At the Far Reaches of Empire: The Life of Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra

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Description

Capitán de Navío Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra used to be an important Spanish naval officer at the Northwest Coast within the eighteenth century. Serving from 1774 to 1794, he participated within the seek for the Northwest Passage and, with George Vancouver, endeavoured to forge a diplomatic resolution to the Nootka Sound controversy between Spain and Britain.

Freeman Tovell’s thorough and nuanced study presents this officer of Spain’s Enlightened Navy as a key figure within the history of the region. Intelligent, observant, and literate, Bodega received high praise from the viceroys of New Spain under whom he served. His enlightened policy toward the Nuu-chah-nulth and his close association with Chief Maquinna are a matter of record.

Bodega used to be not without his imperfections — when his overarching ambition to make a name for himself exceeded his financial reach, he incurred ruinous debts. As a Peruvian creole, he also struggled against the glass ceiling imposed by having been born out of doors Spain. In spite of constant efforts for promotions, he never gained the full recognition from naval and political superiors that his achievements deserved.

Bodega’s accomplishments place him within the company of Bering, Cook, Vancouver, La Pérouse, and Malaspina — folks who advanced a greater understanding of the geography, ethnography, and natural history of the area. Probably the most complete study of Bodega and his epoch yet written, At the Far Reaches of Empire is an absorbing narrative of eighteenth-century empire building.

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