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.
3Recriminations 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.