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Description
During the summers of 1792-94, George Vancouver and the crew of the British naval ships Discovery and Chatham mapped the northwest coast of North America from Baja California to Alaska. Taking the art and technique of distant voyaging to a new level, Vancouver eliminated the possibility of a northwest passage and his remarkably precise surveys completed the outline of the Pacific. But to map an area is to appropriate it – to begin to bring it under control – and Vancouver’s charts of the northwest coast were part of a process of economic exploitation and cultural disruption. The chapters in this illuminating book are written from a variety of perspectives and provide new insights on many aspects of Vancouver’s voyages, from the technology employed to the complex political and power relationships among European explorers and the Native leadership.
About the Authors
Robin Fisher is a Canadian historian and academic. He is the author of Contact and Conflict (UBC Press, 1992), a book tracing Indigenous and settler relationships. Robin is a scholar studying the history of BC—in particular, Indigenous-European relations. Fisher lives in Nanaimo, BC.
Robin Fisher is a Canadian historian and academic. He is the author of Contact and Conflict (UBC Press, 1992), a book tracing Indigenous and settler relationships. Robin is a scholar studying the history of BC—in particular, Indigenous-European relations. Fisher lives in Nanaimo, BC.
Contributor Notes
Robin Fisher is a historian and the former provost and vice president academic of Mount Royal University. He previously served as the dean of the College of Arts, Social and Health Sciences at the University of Northern British Columbia. He is the author of Vancouver's Voyage (1992); Contact and Conflict: Indian-European Relations in British Columbia, 1774-1890 (UBC Press 1974, 1992); and Duff Pattullo of British Columbia (1991), among other books. Hugh J.M. Johnston is an historian affiliated with Simon Fraser University. He is the author of several books including Jewels of the Qila: The Remarkable Story of an Indo-Canadian Family (UBC Press, 2011) and The Voyage of the Komagata Maru: The Sikh Challenge to Canada's Colour Bar (UBC Press, 1989).
Editorial Reviews
A successful edited collection is more than the sum of its chapters; as well as a set of fine separate discussions of disparate topics, From Maps to Metaphors is a model of contemporary scholarship, with its foregrounded, self-conscious awareness of the location of scholars and their sources in time and place, as well as in personal and cultural experiences.
— Margaret Anderson, University of Northern British Columbia Book Corner
This is a solid work, and none of its chapters should be dismissed. The authors of From Maps to Metaphors succeed in their attempts to illustrate multiple perspectives regarding the onset of the colonial presence in the Pacific.
— Annals of the Association of American Geographers
We are indebted to the editors and UBC Press for publishing these excellent papers from the Vancouver conference for the conference brought together superlative scholars on Vancouver which attracted conference participants from all over the world. It must have been difficult to choose the papers that make up this volume.
— B.C. Historical News
Out of print
This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.
