Territorial Timeline

Captain Cook discovered and claimed Cape Flattery on the Olympic Peninsula for England

On Sunday, March 22, 1778, Captain James Cook, in search of the Northwest Passage, reached Cape Flattery on the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula and established British claims to the region. Captain Cook’s stories of the abundance of sea otters start the first "fur rush" of trappers and traders to the Pacific Northwest.

During two previous voyages, British Captain James Cook explored the South Pacific and much of Australia and New Zealand, and circumnavigated the world. On his third voyage, Cook sailed from England to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). Then he traveled to the northwest coast of North America in the hope of finding the fabled "Northwest Passage" that would link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the north. On Sunday, March 22, 1778, he reached Cape Flattery on the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula and the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but before Cook could investigate, he was driven out to sea by a storm. When he returned to land, he entered Nootka Sound, located two-thirds of the way up Vancouver Island. Cook remained at Nootka for a month and then continued north, exploring and mapping the coast of Russian America (Alaska) until ice forced him to turn back.

Captain Cook returned to the Sandwich Islands for the winter where natives killed him. Cook's explorations convinced him that no "Northwest Passage” existed. However, the record of his voyage created a sensation in England and in the "Thirteen Colonies" when word of his voyage and discoveries were published. The published stories of readily available furs along the coast resulted in a "fur rush" to the northwest coast.