A grand ship, and famous world wide for her starring role in
the first Pirates of the Caribbean (the flag ship 'Dauntless'), she has a rather
notorious history in Clayoquot Sound.
In 1790, the Lady Washington became the first ship to spend a
winter in Clayoquot Sound. While provisioning, and making repairs, the
crew became petrified of attack from the local first Nation community of Opitsat
(at that time population 5000+) They built Fort Defiance in preparation
for what they saw as impending conflict. It was a battle that never
materialized.
However, in the spring, as the ship sailed again for open
waters, the Captain ordered men to go ashore. The majority
of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation had dispersed to summer sites, and the sailors of
the Lady Washington torched the village to the ground.
In this photo the ship has returned to Clayoquot to make a
formal apology to the Tla-o-qui-aht over 200 years later.
To learn more about the Lady Washington, visit
their website ladywashington.org
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