Fenis and St. Joseph facts for kids

The Fenis and St. Joseph, also known as the São João e Fénix, was a 50-foot brig, a type of sailing ship. It visited Nootka Sound in 1792. The ship was also described as a small, open boat with only 14 crew members. Even though it flew a Portuguese flag, possibly from Macau, and had a Portuguese captain named João de Barros Andrade, an Englishman named Robert Duffin was on board. Duffin was the supercargo, meaning he managed the ship's cargo and trade.

Duffin worked with John Meares, who often used Portuguese flags for British fur trading trips. This helped them avoid paying for special trading permits from the East India Company. It's likely that Duffin was actually in charge of the Fenis and St. Joseph.

Trading for Furs

The Fenis and St. Joseph spent part of the summer of 1792 near the Queen Charlotte Islands. Here, they traded with the local indigenous people for sea otter pelts (furs). On August 12, 1792, another ship, the Adventure, led by Robert Haswell, met the Fenis and St. Joseph near Masset.

Nootka Sound and Important Talks

In mid-September, the Fenis and St. Joseph arrived at Nootka Sound. They had collected about 700 sea otter pelts. At this time, important talks were happening between George Vancouver and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra. They were discussing how to follow the First Nootka Convention. This agreement came from the Nootka Crisis of 1789, a disagreement over land and trading rights.

Duffin's Statement

Robert Duffin had been at Nootka Sound during key moments of the Nootka Crisis. Because of this, Vancouver quickly asked him to give a sworn statement about what happened in 1789. Duffin's report was different from what Robert Gray and Joseph Ingraham had said. Bodega y Quadra had been using Gray's and Ingraham's statements to weaken Vancouver's position in the talks.

Gray and Ingraham had sworn that Meares never bought any land from the local chief, Maquinna. But Duffin said Meares had actually bought all of Friendly Cove. This point was very important. It would decide if Bodega y Quadra would give the Spanish settlement at Nootka Sound to Vancouver.

Maquinna's Reply

Vancouver seemed to have doubts about Duffin's story. Still, he told Bodega about this new information. Bodega dismissed it, saying Duffin couldn't be fair about the matter. In response, Bodega asked Chief Maquinna for a formal statement. Maquinna was the chief from whom Meares supposedly bought the land.

Maquinna spoke to a group at Bodega's house. This group included Barros Andrade, the captain of the Fenis and St. Joseph, and others who would be witnesses. Maquinna clearly denied selling any land to Meares. He said he had only sold a small piece of land in Marvinas Bay to the American John Kendrick. He also said he had given the land at Friendly Cove to Francisco de Eliza, where the Spanish settlement now stood. But he gave it on the condition that the land would be returned when the Spanish left.

Because of the different statements from Duffin and Maquinna, the talks between Vancouver and Bodega stopped completely.

Journey After Nootka Sound

The Fenis and St. Joseph played an important part in the Vancouver Expedition. The brig left Nootka Sound on October 1, 1792. It sailed for China. On board was Vancouver's lieutenant, Zachary Mudge. He carried copies of journals, maps, and reports from Vancouver to the British government. These reports were about the diplomatic problem that had developed.

Meeting Other Ships

On October 28, 1792, the brig met the Columbia Rediviva at sea. The two ships and their commanders met again in the Hawaiian Islands. There, Captain Haswell personally met Mudge.

After meeting Haswell, the ship sailed to Macao, where Mudge got off. From Macao, the Fenis and St. Joseph went to Madras under a new captain named Moore. It arrived in April 1793. Mudge traveled from Canton on another ship, the Lord Macartney, in January 1793. He arrived in England in June. The Fenis and St. Joseph did not return to the Pacific coast.