Defence Islands
Encyclopedia
The Defence Islands are two small islands in Howe Sound
, British Columbia
, Canada
, located northeast of Anvil Island
and in the northern reaches of that sound near Porteau Cove. The easterly and smaller of the two comprises Defence Island Indian Reserve No. 28, 1.7 ha., the westerly comprises the Kwum Kwum Indian Reserve (unnumbered), 6.20 ha. Both are under the administration of the Squamish Nation.
Howe Sound
Howe Sound is a roughly triangular sound, actually a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver.-Geography:Howe Sound's mouth at the Strait of Georgia is situated between West Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast. The sound is triangular shaped, open on its southeast towards the...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, located northeast of Anvil Island
Anvil Island
Anvil Island, also often called Hat Island, is the third-largest of the islands in Howe Sound, British Columbia, Canada, and the northernmost of the major islands in that sound. It is located northeast of Gambier Island and southwest of Britannia Beach and west of Porteau Cove. The Defence...
and in the northern reaches of that sound near Porteau Cove. The easterly and smaller of the two comprises Defence Island Indian Reserve No. 28, 1.7 ha., the westerly comprises the Kwum Kwum Indian Reserve (unnumbered), 6.20 ha. Both are under the administration of the Squamish Nation.
Name origin
"Named c1860 by Captain Richards, RN, after HMS DefenceHMS DefenceSeveral ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Defence:* Defence, launched in 1763, fought in many battles in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars....
, 74 guns, under Captain James Gambier, engaged in Earl Howe's victory of "the Glorious First of JuneGlorious First of JuneThe Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
" 1794, when the Defence had the distinguished honour of first passing though the enemy's line... After serving at the NileBattle of the NileThe Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
, at TrafalgarBattle of TrafalgarThe Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
and in the Baltic she was driven ashore on the coast of Jutland by a terrific gale, 23 December 1811, and all of her 600 men perished but five."