John Henry Cox
Encyclopedia
John Henry Cox charted Great Oyster Bay
Maria Island
and Marion Bay
on the east coast of Tasmania
in 1789, aboard his armed brig
Mercury.
. His father James had a factory in Shoe Lane, which specialised in the manufacture of clocks and automatons (known as "sing-songs" in pidgin English
), designed as bribes for Chinese mandarins
who were in control of the native merchants
with whom Europeans were obliged to deal in trade negotiations in Canton
. He even published a work on his activity. When his father died towards the end of the 1770s, Cox turned to the East India Company
for permission to stay in China for three years in order to sell the residue of his father's stock of clocks, and ostensibly "for his health’s sake". In May 1780 he was given permission to stay for two years and February 1781 saw him installed at Canton as a merchant, but privately and not under the control of the company.
When the two years had passed, he applied for a year’s extension, which was granted because of his "good bearing" and because he had been of special help to certain company chiefs. Cox then found it advantageous to move to Macao
, where he was in association with a Scot, John Reid
- who from 1779 had been Austrian consul and a naturalised Austria
n subject - together with another Scotsman, Prussia
n consul Daniel Beale
. All of their subterfuges were, of course, aimed at bypassing the East India Company’s restrictive regulations.
In 1784 Cox branched out and sent a ship up to the northwest coast of America
with a cargo of iron, knives, nails etc. which he could use as barter for furs and skins. He operated on the West coast of Vancouver Island
, especially Nootka Sound
. Business went so well, that Cox and his associates founded the Bengal Fur Society in Calcutta and continued their activity into the following years. This led to Lord Cornwallis, Bengal's general governor
, in 1787 complaining to the East India Company about their conduct, all to no avail. By this time, the Americans
had joined in the fray; evidence of their activity remains in the "Columbia" and Washington medals, which Boston
merchants struck to celebrate the sailing in September 1787 of these two US vessels for the northwest coast of America. The British Admiralty had in 1772 issued similar medals (struck by Matthew Boulton
) featuring Resolution and Adventure celebrating James Cook
's second voyage.
, where he made good use of the services of the Swedish East India Company
's representatives there, William Chalmers
, Lars Gotheen and J.A. Sandberg. Through these men he was able to make contact with Baron Erik Ruuth who was Gustav III's Swedish king Secretary of State for Commerce and Finance.
The king was apparently very enthusiastic about Cox's quite fantastic proposal which was in effect to put his brig Mercury, newly-purchased from the renowned Marmaduke Stalkartt, Deptford
, at the disposal of Sweden and with her act as a privateer to raid both the eastern Russian coasts and their North American fur and skin establishments, for which Sweden would earn ten percent of the prizes. The last page of the king’s instructions is signed Gustaf by the king at Ghiöteborg (Gothenburg) 11 November 1788 and refers to his authorisation to Captain John Henry Cox of the Swedish naval brig Gustaf den Tredie, (Gustaf III), Mercurys cover-name.
was still suffering under extreme weather conditions that winter, with the river frozen, and Mercury was not able to leave Gravesend
on her prospective long voyage before 26 February 1789, but under English colours, as her destination was to be kept secret. Cox had provided himself with a chronometer made by William Hughes
of Holborn
and had it set to GMT in the mathematical school in Christ's Hospital
, the headmaster of which was William Wales
, who had sailed as astronomer in Captain Cook’s second voyage from 1772-5. Cox had originally intended taking the route via Cape Horn
, but on account of the late departure decided to change this plan and take the route via the Cape of Good Hope
.
Lieut. George Mortimer of the Marines wrote an account of the voyage. Unfortunately he records almost no details of the ship’s crew but does mention the death of the ship's cook
Thomas Smith on 8 October 1789. He also mentions that Cox had invited a number of his friends, making it sound almost like a rich man’s yacht cruise. On 25 March they sailed from Tenerife
, crossed the Line in 20 degrees West and on 28 April they were passing Tristan da Cunha
. Just about then, Captain William Bligh
of HMS Bounty
and the loyal members of the crew were being forced into the long boat by the mutineers led by Fletcher Christian
. On 29 May Mercury reached their first objective, Amsterdam Island in the Roaring Forties
, half way between Africa and Australia, discovered in 1522 by del Cano during his circumnavigation. Here they procured 1,000 seal skins
and several barrels of oil. Mortimer believed that Mercury was probably the first English vessel to visit the island. He refers to Alexander Dalrymple
’s Account of the Discoveries Made in the S. Pacific Ocean, (London, 1767), which deals with the island, and states that the account by the Dutchman Willem de Vlamingh
, first to land on the island, in 1696, though short, was tolerably accurate. On 8 July Mercury was anchoring in a bay on the east coast of Van Diemen's Land
, now Tasmania, for wood and water, and Cox named it Oyster Bay
, a name that still holds. He also charted Maria Island and Marion Bay there.
on 13 August and anchored in Matavai Bay, where Bounty had lain for many months. Although some of the mutineers had remained, it was assumed that they lay hidden while Mercury was there. Mortimer communicated the intelligence to the Admiralty in respect of the probable destination of the Bounty mutineers, "as it is hoped will enable Captain Edwards of the Pandora
frigate to bring them to that condign punishment they so justly merit". Captain Edwards' name appears on the list of subscribers to Mortimer’s book.
Mercury stayed at Hawaii
for only about two days between 23 and 25 September. On 27 October they were anchored in an inlet on Unalaska Island
, one of the Fox Islands Group. They had come a month or two too late, and found that the natives had no furs to trade, but they did stay for about two weeks, which seemed long enough for the United States to name one of the Alaskan rivers Coxe
, using the spelling of his name that he used when referring to his Swedish assignment. It seems in fact that Cox only took the brig there as a gesture of fulfilling the contract with the Swedish king. Apparently he had considered returning at a more suitable time, but the Russian-Swedish Treaty of Värälä
signed on 14 August 1790 precluded any such plans. If Cox had gone prowling further afield round the North Pacific he might have found unexpected and surprising opposition; the Empress Catherine II
had commissioned an expedition to carry out exploration work in the far east of Siberia
and the Bering Sea
. In charge of the Expedition was an Englishman in the Russian Naval Service
, Commodore Joseph Billings
, who was alerted regarding Cox's presence, but far too late, for by that time Cox was back in Macao, where he anchored on 27 December 1789, careful to advertise the appearance of the Swedish armed brig "Gustavus III" commanded by Captain John Henry Cox of the Swedish Royal Navy. He lost no time in writing a report to the Directors of the Swedish East India Co on 4 January 1790.
), a bay southeast of Nootka Sound
on the west coast of Vancouver Island
, and Cox's Channel, a sound in the northernmost tip of the Queen Charlotte Islands
between Langara Island
and the northwestern tip of Graham Island
and now named Parry Passage are named after Cox. According to the record in the Geographic Names Information System
(GNIS), the nation's official geographic names repository of the US Board of Geographic Names, the mouth of the Coxe River, (note spelling) where it empties into Katlian Bay is at 57 degrees, 10 minutes, 24 seconds N latitude & 135 degrees, 16 minutes, 37 seconds W longitude. The source, or where the stream begins, is at 57 degrees, 11 minutes, 41 seconds N latitude & 135 degrees, 11 minutes, 58 seconds W longitude.
Cox appears to have intended to use the Swedish contract more as a talisman with which to confound the East India Company
rather than wreak any damage on the Russians. Some evidence of this lies in the fact Mortimer's account has no mention of any gun drill, something that ought to have been a necessary part of the operation; only once does Mortimer mention even airing their powder.
Excessive speculation drove Reid into bankruptcy. He therefore closed the Austrian Consulate and left China. Cox's partnership however with Daniel Beale and his younger brother Thomas
continued, at any rate under the combined name, during Cox's long period away from Canton. There were further successful voyages to northwest America, always under the Portuguese
flag. However, in later years, competition from Spanish
ships began to have effect. After his return to Canton, Cox was quickly in business again in Macao.
It was at the end of September 1791 that Cox sailed Mercury up the river to Canton’s outer port Whampoa
. The Honourable East India Company did not welcome him; on the contrary it threatened Cox in every way, refusing to allow him right of residence because it was considered that he, English citizen that he was, had broken the company's "sacred" monopoly. Nonetheless, Cox raised a Prussian flag
and landed exuding disrespectful protests.
Great Oyster Bay
Great Oyster Bay is a broad and sheltered bay on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia which opens onto the Tasman Sea. The Tasman Highway runs close to the West Coast of the bay with spectacular views of the rugged granite peaks of the Hazards and Schouten Island of the Freycinet Peninsula which...
Maria Island
Maria Island
Maria Island is a mountainous island off the east coast of Tasmania. The entire island is a national park. Maria Island National Park has a total area of 115.50 km², which includes a marine area of 18.78 km² off the island's northwest coast. The island is about 20 km in length from...
and Marion Bay
Marion Bay, Tasmania
Marion Bay is a large bay and a bounded locality located on the southeast coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is near Dunalley in the Municipality of Sorell...
on the east coast of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
in 1789, aboard his armed brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Mercury.
Early years
John Henry Cox was born c. 1750, the son of a rich jewellery merchant in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His father James had a factory in Shoe Lane, which specialised in the manufacture of clocks and automatons (known as "sing-songs" in pidgin English
Chinese Pidgin English
Chinese Pidgin English is a Pidgin language between English and Chinese. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, there was also Chinese Pidgin English spoken in Cantonese-speaking portions of China...
), designed as bribes for Chinese mandarins
Mandarin (bureaucrat)
A mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China, and also in the monarchist days of Vietnam where the system of Imperial examinations and scholar-bureaucrats was adopted under Chinese influence.-History and use of the term:...
who were in control of the native merchants
Thirteen Factories
The Thirteen Factories was an area of Canton , China, where the first foreign trade was allowed in the 18th century since the hai jin ban on maritime activities...
with whom Europeans were obliged to deal in trade negotiations in Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
. He even published a work on his activity. When his father died towards the end of the 1770s, Cox turned to the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
for permission to stay in China for three years in order to sell the residue of his father's stock of clocks, and ostensibly "for his health’s sake". In May 1780 he was given permission to stay for two years and February 1781 saw him installed at Canton as a merchant, but privately and not under the control of the company.
When the two years had passed, he applied for a year’s extension, which was granted because of his "good bearing" and because he had been of special help to certain company chiefs. Cox then found it advantageous to move to Macao
Mação
Mação is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 400.0 km² and a total population of 7,763 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of eight parishes, and is located in the Santarém District....
, where he was in association with a Scot, John Reid
John Reid
-Politics:* John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan , Former British Home Secretary and former Chairman of Celtic F.C.* John William Reid , U.S. Representative from Missouri...
- who from 1779 had been Austrian consul and a naturalised Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n subject - together with another Scotsman, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n consul Daniel Beale
Daniel Beale
Daniel Beale was a Scottish merchant and fur trader active in the Far East mercantile centres of Bombay, Canton and Macau as well as at one time the Prussian consul in China.-Biography:...
. All of their subterfuges were, of course, aimed at bypassing the East India Company’s restrictive regulations.
In 1784 Cox branched out and sent a ship up to the northwest coast of America
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
with a cargo of iron, knives, nails etc. which he could use as barter for furs and skins. He operated on the West coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, especially Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
. Business went so well, that Cox and his associates founded the Bengal Fur Society in Calcutta and continued their activity into the following years. This led to Lord Cornwallis, Bengal's general governor
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
, in 1787 complaining to the East India Company about their conduct, all to no avail. By this time, the Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
had joined in the fray; evidence of their activity remains in the "Columbia" and Washington medals, which Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
merchants struck to celebrate the sailing in September 1787 of these two US vessels for the northwest coast of America. The British Admiralty had in 1772 issued similar medals (struck by Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton, FRS was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the...
) featuring Resolution and Adventure celebrating James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
's second voyage.
Swedish endorsement
Cox, at this stage, having already considerably overstayed his welcome, thought it wise to disappear to England for a spell but was soon back with newly-hatched plans. This time, his idea was to see whether he could exploit the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–90. He paid a visit first to GothenburgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, where he made good use of the services of the Swedish East India Company
Swedish East India Company
The Swedish East India Company was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with the Far East...
's representatives there, William Chalmers
William Chalmers
William Chalmers was a Swedish merchant and freemason. He was born in Gothenburg in 1748 as the son of the Scottish merchant, William Chalmers, Sr., and his Swedish wife, Inga Orre. William Chalmers Jr. was the oldest amongst his brothers James, George Andreas and Charles Chalmers...
, Lars Gotheen and J.A. Sandberg. Through these men he was able to make contact with Baron Erik Ruuth who was Gustav III's Swedish king Secretary of State for Commerce and Finance.
The king was apparently very enthusiastic about Cox's quite fantastic proposal which was in effect to put his brig Mercury, newly-purchased from the renowned Marmaduke Stalkartt, Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
, at the disposal of Sweden and with her act as a privateer to raid both the eastern Russian coasts and their North American fur and skin establishments, for which Sweden would earn ten percent of the prizes. The last page of the king’s instructions is signed Gustaf by the king at Ghiöteborg (Gothenburg) 11 November 1788 and refers to his authorisation to Captain John Henry Cox of the Swedish naval brig Gustaf den Tredie, (Gustaf III), Mercurys cover-name.
England to Tasmania
The ThamesRiver Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
was still suffering under extreme weather conditions that winter, with the river frozen, and Mercury was not able to leave Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
on her prospective long voyage before 26 February 1789, but under English colours, as her destination was to be kept secret. Cox had provided himself with a chronometer made by William Hughes
William Hughes
William Hughes may refer to:*Willie Hughes , possible dedicatee of Shakespeare's Sonnets*William Hughes, 1st Baron Dinorben , British industrialist, politician and benefactor...
of Holborn
Holborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
and had it set to GMT in the mathematical school in Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
, the headmaster of which was William Wales
William Wales (astronomer)
William Wales was a British mathematician and astronomer.-Early life:Wales was born around 1734 to John and Sarah Wales and was baptized in Warmfield that year...
, who had sailed as astronomer in Captain Cook’s second voyage from 1772-5. Cox had originally intended taking the route via Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
, but on account of the late departure decided to change this plan and take the route via the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
.
Lieut. George Mortimer of the Marines wrote an account of the voyage. Unfortunately he records almost no details of the ship’s crew but does mention the death of the ship's cook
Chief Cook
A chief cook is a senior unlicensed crewmember working in the steward's department of a merchant ship.The chief cook directs and participates in the preparation and serving of meals; determines timing and sequence of operations required to meet serving times; inspects galley and equipment for...
Thomas Smith on 8 October 1789. He also mentions that Cox had invited a number of his friends, making it sound almost like a rich man’s yacht cruise. On 25 March they sailed from Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, crossed the Line in 20 degrees West and on 28 April they were passing Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha is a remote volcanic group of islands in the south Atlantic Ocean and the main island of that group. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying from the nearest land, South Africa, and from South America...
. Just about then, Captain William Bligh
William Bligh
Vice Admiral William Bligh FRS RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A notorious mutiny occurred during his command of HMAV Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers...
of HMS Bounty
HMS Bounty
HMS Bounty , famous as the scene of the Mutiny on the Bounty on 28 April 1789, was originally a three-masted cargo ship, the Bethia, purchased by the British Admiralty, then modified and commissioned as His Majesty's Armed Vessel the...
and the loyal members of the crew were being forced into the long boat by the mutineers led by Fletcher Christian
Fletcher Christian
Fletcher Christian was a master's mate on board the Bounty during William Bligh's fateful voyage to Tahiti for breadfruit plants...
. On 29 May Mercury reached their first objective, Amsterdam Island in the Roaring Forties
Roaring Forties
The Roaring Forties is the name given to strong westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40 and 49 degrees. Air displaced from the Equator towards the South Pole, which travels close to the surface between the latitudes of 30 and 60 degrees south, combines...
, half way between Africa and Australia, discovered in 1522 by del Cano during his circumnavigation. Here they procured 1,000 seal skins
Seal hunting
Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. The hunt is currently practiced in five countries: Canada, where most of the world's seal hunting takes place, Namibia, the Danish region of Greenland, Norway and Russia...
and several barrels of oil. Mortimer believed that Mercury was probably the first English vessel to visit the island. He refers to Alexander Dalrymple
Alexander Dalrymple
Alexander Dalrymple was a Scottish geographer and the first Hydrographer of the British Admiralty. He was the main proponent of the theory that there existed a vast undiscovered continent in the South Pacific, Terra Australis Incognita...
’s Account of the Discoveries Made in the S. Pacific Ocean, (London, 1767), which deals with the island, and states that the account by the Dutchman Willem de Vlamingh
Willem de Vlamingh
Willem Hesselsz de Vlamingh was a Dutch sea-captain who explored the central west coast of Australia in the late 17th century.- Vlamingh and the VOC :...
, first to land on the island, in 1696, though short, was tolerably accurate. On 8 July Mercury was anchoring in a bay on the east coast of Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
, now Tasmania, for wood and water, and Cox named it Oyster Bay
Great Oyster Bay
Great Oyster Bay is a broad and sheltered bay on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia which opens onto the Tasman Sea. The Tasman Highway runs close to the West Coast of the bay with spectacular views of the rugged granite peaks of the Hazards and Schouten Island of the Freycinet Peninsula which...
, a name that still holds. He also charted Maria Island and Marion Bay there.
Crossing the Pacific
They reached TahitiTahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
on 13 August and anchored in Matavai Bay, where Bounty had lain for many months. Although some of the mutineers had remained, it was assumed that they lay hidden while Mercury was there. Mortimer communicated the intelligence to the Admiralty in respect of the probable destination of the Bounty mutineers, "as it is hoped will enable Captain Edwards of the Pandora
HMS Pandora (1779)
HMS Pandora was a 24-gun Porcupine-class sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy launched in May 1779. She is best known as the ship sent in 1790 to search for the Bounty and the mutineers who had taken her...
frigate to bring them to that condign punishment they so justly merit". Captain Edwards' name appears on the list of subscribers to Mortimer’s book.
Mercury stayed at Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
for only about two days between 23 and 25 September. On 27 October they were anchored in an inlet on Unalaska Island
Unalaska Island
Unalaska is an island in the Fox Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska, at . The island has a land area of . The city of Unalaska, Alaska, covers part of the island and all of neighboring Amaknak Island where the Port of Dutch Harbor is located...
, one of the Fox Islands Group. They had come a month or two too late, and found that the natives had no furs to trade, but they did stay for about two weeks, which seemed long enough for the United States to name one of the Alaskan rivers Coxe
Coxe
Coxe is a surname, and may refer to:*Alfred Conkling Coxe, Sr., American federal judge*Alfred Conkling Coxe, Jr., American federal judge*Arthur Cleveland Coxe, American bishop, son of Samuel Hanson Cox*Daniel Coxe, English governor of West Jersey...
, using the spelling of his name that he used when referring to his Swedish assignment. It seems in fact that Cox only took the brig there as a gesture of fulfilling the contract with the Swedish king. Apparently he had considered returning at a more suitable time, but the Russian-Swedish Treaty of Värälä
Treaty of Värälä
The Treaty of Värälä was a treaty signed in Värälä, Elimäki Municipality, Finland, between Russia and Sweden . It was signed on August 14, 1790 and concluded the Russo-Swedish War...
signed on 14 August 1790 precluded any such plans. If Cox had gone prowling further afield round the North Pacific he might have found unexpected and surprising opposition; the Empress Catherine II
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
had commissioned an expedition to carry out exploration work in the far east of Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
. In charge of the Expedition was an Englishman in the Russian Naval Service
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
, Commodore Joseph Billings
Joseph Billings
Joseph Billings was an English navigator and explorer who spent the most significant part of his life in Russian service.In 1785, the Russian government of Catherine II commissioned a new expedition in search for the Northeast Passage, led by English officer Joseph Billings, who had previously...
, who was alerted regarding Cox's presence, but far too late, for by that time Cox was back in Macao, where he anchored on 27 December 1789, careful to advertise the appearance of the Swedish armed brig "Gustavus III" commanded by Captain John Henry Cox of the Swedish Royal Navy. He lost no time in writing a report to the Directors of the Swedish East India Co on 4 January 1790.
Northern Pacific
Port Cox (since renamed Clayoquot SoundClayoquot Sound
Clayoquot Sound is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is bordered by the Esowista Peninsula to the south, and the Hesquiaht Peninsula to the North. It is a body of water with many inlets and islands. Major inlets include Sydney Inlet,...
), a bay southeast of Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
on the west coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, and Cox's Channel, a sound in the northernmost tip of the Queen Charlotte Islands
Queen Charlotte Islands
Haida Gwaii , formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Haida Gwaii consists of two main islands: Graham Island in the north, and Moresby Island in the south, along with approximately 150 smaller islands with a total landmass of...
between Langara Island
Langara Island
Langara Island is the northernmost Island of the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia, Canada. The island is approximately in size. It is located approximately south of Alaska.-History:...
and the northwestern tip of Graham Island
Graham Island
Graham Island is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago , lying off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated only by a narrow channel from the other principal island of the group, Moresby Island Graham Island is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (formerly...
and now named Parry Passage are named after Cox. According to the record in the Geographic Names Information System
Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer...
(GNIS), the nation's official geographic names repository of the US Board of Geographic Names, the mouth of the Coxe River, (note spelling) where it empties into Katlian Bay is at 57 degrees, 10 minutes, 24 seconds N latitude & 135 degrees, 16 minutes, 37 seconds W longitude. The source, or where the stream begins, is at 57 degrees, 11 minutes, 41 seconds N latitude & 135 degrees, 11 minutes, 58 seconds W longitude.
Cox appears to have intended to use the Swedish contract more as a talisman with which to confound the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
rather than wreak any damage on the Russians. Some evidence of this lies in the fact Mortimer's account has no mention of any gun drill, something that ought to have been a necessary part of the operation; only once does Mortimer mention even airing their powder.
Excessive speculation drove Reid into bankruptcy. He therefore closed the Austrian Consulate and left China. Cox's partnership however with Daniel Beale and his younger brother Thomas
Thomas Beale
Thomas Beale , was a Scottish naturalist, opium speculator and general merchant operating in the Far East during the 19th century.-Biography:Thomas was the younger brother of Daniel Beale and the cousin of Thomas Chaye Beale....
continued, at any rate under the combined name, during Cox's long period away from Canton. There were further successful voyages to northwest America, always under the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
flag. However, in later years, competition from Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
ships began to have effect. After his return to Canton, Cox was quickly in business again in Macao.
It was at the end of September 1791 that Cox sailed Mercury up the river to Canton’s outer port Whampoa
Whampoa
Whampoa is the old English transliteration of Huangpu District, Guangzhou, in China.From there, it derives its other meanings, and can also refer to:* Relating to the Whampoa district:...
. The Honourable East India Company did not welcome him; on the contrary it threatened Cox in every way, refusing to allow him right of residence because it was considered that he, English citizen that he was, had broken the company's "sacred" monopoly. Nonetheless, Cox raised a Prussian flag
Flag of Prussia
The state of Prussia had its origins in the separate lands of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia. The Margraviate of Brandenburg developed from the medieval Northern March of the Holy Roman Empire, passing to the House of Hohenzollern in 1415...
and landed exuding disrespectful protests.