First Contact
A number of both well-known and undistinguished European explorers investigated Lingít Aaní and encountered the Tlingit in the earliest days of contact. Most of these exchanges were congenial, despite European fears to the contrary. The Tlingit rather quickly appreciated the trading potential for valuable European goods and resources, and exploited this whenever possible in their early contacts. On the whole the European explorers were impressed with Tlingit wealth, but put off by what they felt was an excessive lack of hygiene. Considering that most of the explorers visited during the busy summer months when Tlingit lived in temporary camps, this impression is unsurprising. In contrast, the few explorers who were forced to spend time with the Tlingit Tribe during the inclement winters made mention of the cleanliness of Tlingit winter homes and villages.
- Bering and Chirikov (1741)
Vitus Bering was separated from Aleksei Chirikov and only reached as far east as Kayak Island. However Chirikov traveled to the western shores of the Alexander Archipelago. He lost two boats of men around Lisianski Strait at the northern end of Chichagof Island. Subsequently Chirikov encountered Tlingit whom he felt were hostile, and returned west.
- First Bucareli Expedition (1774)
Juan Josef Pérez Hernández sent by Don Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, Viceroy of New Spain, to explore to north 60 latitude in 1774. Accompanied by Fray Juan Crespí and Fr. Tomás de la Peña Suria (or Savaria). Suria executed a number of drawings that today serve as invaluable records of Tlingit life in the precolonial period.
- Second Bucareli Expedition (1775)
Lt. Bruno de Hezeta (or Heceta) commanded the expedition aboard the Santiago, with Lt. Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra leading the Sonora as second in command. Hezeta returned to Mexico shortly after a massacre by the Quinault near the Quinault River in modern Washington, but Bodega y Quadra insisted upon completing the mission to reach 60° north latitude. He traveled almost as far as Sitka, Alaska to 59° north, claimed possession of the lands he encountered for Spain, and named Mt. Edgecumbe as "Mount Jacinto". It is unclear whether the expedition ever encountered the Tlingit.
- James Cook (1778)
James Cook acquired possession of the journals of Bodega y Quadra's second commander Francisco Antonio Mourelle and of maps created from the two previous Bucareli Expeditions. This inspired him to investigate the northwest coast of America on his third voyage, in search of the Northwest Passage.
- Third Bucareli Expedition (1779)
Lt. Ignacia de Arteaga officially led this expedition in the Princesa, however Bodega y Quadra was the more experienced explorer and accompanied the expedition aboard the Favorita. They made contact and traded with the Tlingits around Bucareli Bay (Puerto de Bucareli). They also named Mount Saint Elias.
- Potap Zaikov
- La Pérouse (1786)
Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse
- George Dixon (1787)
George Dixon (captain)
- James Colnett (1788)
James Colnett
- Ismailov and Bocharov (1788)
Gerasim Izmailov and Dmitry Bocharov
- William Douglas (1788)
- Alessandro Malaspina (1791)
Alessandro Malaspina, after whom the Malaspina Glacier is named, explored the Alaskan coast as far north as Prince William Sound. His expedition made contact with the Laxhaayík Khwáan of the Yakutat area upon reaching Yakutat Bay.
- George Vancouver (1794)
George Vancouver
Read more about this topic: History Of The Tlingit
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