The Northwest Coast documents Britain's rise to pre-eminence in this far-flung corner of the empire. It shows how the relentless activities of its commercial interests, the adroit use of its naval power, and the steely resolve of its diplomats secured British claims to dominion and rights to trade along the Northwest Coast. Written by a leading maritime scholar and based on fresh research into known manuscripts and printed works on Pacific trade and exploration, this book incorporates new interpretations on exploration and commercial activity in this area.

Barry M. Gough's profile page

Barry M. Gough is a professor in the department of history at Wilfrid Laurier University.

... readers will be impressed with the thorough and readable descriptions of adventurous merchants, official explorers and statesman like imperial visions. there is no hesitation in recommending this book most enthusiastically. It is the assured work of a scholar who has mastered his subject after years of study, and a brief review cannot begin to do it justice. - Paul Webb, The Northern Mariner This is an important work, indispensable to any collection of Canadiana, British Columbian, or Pacific Northwest history. - W. Michael Mathes, University of San Francisco B.C. Studies In Gough's pages we follow in the wake of the three masted ship; tool of empire and harbinger of British dominion of the Pacific. - David L. Nicandri, Alaska History