Nootka Sound

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For other uses of the word Nootka, see Nootka (disambiguation).

Nootka Sound is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean and a natural harbour on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island. The mouth of the sound was sighted in 1774 by Juan Pérez, a Spanish explorer. In March 1778, Captain James Cook of the Royal Navy became the first European to land in that region, when he visited Friendly Cove on Nootka Island. While anchoring in Resolution Cove on Bligh Island, across from Friendly Cove, the natives hollered "itchme nutka, itchme nutka", meaning "go around" (to Yuquot), but Cook misinterpreted their calls, believing the name of the area to be Nootka.

John Meares, the British explorer, established a temporary trading post on Nootka Sound in 1788. Its seizure by Spaniards in 1789 became the subject of a controversy between Spain and England over claims in the region. The third Nootka Convention resolved the dispute in 1794¹^,².

The sound is named after those people indigenous to the area, the Nuu-chah-nulth, who were once referred to as the Nootka. The Spanish form of the name is Nuca.

[edit] References

Manning, William Ray. The Nootka Sound Controversy. Part XVI of the Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1904, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905, pp. 279-478. Reprint: Ann Arbor: University Microfilms Inc., 1966.

Harboard, Heather. Nootka Sound and the Surrounding Waters of Maquinna. Surrey: Heritage House Publishing Company Limited, 1996. ISBN 1-895811-03-1.

Jones, Laurie. Nootka Sound Explored. Campbell River: Ptarmigan Press, 1991. ISBN 0-919537-24-3.

[edit] Notes

Note 1: The Department of National Defence: Canadian Military Heritage. Evacuation of Nootka. Retrieved 25 March 2005.
Note 2: City of Nanaimo (2004). Timeline of Nanaimo (PDF). Retrieved 25 March 2005.