Juan Pérez on the Northwest Coast: Six Documents of His Expedition in 1774, translated and annotated by Herbert K. Beals, presents the first English translations of primary records from the earliest European voyage to reach the Pacific Northwest coast. The book compiles diaries and firsthand accounts from Pérez, his second-in-command Estéban José Martínez, and the Catholic priests aboard the Spanish frigate Santiago during their seven-month expedition. These translated documents offer vivid details of the crew's navigation along the British Columbia coastline and their unprecedented early encounters and trade with Indigenous peoples, including the Haida and Nuu-chah-nulth. By reviving these long-ignored archival materials from Mexico City and Madrid, the book restores a crucial chapter of Spanish maritime history that was largely overshadowed by later British exploration.

xxvii, 270 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 27 cm.