In 1811 the trading ship Tonquin was blown up in Clayoquot Sound when its efforts to trade were turned into an attack by Nuu-chah-nulth in revenge for an insult by the ship's captain.
Tonquin |
The fort was founded in March 1811 when officers and employees of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company, controlled by Americans, arrived via Captain Jonathan Thorn's ship, Tonquin.
A confrontation between Wickaninnish and Capt. Jonathan Thorn of the Tonquin led to the Tla-o-qui-aht massacre of the Tonquin's crew and the destruction of the vessel by one of the surviving crew members.