Courtenay, Captain George William Conway
George William Conway Courtenay was born in 1795 and entered the Royal Navy at the age of ten. By 1828 he had reached the rank of captain.1
He began service as British consul in Haiti in 1832 and later negotiated a treaty for the suppression of the slave trade.2 After returning to naval service, he assumed command of the frigate HMS Constance in 1847 and made a survey of Vancouver Island coal deposits the following year.3
Recriminations on both sides concerning military support were incurred when Courtenay failed to meet James Douglas, the chief factor, because of his travel schedule. Nevertheless, Courtenay praised the resources of the island.4
  • 1. William O'Byrne, A Naval Biographical Dictionary (London: John Murray, 1849), 234; Peter Davis, George William Conway Courtenay R.N., William Loney RN—Background.
  • 2. O'Byrne, A Naval Biographical Dictionary, 234; S. T. Bindoff, E. F. Malcolm-Smith, Charles K. Webster, British Diplomatic Representatives, 1789-1852 (London: Offices of the Society, 1934), 63-64.
  • 3. Peter Davis, George William Conway Courtenay R.N., William Loney RN—Background; B. M. Gough, The Royal Navy and the Northwest Coast of North America, 1810-1914: A Study of British Maritime Ascendancy (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1971), 101-02.
  • 4. Gough, 88; H. Bowsfield, ed., Fort Victoria Letters, 1846-1851, (Winnipeg: HBC Record Society, 1979), 27-28.
Mentions of this person in the documents
People in this document

Douglas, Sir James

Vessels in this document

HMS Constance, 1846-1875

Places in this document

Vancouver Island

The Colonial Despatches Team. Courtenay, Captain George William Conway. The Colonial Despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871, Edition 2.0, ed. The Colonial Despatches Team. Victoria, B.C.: University of Victoria. https://bcgenesis.uvic.ca/courtenay.html.

Last modified: 2020-03-30 13:22:16 -0700 (Mon, 30 Mar 2020) (SVN revision: 4193)