500. The largest, which Eliza Guicananich named after its leader Wickaninnish, had over 2,500 inhabitants.

In late May, Eliza sailed the San Carlos on Juan de Fuca Strait to Esquimalt . The Santa Saturnina spent several weeks exploring Barkley Sound . The two ships met again in Esquimalt on June 14, 1791. With the Santa Saturnina, Narváez and Carrasco explored the inner canals of Barkley Sound, which they called Puerto de Boca Carrasco, and sketched a map. According to the summary account of Eliza's trip, Narváez saw five large settlements with "warlike and reckless" inhabitants. In two cases, Narváez's ship was attacked by groups of around 200 men, but "he kept them in check by using a few cannon shots". The locals "were surprised to see the schooners" and according to what they said they had never seen the inside of a ship.

In mid-June on the expedition based in Esquimalt (the Spanish named it Cordova after one of their cities), Eliza ordered Pantoja to explore Haro Strait with the Santa Saturnina and a dinghy. Supported by Narváez, Carrasco and Verdia he passed the strait between Vancouver Iceland and San Juan Iceland to Pender Iceland reach. Several roads led west and two east, they decided to explore the larger one in an easterly direction. On June 15, 1791, they sailed east along the southern shores of Pender Island and Saturna Island before entering "one great and vast canal" - the open waters of the Strait of Georgia , the Gran Canal de Nuestra Señora del Rosario la Marinera ( Channel by Our Lady of the Rosary). It was the first time Europeans had seen the Strait of Georgia. The Spaniards believed that they had found the legendary inland sea of ​​the North American continent and that it met somewhere into Hudson Bay or the Mississippi River . They spent the night in Patos Island. The next day they sailed east of the vicinity of Lummi Island and the northern end of Rosario Strait. They returned with no food and exhausted on the road from which they came. The dinghy reached Esquimalt on June 24th and Narváez with the Santa Saturnina the next day. Eliza moved his operation site to "Puerto de Quadra" (now Port Discovery ) on the south side of Juan de Fuca Street. Eliza and the San Carlos stayed while the Santa Saturnina and the dinghy sailed under Narváez with Carrasco as a pilot to better explore the Rosario Strait and the Strait of Georgia.

Narváez set out on July 1, 1791. He passed the Rosario Strait, which he called Canal de Fidalgo , Narváez saw Guemes Island (Islas de Guemes), Cypress Island (San Vincente) and Lummi Island (Pacheco), explored Padilla Bay (Seno Padillo) and Bellingham Bay (Seno Gaston ) and anchored in Chuckanut Bay (Puerto Socorro) before heading north onto the Georgia Strait. He anchored in Birch Bay (Puerto del Garzon) and Drayton Harbor (Punta de San José) and sailed west across Boundary Bay and to Point Roberts. Narváez thought Point Roberts was an island (Isla de Zepeda) and that the inland sea would stretch far to the northeast. Carrasco later made a map showing a large estuary called Boca de Floridablanca (also Canal de Floridablanca) that included Boundary Bay and extends north to Burrard Inlet . After circumnavigating Point Roberts, Narváez sailed several miles from the bank through the outlet of the Fraser River . He noticed that the water was "more fresh water than salt water", but mistook the land between the mouths of the rivers as low-lying islands in the Boca de Floridablanca . He anchored near Point Gray , which he also believed to be an island (Isla de Langara).

At Point Gray, the ship was visited by Musqueam on canoes, trading in food, water and firewood for copper and pieces of iron. The Spaniards noticed that their language was different from that of the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) they were used to. One of Narváez's crew bought a local boy. The Spaniards learned from him that many Indians regularly came to the Musqueam on horseback, from the "flat land" in the northeast, to trade in iron, copper and Clintonia borealis for fish. The Spaniards did not visit Musqueam village but anchored two miles offshore. There they collected water from a large river. Narváez sailed a stretch towards Burrard Inlet, today's port of Vancouver . Carrasco's map not only showed Musqueam Village in Point Gray, but also other settlements in Point Atkinson (Punta de la Bodega) and others at the entrance to Howe Sound (Bocas del Carmelo), near what is now Horseshoe Bay . Narváez sailed further north along the Sunshine Coast to Texada Island before crossing to the west side of the Georgia Strait and heading for Hornby Island and Denman Island . Narváez returned to Port Discovery on July 22, 1791.

At the beginning of his journey, Narváez passed Admiralty Inlet (Ensenada de Caamaño), the inlet to Puget Sound . He planned to explore on the way back, but food supplies were scarce; so he inevitably sailed straight to Eliza's San Carlos in Port Discovery. Reloaded with food supplies from the San Carlos , he could have explored Puget Sound, but Eliza was determined to return to Notka. The Spaniards missed the chance to anticipate the British expedition of Puget Sound, which took place the following year under George Vancouver .

Eliza was impressed with Narváez's account of the size and nature of the Georgia Strait. Numerous whales have been seen in the Strait of Georgia, but few have been seen in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Eliza's speculation that the road had a second connection to the ocean proved correct. Eliza also correctly guessed that Nootka Sound was not on the mainland but on an island. Narváez couldn't scout all of the Strait of Georgia. When Narváez returned to Port Discovery, Eliza and many of his sailors were sick. He canceled additional research to return to Nootka. Eliza assigned Narváez to the San Carlos and gave Juan Carrasco the command of the Santa Saturnina for the return journey.

The ships sailed west and found Port Angeles on August 2nd, 1791. They reached Neah Bay on August 7th. From there, the San Carlos returned to Nootka Sound with Narváez on board and arrived on November 9th. Carrasco, however, was unable or unwilling to drift windward to Nootka and instead sailed the Santa Saturnina south to Monterey (California) and arrived on September 16, 1791. Alessandro Malaspina, who had arrived in Monterey five days earlier, was a powerful figure in the Spanish Navy and consequently the first after Eliza's crew to hear about the expedition to the Strait of Georgia. Malaspina immediately realized the strategic importance of further exploration. Shortly after meeting Carrasco, Malaspina sailed for San Blas and Acapulco . There he arranged for two of his own officers, Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés y Flores, to command two ships in order to fully explore the Strait of Georgia. As commander of the expedition, Eliza received credit for most of the discoveries made during the voyages of 1791. Narváez directed the ship and made the respective voyages of discovery.

Mexican War of Independence

Narváez arrived in San Blas on November 1, 1810 in command of the frigate Activo . He was ordered by frigate captain Lavayen to arm the ship for war within days and to load it with provisions in the event that a retreat was necessary. The three naval ships were the San Carlos , Activo, and Concepción , along with two merchant ships and a number of smaller vessels. Thousands of rebels surrounded San Blas and issued terms of surrender. On November 30th, the frigate captain Lavayen and nine other naval officers decided to surrender. Narváez found the Spanish position hopeless and the next morning Lavayen surrendered and San Blas fell into rebellious hands.

Within a month of the fall of San Blas, the revolutionaries suffered a heavy defeat near Guadalajara. Thereafter, the royalist army regained control of Tepic and San Blas and the other zones. In February 1811 Narváez, Lavayen and nine other officers were brought before a military tribunal. They were charged with failing to defend San Blas. All of the officers were found guilty of treason, but were acquitted of most of the lawsuits and redeemed for duty. Continuing to serve the Spanish Navy, Narváez tried several times to cleanse the stain on his reputation. A native of Spain, Narváez was considered a member of the elite colonial class known as the peninsulares (meaning from the Spanish peninsula) or gachupines . He found Mexico as his home and became increasingly interested in the goals of the revolutionary movement. Insurgents repeatedly rose up in revolt and violence in several regions. By and large, Narváez remained a royalist and served in the Navy. He was on a tour of the Philippines , then under Spanish rule in the years 1813-1814, put into service.

In 1815 Narváez took part in a blockade of the rebellious fortress of Mescala Island in Lake Chapala near Guadalajara. Royalist forces tried to take over Mescala Island, but failed at least four times and reported significant losses. The Spanish commander was Brigadier José de la Cruz, who headed the military tribunal that found Narváez guilty of treason in 1811. After the unsuccessful takeover of Mescala Island, Cruz led a "scorched earth" campaign around the lake. In 1816 the rebels finally capitulated on Mescala. In 1817 and in the spring of 1818 Narváez mapped the province of Jalisco and Lake Chapala. He also toured a new route to Guadalajara. On March 20, 1818 he was promoted to alférez de navio (ensign) in recognition of his services during the Lake Chapala campaign. By 1818, royalist forces appeased almost all of New Spain and the revolutionary movement collapsed. The young royalist captain Agustín de Iturbide formed a partnership with the rebellious general Vicente Guerrero in 1821 . They created a joint army and marched into Mexico City to proclaim independence.

Mexican Navy

With the end of Spanish rule, Narváez decided to stay in Guadalajara with his family. He accepted retirement from the Spanish Navy. In 1821 he was elected Provincial Deputy Guadalajara to the new Mexican government under Iturbide. When the Mexican Navy was founded in 1821, Narváez was appointed teniente de fragata (frigate lieutenant). In 1822 Narváez was given command of the San Carlos . He sailed from San Blas to Baja California and Alta California to set up commissions and colleges in both provinces. When he returned to San Blas in March 1823, Iturbide was overthrown. A new government was established under Antonio López de Santa Anna . Narváez was appointed commander of the department of San Blas, which he held until 1827 when the post was suspended due to financial cuts.

In 1824 and 1825 Narváez was given command of the Mexicana to survey and map the coast between the ports of San Blas and Manzanillo . In April 1825 he was promoted to capitán de fragata . Later in the year he created maps of the border areas between Louisiana and Texas for the government. In 1826 he became a founding member of a science institution, literature and art in Mexico. After 1827, Narváeza's naval position was excluded, but he continued to work for the Mexican Navy in various areas such as: B. When creating maps. He resigned in 1831 at the age of 63 and settled in Guadalajara, where he lived on a meager pension. In retirement he still made maps, sometimes the first official map of the state of Jalisco.

death

Narváez died on August 4, 1840 in Guadalajara (Mexico) . His date of birth varied in the historical record. The historian Jim McDowell brought a documented documentation for the date 1768.

monument

Sechelt's memorial plaque for Narváez.

In January 2009, Sechelt erected a plaque on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia in honor of Narváez's exploration in the Strait of Georgia in 1791. It is located at the southern end of the Davis Bay Seawall near the spot where he became the first European who gained a foothold on the mainland coast of what is now British Columbia.

Web links

• Perfil Histórico Consulate of Mexico in Vancouver , the article notes the importance of Narváez's discoveries in the region (Spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ^ "José María Narváez: European Discoverer of the Sunshine Coast"
2. ↑ Jim McDowell: José Narváez: The Forgotten Explorer . The Arthur H. Clark Company, Spokane, Washington 1998, ISBN 0-87062-265-X , pp. 15 .
3. ↑ Jim McDowell: José Narváez: The Forgotten Explorer . The Arthur H. Clark Company, Spokane, Washington 1998, ISBN 0-87062-265-X , pp. 16, 20 .
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Jim McDowell: José Narváez: The Forgotten Explorer . The Arthur H. Clark Company, Spokane, Washington 1998, ISBN 0-87062-265-X , pp. 24-31 .
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} Jim McDowell: José Narváez: The Forgotten Explorer . The Arthur H. Clark Company, Spokane, Washington 1998, ISBN 0-87062-265-X , pp. 32-40, 51 .
6. ^ ^{A b} Jim McDowell: José Narváez: The Forgotten Explorer . The Arthur H. Clark Company, Spokane, Washington 1998, ISBN 0-87062-265-X , pp. 41-45 .
7. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Jim McDowell: José Narváez: The Forgotten Explorer . The Arthur H. Clark Company, Spokane, Washington 1998, ISBN 0-87062-265-X , pp. 50-60 .
8. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Derek Pethick: The Nootka Connection: Europe and the Northwest Coast 1790-1795 . Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver 1980, ISBN 0-88894-279-6 , pp. 54-55 .
9. ^ John Kendrick: Alejandro Malaspina: Portrait of a Visionary . McGill-Queen's University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-7735-2652-8 , pp. 58-59 .
10. ↑ ^{a b c d e} "mcdowell-5"
11. ↑ ^{a b c d} Jim McDowell: José Narváez: The Forgotten Explorer . The Arthur H. Clark Company, Spokane, Washington 1998, ISBN 0-87062-265-X , pp. 87-89 .
12. ^ Dates of birth and death from: Jim McDowell: José Narváez: The Forgotten Explorer . The Arthur H. Clark Company, Spokane, Washington 1998, ISBN 0-87062-265-X , pp. 13, 89 .