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3.2.11.wavCook's explorations contributed significantly to the understanding and mapping of Alaskan geography. His 1776 to 1779 voyage also started a British-Alaska fur trade. On the way back to England, Cook's ships stopped at the port of Macao on China's seacoast. Sea otter pelts the British sailors had traded from Alaskan Natives brought high prices from the Chinese. Soon, British traders were frequenting Alaskan waters and competing with the Russians.
Another notable English explorer in Alaskan waters was George Vancouver, who had served on Cook's second and third voyages. Over three years, from 1792 to 1794, he completed a meticulous survey of the Pacific coast from San Francisco to Cook Inlet. These charts were so complete and precise that they would remain the best coast maps into the 20th century.
Reports of Cook's successful trading of furs in China also brought the first American traders to the Pacific Northwest. After reading Cook's Journals, American merchants financed two voyages in 1787 and 1790 to trade for furs along the North Pacific coast. These voyages, led by Captain Robert Gray, became the first American circumnavigation of the world. Gray also discovered and named the Columbia River. In the following decades, American traders would become increasingly involved in Alaska.
Robert Gray
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