Madness, Betrayal and the Lash

The Epic Voyage of Captain George Vancouver

De: Stephen R. Bown

Narrado por: Joe Barrett

From 1792 to 1795, George Vancouver sailed the Pacific as the captain of his own expedition and as an agent of imperial ambition. To map a place is to control it, and Britain had its eyes on America's Pacific coast. And map it Vancouver did. His voyage was one of history's greatest feats of maritime daring, discovery, and diplomacy, and his marine survey of Hawaii and the Pacific coast was at its time the most comprehensive ever undertaken. But just two years after returning to Britain, the forty-year-old Vancouver, hounded by critics, shamed by public humiliation at the fists of an aristocratic sailor he had flogged, and blacklisted because of a perceived failure to follow the Admiralty's directives, died in poverty, nearly forgotten. In this riveting and perceptive biography, historian Stephen Bown delves into the events that destroyed Vancouver's reputation and restores his position as one of the greatest explorers of the Age of Discovery.

©2008 Stephen R. Bown (P)2024 Tantor

Missing story about discovery of Puget Sound

Enjoyed the story and history of this epic expedition but was quite disappointed there was no reference to nor stories about their discovery and exploration of present day Puget Sound. As someone who lives today on Puget Sound - and on which the present day Seattle metropolitan area exceeds 3 million people - I was expecting to learn much about their discovery of the Sound and their encounters with the natives of the day. But I think there was only one mention in the book by name only of Puget Sound. I will be looking for a better book to provide history and insights to Vancouver’s discovery of Puget Sound.

Little mention of Vancouver’s achievements

It was a fairly boring story about a great man and maritime epoch. Mostly just a list of events etc

Excellent History: The mapping of the West Coast

One of the most interesting books I have read/listened to regarding early exploration.
We all know the name of Vancouver. But who was he and what did he do? This book provides an excellent account of his history and what he achieved during his brief life. The book deals primarily with the mapping of the West coast of North America over several years (1791-1795) and the Captain's round the world travel.
The book also provides the history of the Spanish interests in present day Vancouver Island and Captain Vancouver's dealing with the Kingdoms of Hawaii.
After reading/listening to this excellent history, I have a new found appreciation of Vancouver and the history of that particular time.
Thanks to Audible for making the recording available.