During the war scare with Spain that resulted from the arrest of the British fur traders at Nootka Sound, plans were made for a small party of convicts and marines to be sent from New South Wales to make a subsidiary settlement on the Northwest Coast: one of the ships to be used for this task was to have been the Discovery, which Vancouver afterwards commanded during his expedition. Proposals to establish a British settlement on the Northwest Coast had been discussed in commercial and official circles in the 1780s, encouraged by the success of the similar project at Botany Bay and Norfolk Island. Vancouver understood from the discussions he had with ministers and officials in London prior to his departure that his task was to receive back from the Spanish commander at Nootka Sound land and property that had been confiscated from the British fur traders in July 1789 and to establish a formal British presence there to support and promote the fur trade. Vancouver returned to Discovery as the expedition's commander. The Spanish backed down from their earlier stance in the Nootka Sound Convention, whose terms resulted in inconsistent instructions for the British and Spanish officers sent to implement them. Roberts and Vancouver left Discovery to serve in the Channel Fleet while Discovery became a depot ship for processing those taken in by the press gang. Although it is now known that his claims of loss were somewhat exaggerated, Britain had recently waged war against Spain and seemed ready to resume hostilities Parliament readied the fleet in the Nootka Crisis. Plans changed when the adventurer John Meares reported that the Spanish had impounded his ship and seized hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of goods at Nootka Sound. Her captain was Henry Roberts and Vancouver his 1st Lieutenant. A new ship was purchased, fitted out, and named HMS Discovery after one of Cook's ships. Britain was especially interested in improving its knowledge of the Southern Pacific whale fisheries, and in particular the location of the strategically positioned Australia, New Zealand, the legendary Isla Grande, and the Northwest Passage. Several previous voyages of exploration including those of Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook, and the Spanish Manila-Acapulco galleons trade route active since 1565, had established the strategic and commercial value of exploring and claiming the Pacific Ocean access, both for its wealth in whales and furs and as a trade route to the " Orient". The expedition at various times included between two and four vessels, and up to 153 men, all but 6 of whom returned home safely. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continents. The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. A likely portrait of George Vancouver, c.
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