Capitán de Navío Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra was the most important Spanish naval officer on the Northwest Coast in the eighteenth century. Serving from 1774 to 1794, he participated in the search for the Northwest Passage and, with George Vancouver, endeavoured to forge a diplomatic resolution to the Nootka Sound controversy between Spain and Britain.

Freeman Tovell’s thorough and nuanced study presents this officer of Spain’s Enlightened Navy as a key figure in the history of the region. Intelligent, observant, and literate, Bodega received high praise from the viceroys of New Spain under whom he served. His enlightened policy toward the Nuu-chah-nulth and his close association with Chief Maquinna are a matter of record.

Bodega was not without his imperfections – when his overarching ambition to make a name for himself exceeded his financial reach, he incurred ruinous debts. As a Peruvian creole, he also struggled against the glass ceiling imposed by having been born outside Spain. Despite constant efforts for promotions, he never gained the full recognition from naval and political superiors that his achievements deserved.

Bodega’s accomplishments place him in the company of Bering, Cook, Vancouver, La Pérouse, and Malaspina – those who advanced a better understanding of the geography, ethnography, and natural history of the area. The most complete study of Bodega and his epoch yet written, At the Far Reaches of Empire is an absorbing narrative of eighteenth-century empire building.

Freeman M. Tovell holds degrees in history from the University of Toronto and Harvard, and served in the Canadian Navy during World War II. He subsequently spent thirty-five years in the Canadian Foreign Service, including ambassadorships to Peru and Bolivia.

Freeman M. Tovell's profile page

• Winner, Keith Matthews Award, Canadian Nautical Research Society
• Commended, John Lyman Award, North American Society for Ocean History

Tovell takes time to make the six-month journey. He tells the tale with an economy of words and yet with intriguing details that conjure to mind the difficulties of travel 250 years ago. … Tovell…, with consummate craftsmanship leads his readers through the development at Nootka…. If there’s a history lover in the family with a celebration on the horizon, introduce them to Freeman Tovell and his fascinating tales of courage, diplomacy, and intrigue when Victoria was still unknown on the far reaches of the Spanish Empire.

Victoria Times-Colonist

This new study by Freeman Tovell, by reason of its broad coverage, meticulous research, ad balanced approach, will become an indispensable tool for any scholar interested in this topic. […] The book, exemplary in its layout and printing, has clearly been a labour of love for the author, witnesses the excellent illustrations (many in colour) that he has gathered over the years. Taken as a whole, Freeman Tovell’s work is a notable addition to the history of British Columbia.

BC Studies, No. 159

Tovell utilizes a great volume of primary and secondary sources – Tovell’s research is admirable. He is an excellent biographer, who examines the incredible life of Bodega y Quadra and provides understanding about the period ... This book is highly recommended for history students interested in Spain’s claim to the Pacific Northwest.

CLAHR, Vol.14, No.4

An interesting, compelling, meticulously researched, fact filled biography of one of Spain’s more prominent naval scholar ... Tovell’s reader will be drawn in to savor and digest each chapter of this work which will appeal to the everyday reader and scholar alike ... UBC Press is to be commended for publishing [the book] in a handsomely bound hard cover edition as well as a more reasonably priced soft cover edition. I recommend it highly; it will be a valuable addition to your BC bookshelf.

BC History, Vol. 42, No. 1

At the Far Reaches of Empire: The Life of Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra