Following his university studies, Quimper was assigned to the frigate
Áquila on a mission to re-affirm Spanish sovereignty over the island of
Tahiti in the
South Pacific and in the latter part of 1777 to deliver lumber from
Guayaquil
for naval construction at Callao. In late 1780 he was promoted to
Frigate Ensign (Alférez de Fragata) and assigned the transport of food
from Callao to
Talcahuano. Two years later he was sent to chart the
Juan Fernández Islands in the South Pacific and upon his return to port at
Valparaiso received recognition for his cartographic skills. In 1786 he embarked on a four-month sail to the Spanish port of
Cádiz. Within a month he had been promoted to Ship Ensign (Alférez de Navío) and received permission to serve at the court of
King Carlos III in
Madrid for four months before returning to sea assigned to the protection of the
Gulf of Cádiz.
The Spanish court was becoming increasingly concerned about
British and
Russian incursions along the
Pacific Northwest
coast of North America. Seven naval officers were dispatched to learn
of British and Russian intentions. These included Quimper and his fellow
Peruvian
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, who was named commander of the Naval Department of
San Blas. They departed from Cadiz aboard the
San Ramon in May 1789. Shortly after their arrival at
Veracruz, the seven were transferred to San Blas.
In July 1789 they received news from the Pacific Northwest with the arrival of the
Princesa Real, a fur-trading vessel captured from the British at
Nootka Sound by Spanish commander
Esteban José Martinez. In 1788 the
British explorer
John Meares
had established a fur trading post on Nootka Sound. Spain considered
this settlement an invasion of Spanish territory and had dispatched
Martínez to occupy the port the following year. Martínez arrived in 1789
with warships, seized the port and some vessels, including the sloop
Princess Royal which he renamed the
Princesa Real. The sloop was dispatched to San Blas at the disposition of
New Spain Viceroy
Revillagigedo. The Viceroy, however, wished to avoid further difficulties with the British and ordered Quimper to return the vessel.
On February 3, 1790, a Spanish expedition sailed north from San Blas under the command of Ship Lieutenant
Francisco de Eliza, the most senior officer available at San Blas. It included Ship Lieutenant
Salvador Fidalgo, and Ship Ensign Manuel Quimper. Their purpose was to strengthen the settlement at
Nootka Sound, to further chart the waters of the
Strait of Juan de Fuca and the
San Juan Islands, and to return the
Princesa Real to the British. After several weeks at sea, the
Princesa Real and Quimper arrived with difficulty at
Nootka Sound where repairs on the vessel were undertaken before returning the ship to the British. Throughout the month of May the
Princesa Real
was repaired with no sign of the British. Quimper then used the vessel
to carry out a two-month exploration of the north and south coasts of
the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
During June and July he charted and named many geographic features along the south shore of
Vancouver Island and the north coast of the
Olympic Peninsula. He was the first European to report seeing
Mount Baker, which he named La Gran Montagna Carmelita. On the Olympic Peninsula he traded with and observed the customs of
indigenous people near
Dungeness (which he named Bahia de Quimper) and near the
Elwha River, which were most likely members of the
S'Klallam
tribe in both instances and he was possibly the first European they had
seen. Most of his discoveries along the strait were renamed by
British Captain
George Vancouver in 1792. Those which retained at least a semblance of his Spanish names include
Port Angeles,
Rosario Strait,
Quimper Peninsula, and
Fidalgo Island.
During Quimper's 1791 expedition to northern Puget Sound Quimper's
sloop Eliza stopped in the southern area of Bellingham Bay (Gulfo de
Gaston). During this brief encampment near the mouth of present day
Padden Creek, several of Quimper's men reportedly ran across a group of
hostile natives (Lummi) who drove Quimper's men back to their rowboat.
In later years during the construction of a powerhouse along the creek
in Victorian era Fairhaven a gilded Spanish goblet and the deteriorated
remains of a Spanish type musket were recovered. Modern archaeological
studies of the area have not been documented concerning the presence of
Quimper and his men.
Quimper returned to Nootka Sound in early August but was unable to
enter the port for several days due to heavy fog. He set sail for New
Spain and arrived at
Monterey on September 1, 1790. From there he was joined by Fidalgo aboard the
San Carlos. They arrived at San Blas on November 13, 1790. Viceroy Revillagigedo was surprised to learn that the
Princesa Real
was still in Spanish possession. He dispatched a message to the Court
in Madrid recommending the return of the vessel to the British at
Macau
and sent a report of Quimper's explorations in the Pacific Northwest
with nine of his charts. Quimper was promoted to Frigate Lieutenant.
On February 14, 1791, Quimper set sail aboard the
Princesa Real with orders from San Blas commander
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra to chart the
Sandwich Islands and then turn the vessel over to the
Philippines Governor-General Félix Berenguer de Marquina,
who would then have it returned to the British at Macau. While
exploring the Sandwich Islands he had a tense encounter with James
Colnett, the British commander at Nootka, on April 1, 1791. Colnett
demanded an explanation from Quimper as to why the
Princesa Real
had not yet been returned to the British and Quimper informed him of the
plans to return it at Macau. Colnett threatened to seize the ship then
and there, but when he observed Quimper preparing for combat he backed
down. Quimper continued his exploration of the islands of
Hawaii,
Maui, and
Oahu, and on April 19, 1791, set sail for the
Philippines.
Quimper arrived at the Cavite naval base on
Manila Bay on June 4, 1791. He handed over the ship to Vicente Llanos y Valdés, a relative of the Minister of the Navy. The
Princesa Real
was returned to Macau on August 12, 1791, but a strong hurricane soon
struck there badly damaging the ship, and it was later sold for salvage.
Spanish explorer
Alessandro Malaspina returned to Manila from his exploration of the
Marianas Islands and Quimper helped to create charts of his findings.
On May 21, 1792, Quimper was given command of the frigate
San José de las Ánimas and sailed for San Blas, accompanied by the schooner
Valdés under the command of Lieutenant Cosme Bertadano. The two vessels were soon separated by a hurricane causing the
Valdés
to return to Manila. Quimper continued on to San Blas. His ship was
badly damaged by the weather and he did not arrive until nearly six
months later on November 6, 1792. He learned that on October 16, orders
had been issued granting him permission to marry Francisca Márquez, and
appointing him as special assistant to his countryman and friend
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra,
the naval commander at San Blas, who was in failing health but did not
want to resign his command while the international situation was
deteriorating and war was likely. He held this position until February
1794 when Bordega y Quadra died.
Quimper himself was in poor health and was therefore granted permission in June 1795 to return to Spain. While waiting at
Veracruz to embark on this voyage he was named the captain of the corvette
Atrevida and sailed on this ship to
Cádiz while it was still under the command of Malaspina. Quimper apparently never took command of the
Atrevida because while it was at the port of Cádiz, he requested and was granted a transfer to
Madrid to attend to personal matters. Eight months later he was inducted into the prestigious
Orden Militar de Calatrava.
Quimper then served at
Algeciras under the command of
Bruno de Heceta, a veteran explorer who had also explored the Pacific Northwest of America. He soon asked for the governorship of
Guayaquil,
but was instead given command of the naval fleet at Madrid, a position
he maintained until 1802. He was then appointed the Minister of the
Treasury in Veracruz and so returned to America in a ministerial
position.
