In the 1770s the realization that sea otter pelts from the pacific northwest were fetching high prices in China led to an absolute bonanza of trading expeditions into the largely unexplored region. For many, the pacific northwest was one of the farthest places on the planet to reach. Yet, over the course of the last decades of the 18th century the pacific northwest became a collision of cultures and empires: from various Indigenous groups to European imperial spearheads, to an American republic, a variety of characters arrived in the region to chase their financial dreams. It was a place of danger and discovery and a place that could make or break one’s fortune. 

Book recommendation: Pacific Voyages: The Story of Sail in the Great Ocean by Gordon Miller published by Douglas and Mcintyre in 2023

https://douglas-mcintyre.com/products/9781771623476

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