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John Meares

1786 to 1787

John Meares, who also entered the fur trade, made two voyages. The first one was sponsored by patrons in Bengal who bought two ships, the Nootka, 200 tons, and the Sea Otter, 100 tons. The ships were ready on February 20, 1786, and sailed from Calcutta on March 2. Meares, on the Nootka, sailed first to Madras to deliver a Government official and his suite, then to the northwest coast of America. The Sea Otter, commanded by William Tipping, sailed direct to Malacca with a cargo of opium and went on to the northwest coast. The two ships never met, and the Sea Otter was eventually listed as missing. On the northwest coast of America, Meares met Dixon and Portlock who, according to Meares, failed to respond to his requests for aid. Finally, Meares sailed south to Hawaii, where he remained during August of 1787. He sailed from the Sandwich Islands on September 2 and arrived at Typa Harbor, near Macao, on October 20, 1787. He took with him a Kauai chief named Tianna (Kaiana), aged 32 and 6 feet 5 inches in height.

1788 to 1789

Two ships were bought for his second voyage, the 230-ton Felice and the 200-ton Iphigenia. Meares commanded the Felice, and the Iphigenia was commanded by Captain Douglas. In addition to collecting furs on the northwest coast, Meares proposed to return Kaiana and three other Hawaiians stranded in Canton to their homes. The ships sailed from Typa Harbor on January 22, 1788, and went first to the northwest coast. After collecting furs, Meares sailed south and arrived at the Sandwich Islands on October 17. He sailed from Niihau in the following month and duly arrived at Macao.

The Iphigenia, which had remained longer on the northwest coast, arrived off Maui on December 6, 1788. The ship sailed on to Hawaii, where King Tome-homy-haw (Kamehameha) gave Kaiana a large tract of land. Captain Douglas, who got on well with the king and his subjects, stayed in the islands until March 18, 1789, when he sailed from Niihau for the northwest coast. He returned to the Sandwich Islands in July and saw the King and Kaiana in Hawaii. He then anchored off "Waitetee" Bay (Waikiki), whence he sailed on August 10. He arrived at Macao on October 5, 1789.