Sunday, Jun 11, 2006
Historian and park ranger Mike Vouri will discuss Outpost of Empire, his book that chronicles life at English Camp during the Joint Occupation in a slide program and book signing scheduled at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 17 in the English Camp barracks.
The event is free. Contact the park at 378-2902 or 278-4409 for accessibility information. A golf cart is available to provide transportation from the parking area to the barracks and back.
Outpost of Empire is the sequel to Vouri's first, The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay. In that volume, Vouri details the crisis that arose between Great Britain and the United States in 1859 over possession of the San Juan Islands, which lie between Vancouver island, BC and the U.S. mainland. In this latest offering, Vouri explores how each nation went to great lengths to avoid conflict on the island during the 12-year jolint military occupation. The joint occupation was essentially a martial law, enforced by the U.S. Army and the Royal Marines. To affirm British hegemony and keep the peace in the Pacific Northwest, the Royal Navy brought 164 Royal Marines from Canton, China to Victoria, Vancouver Island in February 1859. Veterans of fighting in The Crimea as well as China, the marines participated in community building and helped keep the peace along the Fraser. When the Pig War crisis was touched off in July 1859 (an American on San Juan had shot a pig belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company), the marines were dispatched to San Juan Island. They initially lent muscle to British naval forces during the crisis, before being assigned peace-keeping duties. Outpost explores how the principles of joint military occupation were established by British and U.S. officials, and how, despite numerous attempts by U.S. settlers to circumvent the agreement, peace was maintained until the very end. It also examines how the camp site was selected, established and maintained from 1860 to 1872.
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