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====Vancouver Expedition====
{{Main|Vancouver Expedition}}
Departing England with two ships, HMS ''Discovery'' and {{HMS|Chatham|1788|6}}, on 1 April 1791, Vancouver commanded an expedition charged with exploring the Pacific region. In its first year the expedition travelled to Cape Town, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Hawaii (then known as the Sandwich Islands), collecting botanical samples and surveying coastlines along the way. He formally claimed at Possession Point, [[King George Sound]] Western Australia, now the town of [[Albany, Western Australia]] for the British. Proceeding to North America, Vancouver followed the coasts of present-day [[Oregon]] and Washington northward. In April 1792 he encountered American Captain [[Robert Gray (sea-captain)|Robert Gray]] off the coast of Oregon just prior to Gray's sailing up the [[Robert Gray's Columbia River expedition|Columbia River]].
Vancouver entered the [[Strait of Juan de Fuca]], between [[Vancouver Island]] and the present-day Washington state mainland, on 29 April 1792. His orders included a survey of every inlet and outlet on the west coast of the mainland, all the way north to Alaska. Most of this work was in small craft propelled by both sail and oar; manoeuvring larger sail-powered vessels in uncharted waters was generally impractical and dangerous.
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