Friendly Cove, or Yuquot
Map
This cove is located on the southeast end of Nootka Island, which is nestled into the west coast of Vancouver Island. The cove looks out to Nootka Sound. From the 1774, when Spanish Captain Juan Pérez—who named it Santa Cruz at the time—first anchored there, but did not touch land, this area served as a locus of European and Indigenous political, social, and cultural exchange.1
Among Yuquot's credits, it was there in 1792 that Spanish Captain Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra seduced Captain Vancouver with charm and polite perseverance,2 which ultimately deferred the territorial stalemate between Spain and Britain back to their respective governments, likely abating the area from, and for some time the region, the effects of European entrenchment.3
This protracted and seminal meeting was no doubt tempered by Yuquot's famous Nuu-chah-nulth chief Muquinna, who hosted and entertained the captains during their lengthy talks; Muquinna also held sway over the fur-trade business in the region.4
Today, this history-rich cove is home to the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation.5
  • 1. Andrew Scott, The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names (Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 2009), 211.
  • 2. Janet R. Fireman, The Seduction of George Vancouver: A Nootka Affair, JSTOR, 428.
  • 3. Charles Lillard, Seven Shillings a Year: The History of Vancouver Island (Ganges, BC: Horsdal & Schubart, 1986), 48-50.
  • 4. Scott, Raincoast Placenames, 211.
  • 5. Yuquot, Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation.
Mentions of this place in the documents