Fort San Miguel
| Fort San Miguel | |
|---|---|
| Yuquot, Nootka Island, near Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada | |
| Coordinates | 49°35′30″N 126°36′56″W / 49.59163°N 126.615458°WCoordinates: 49°35′30″N 126°36′56″W / 49.59163°N 126.615458°W |
| Type | fortification, colony |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Spanish |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1789 |
| In use | 1789-1795 |
| Garrison information | |
| Past commanders |
Pedro de Alberni |
| Garrison | Free Company of Volunteers of Catalonia, First Company |
Fort San Miguel was a Spanish fortification at Yuquot (formerly Friendly Cove) on Nootka Island, just west of north-central Vancouver Island. It protected the Spanish settlement, called Santa Cruz de Nuca, the first colony in British Columbia.
It was first built by Esteban José Martínez in 1789 but dismantled in October of that year. It was then rebuilt and enlarged in 1790 then Nootka Sound was reoccupied by Francisco de Eliza. The fort was essentially an artillery land battery for the defence of the harbour and buildings. The Spanish settlement, called Santa Cruz de Nuca, was the first colony in British Columbia.
The fort lay near the home of Maquinna, chief of the Mowachaht group, who are now in the joint Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations band government with the Muchalaht at Gold River nearby on Vancouver Island.
On May 15, 1789 Martínez chose the location of his fortification at the entrance of Friendly Cove on Hog Island. Work progressed so that on May 26 they were able to place their artillery followed by the construction of barracks and a powder storeroom. On June 24, 1789 a salvo was fired from the new fort and the Spanish ships in what Martínez considered an official act of possession of Nootka Harbour. On July 4, the American vessels and their captains Gray and Kendrick (who had arrived in the harbour 7 months earlier than Martínez) fired salvos and fireworks in recognition of their recent independence from Britain accompanied by a further salvo from the Spanish fort.
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Wikipedia