Friendly Cove, or Yuquot
This cove is located on the southeast end of
Nootka Island, which is nestled into the west coast of
Vancouver Island. The cove looks out to
Nootka Sound. From the 1774, when Spanish
Captain Juan Pérez—who named it Santa Cruz at the time—first anchored there, but did not touch land,
this area served as a locus of European and Indigenous political, social, and cultural
exchange.
1Among Yuquot's credits, it was there in 1792 that Spanish
Captain Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra seduced
Captain Vancouver with charm and polite perseverance,
2 which ultimately deferred the territorial stalemate between Spain and Britain back
to their respective governments, likely abating the area from, and for some time the
region, the effects of European entrenchment.
3This protracted and seminal meeting was no doubt tempered by Yuquot's famous Nuu-chah-nulth
chief
Muquinna, who hosted and entertained the captains during their lengthy talks;
Muquinna also held sway over the fur-trade business in the region.
4Today, this history-rich cove is home to the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation.5
- 1. Andrew Scott, The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Placenames (Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 2009), 211.
- 2. Janet R. Fireman, The Seduction of George Vancouver: A Nootka Affair, JSTOR, 428.
- 3. Charles Lillard, Seven Shillings a Year: The History of Vancouver Island (Ganges, BC: Horsdal & Schubart, 1986), 48-50.
- 4. Scott, Raincoast Placenames, 211.
- 5. Yuquot, Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation.