John Meares facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Meares
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Lieutenant John Meares. From an engraving after the picture by W. Beechey in Meares' Voyages.
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| Born | c. 1756 |
| Died | 29 January 1809 |
John Meares (born around 1756 – died 1809) was an English sailor, explorer, and fur trader. He is most famous for his part in the Nootka Crisis. This event almost caused a war between Britain and Spain.
Contents
Early Life and Career Beginnings
John Meares' father, Charles Meares, was a well-known lawyer in Dublin, Ireland. In 1771, John Meares joined the Royal Navy. He became a lieutenant in 1778.
After leaving the Navy in 1783, Meares began working in merchant shipping. In 1785, he started the Northwest America Company in India. His goal was to trade for sea otter furs with the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. He planned to sell these furs in China.
However, the East India Company had a special right, called a monopoly, to control all British trade in the Pacific. This meant British traders needed a license from them and had to pay fees. Meares did not get a license. Instead, he tried to hide his illegal trading by using the flag of Portugal. He registered his ships in Macau, a Portuguese colony in China. This way, his ships did not need a license from the East India Company.
First Pacific Voyage and Challenges
On March 12, 1786, Meares sailed from Calcutta in a ship called the Nootka. He explored part of the coast of Alaska. He spent the winter of 1786–1787 in Prince William Sound. His supplies were very low. Many of his men suffered from the cold weather and scurvy, a serious illness caused by lack of vitamin C.
Twenty-three of his men died from scurvy. The remaining ten were saved when Captain George Dixon arrived. Dixon was a British trader who had proper licenses and supplies. Meares promised Dixon he would never trade in the Northwest again. He then returned to China by way of the Sandwich Islands.
Meares later sued Dixon, claiming Dixon had charged him too much for the supplies that saved his life. This showed he was not grateful to Dixon.
Second Expedition to Nootka Sound
In 1788, Meares broke his promise to Dixon. He started a new expedition with two ships and more false papers. The ships sailed under the Portuguese flag. They were named the Felice Adventurero (captain Meares) and the Iphigenia Nubiana (captain William Douglas).
They left China on January 22, 1788. In May, they reached Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island. Meares used Nootka Sound as his main base. That summer, he traded for furs along the coasts of what are now British Columbia and Washington. He sailed as far south as Cape Lookout. He missed seeing the Columbia River at Cape Disappointment.
Meares later said that Maquinna, a chief of the Nuu-chah-nulth people, sold him some land at Friendly Cove in Nootka Sound. He claimed he paid for the land with pistols and other trade goods. He also said a building was put up on this land. These claims became very important in Britain's arguments during the Nootka Crisis.
Spain strongly disagreed with Meares' claims. The true facts are still not fully clear. Chief Maquinna later said Meares was lying and denied selling him any land.
However, it is true that Meares' men, along with Chinese workers they brought, built a small ship called the North West America. It was launched in September 1788. This was the first non-Indigenous ship ever built in the Pacific Northwest.
In September, Meares sailed the Felice Adventurero back to China. The Iphigenia Nubiana and North West America stayed in the Hawaiian Islands for the winter. While on the island of Kauai, Meares took a Hawaiian chief named Tianna (Kaʻiana) aboard his ship. He took Tianna to Guangzhou (Canton), China. There, Meares found a Hawaiian woman named Wynee. She had been left there by another captain.
Meares eventually took Tianna back to his homeland. Sadly, Wynee died of illness on the way home. Wynee and Tianna are thought to be the first two Hawaiians to travel abroad.
Later, Meares got hold of another captain's maps and journal. This captain's wife later wrote that Meares "stole" her husband's discoveries. She said he published them as his own and made up lies about her husband.
During the winter of 1788–89, Meares was in Guangzhou, China. He and others formed a new trading group. They planned for more ships to sail to the Pacific Northwest in 1789. These included the Princess Royal and the Argonaut. Meares put James Colnett in charge of the whole operation. Meares told Colnett to set up a permanent fur trading post at Nootka Sound. Meares himself stayed in China.
The Nootka Crisis Begins
While the British traders were getting ready, Spain was trying to secure its control over the Pacific Northwest. Spain was worried about Russia's activities in Alaska. In 1788, a Spanish explorer named Esteban José Martínez learned that the Russians planned to build a fort at Nootka Sound. This, along with the growing number of British fur traders, made Spain decide to claim the northwest coast once and for all.
Spain planned to colonize Nootka Sound. They hoped to control the entire coast as far north as the Russian posts in Prince William Sound. The Viceroy of New Spain, Manuel Antonio Flórez, told Martínez to take over Nootka Sound. He was to build a structure there and make it clear that Spain was formally establishing its presence.
Martínez arrived at Nootka Sound on May 5, 1789. He found three ships already there. One was Meares' Iphigenia Nubiana. Martínez seized the ship and arrested its captain, William Douglas. After a few days, Martínez released Douglas and his ship. He ordered him to leave and not come back. Douglas obeyed. The other two ships were American.
Over the summer, more ships arrived. Martínez seized all the ships belonging to Meares' company. He said they were breaking Spanish rules for trade and travel on the coast. The North West America was renamed Santa Saturnina. It was later used by José María Narváez to explore the Strait of Georgia in 1791.
When Meares heard about the seized ships in China, he sailed to England. He arrived in April 1790. He confirmed the rumors and claimed he had bought land and built a settlement at Nootka before Martínez. He made people in England very angry at Spain.
He gave a report to the government, making his settlement in Nootka Sound seem more important than it was. He also exaggerated the money his company had lost. In May, the British Parliament discussed the issue. The Royal Navy began preparing for war. Britain sent an ultimatum to Spain. Without support from France, Spain had to agree to Britain's demands. The agreement, called the Nootka Convention, led to George Vancouver's famous voyage in HMS Discovery.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1790, Meares published a book called Voyages Made in the Years 1788 and 1789, from China to the North West Coast of America. This book became very popular, especially because of the Nootka Crisis. Meares not only described his trips but also shared a big idea. He imagined a new trade network in the Pacific. This network would connect places like the Pacific Northwest, China, Japan, Hawaii, and England.
Meares argued that the powerful East India Company and the South Sea Company should lose some of their control over British trade in the Pacific. His idea for a global trade network eventually happened, but only after the long Napoleonic Wars ended.
Meares' book also caused arguments. His criticisms of George Dixon led Dixon to publish his own writings. Dixon accused Meares of taking credit for discoveries made by others. Meares also claimed that Captain Robert Gray had sailed all the way around Vancouver Island. Gray himself said this was not true. Later explorations by Captain George Vancouver also showed that some of Meares' claims were incorrect. Still, Meares' claims helped Britain in its negotiations over land in Oregon and British Columbia.
Not much is known about Meares' life after the Nootka dispute was settled. He was promoted to the rank of commander in the Navy in 1795. He married Mary Anne Guilleband in 1796. Meares lived in Bath after retiring from the Navy. He also owned property in Jamaica. John Meares died in Bath on January 29, 1809.
Places Named After Meares
Several places in the Pacific Northwest are named after John Meares:
- Cape Meares, Oregon
- Meares Island, British Columbia
- Meares Point, British Columbia
- Meares Bluff, British Columbia
- Meares Glacier, Alaska
- Meares Passage, Alaska
- Meares Island, Alaska
- Meares Point, Alaska
- Port Meares, Alaska
- Felice Island, British Columbia, named for Meares' ship
- Felice Strait, Alaska, also named for Meares' ship
