ABSTRACT
He took part in Cook’s second and third voyages, at the end of which he had risen to become a commissioned officer. In 1781 he was appointed to the Fame, 74, and was engaged at the battle of the Saintes (1782). In 1789 his captain recommended him as second-in-command of a new expedition to the South Seas. For this purpose he was supervising the fitting out of a new Discovery, when the affair of Nootka Sound blew up with Spain. When it died down, it was decided to send an officer to take back formally the disputed territory, and Vancouver, now a Commander, was sent, in the Discovery.
