Product Description
From internationally recognized author and historian Barry Gough, here is another riveting history of exploration on the high seas. . The tale begins in sixteenth-century Venice, when explorer Juan de Fuca encountered English merchant Michael Lok and relayed a fantastic story of a marine passageway that connected the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This tale would be the catalyst for centuries of dreaming and exacerbate English and Spanish rivalry. The search for the fabled Northwest Passage inspired explorers to seek out fame, adventure, knowledge and riches. Likewise, the empires of Spain and Great Britain were impelled by the hopes of finding a naval trade route that would connect Europe to Asia, thus securing their dominance over the other as an economic power. The story of the Northwest Passage is one of significant figures and great empires, jostling for a distant corner of North America. Gough delves into diplomatic records, narratives of explorers and commercial aspirants and court documents to illuminate the journeys of Martin Frobisher, James Cook, Francis Drake, Manuel Quimper, José María Narváez and George Vancouver among others. A sea venture tied up with piracy, political loyalty and betrayal, all bound in a web of international intrigue, Juan de Fucas Strait is an indispensable contribution to the history of discovery on the Northwest Coast.
