The voyage of Captain George Vancouver 1791-95: the interplay of physical and psychological pressures.

George Vancouver was descended, through his father, from the honourable Netherlands family of van Coeverdenl and his mother could trace her ancestry to Sir Richard Grenville, the great Elizabethan seadogs2 That pedigree was no doubt a factor in achieving an introduction to Captain James Cook for, at the tender age of 14, the young Vancouver joined the Resolution to accompany Cook on his second voyage. He obviously acquitted himself well, because he served as a midshipman in the Discovery on Cook's third voyage to the northwest coast of America. Vancouver was personally involved in events that led to Cook's tragic death at Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, where his knowledge of the Hawaiian language and rapport with the natives helped to restore relationship^.^ It also appears to have influenced subsequent reactions. On his return in 1780, he passed his Lieutenant's examination and on 18 December was appointed to the sloop Martin cruising in the Channel, where Vancouver was actively employed boarding enemy vessels and sailing captured p r i ~ e s . ~ Though Martin, engaged mainly along the southeast coast, remained relatively healthy, her encounters with the Western Squadron would introduce Vancouver to the ravages of scurvy and typhus fever. According to Sir Gilbert Blane, 1,457 cases of scurvy and 5,539 fever cases were admitted to Haslar Hospital in Portsmouth during 1780,5 while in July 1781 Admiral Darby was deploring the lack of sauerkraut which had caused scurvy to make "strong strides in the Channel s h i ~ s . " ~