- Fort San Miguel
"For Angola fort, see
Fortaleza de São Miguel "Fort San Miguel was a Spanish
fortification built atFriendly Cove inNootka Sound (now Yuquot),Vancouver Island , byEsteban José Martínez in1789 . It can be considered the first colony inBritish Columbia .The fort lay near the home of
Maquinna , chief of theMowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations .On May 15, 1789 Martinez chose the location of his fortification at the entrance of Friendly Cove on Hog Island. Work progressed so that on May 26 they were able to place their artillery followed by the construction of barracks and a powder storeroom. On June 24, 1789 a salvo was fired from the new fort and the Spanish ships in what Martínez considered an official act of possession of Nootka Harbour. On July 4, the American vessels and their captains Gray and Kendrick (who had arrived in the harbour 7 months earlier than Martinez) fired salvos and fireworks in recognition of their recent independence from Britain accompanied by a further salvo from the Spanish fort.Cite book | last =Thurman | first =Michael E. | title =The Naval Department of San Blas, New Spain's Bastion of Alta California and Nootka 1767 to 1798 | place=Glendale, California | publisher =The Arthur H. Clark Company | year =1967 | location =Glendale, California ] rp|288
On July 29, 1789 new orders arrived from Viceroy Flores directing Maritinez to abandon the station and return to San Blas. The artillery from the fort was loaded back aboard the "Princesa" and he left Friendly Cove on October 30, 1789.rp|295
The fort was rebuilt one year later, in
1790 , byPere d'Alberní i Teixidor , a Spanish soldier fromTortosa (Catalonia ), who served the Spanish Crown in theFirst Free Company of Volunteers of Catalonia along with 80 other men of the same origin. They arrived to the region in theFrancisco de Eliza 's expedition. The Catalan volunteers left the fort in1792 . In1795 it was finally abandoned after theNootka Convention came in force. Its remnants, including of its kitchen garden, were still visible whenJohn R. Jewitt , an English captive of Maquinna, lived there in 1803-1805. [ "A Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt, only survivor of the crew of the ship Boston, during a captivity of nearly three years among the savages of Nootka Sound: with an account of the manners, mode of living, and religious opinions of the natives." [http://www.canadiana.org/ECO/mtq?id=328920feff&doc=90038 digital full text here] ]ee also
*
History of British Columbia
*Nootka Crisis
*Nootka Convention References
Further reading
* [http://www.vancouverisland.com/Regions/towns/?townID=4060 Information about Friendly Cove and its history] from [http://www.vancouverisland.com VancouverIsland.com]
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