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American sea captain (1740–1794)
John Kendrick (1740–1794) was an American sea captain during the American Revolutionary War, and was involved in the exploration and maritime fur trading of the Pacific Northwest alongside his subordinate Robert Gray. He was the leader of the first US expedition to the Pacific Northwest. He is known for his role in the 1789 Nootka Crisis, having been present at Nootka Sound when the Spanish naval officer José Esteban Martínez seized several British ships belonging to a commercial enterprise owned by a partnership of companies under John Meares and Richard Cadman Etches. This incident nearly led to war between Britain and Spain and became the subject of lengthy investigations and diplomatic inquiries. Kendrick was the first American to try to open trade with Japan. He began the Hawaiian sandalwood trade. He was killed during an exchange of cannon salutes with the ship Jackal when one of the cannons was loaded, purportedly by accident. John Kendrick was instrumental in pioneering trade in the Pacific Northwest, the Hawaiian Islands, and China, as well as helping the young United States establish itself as global trade power.

Kendrick was born in 1740 in what was then part of the Town of Harwich, Massachusetts (now Orleans, Massachusetts), on Cape Cod. He was the third of seven children of Solomon Kendrick (or Kenwick) and Elizabeth Atkins. His family name was originally spelled "Kenwrick", later "Kenwick" and "Kendrick". John Kendrick came from a long family line of seamen. Solomon Kenrick, his father, was master of a whaling vessel. John began going to sea with his father by the time he was 14 years old. By his late teens he was sailing with crews out of Potonumecut (today part of Orleans). At the age of 20 he joined a whaling crew, working on a schooner owned by Captain Bangs. In 1762, near the end of the French and Indian War, John Kendrick served under his cousin Jabez Snow, on a militia mission in the frontier of western New York. The Fanny disrupted British shipping and captured a few vessels, which won Kendrick a degree of fame and wealth. In August, 1777, the Fanny and another privateer, General Mercer, captured two West Indiaman ships full of valuable cargo, the Hanover Planter and the Clarendon, after a battle with two 28 gun frigates. The captured ships were taken to Nantes in mid August, 1777, causing an international stir. France had not yet joined the war and the prizes tested France's neutrality. The incident helped expedite France's decision to join the war against Britain. The combined crews of the two ships numbered about 40 men, most hailing from Cape Cod, Boston, Rhode Island, and the North Shore of Massachusetts. Many were veterans of the Revolutionary War. The first officer of the Columbia was Simeon Woodruff, the oldest man on the voyage. Woodruff had sailed with James Cook aboard on his famous third voyage around the world. As such, Woodruff had already been to the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and China. Later, Ingraham became captain of the Hope, which sailed in 1790 to compete in the fur trade. Unlike Gray and Haswell, Ingraham was an admirer and supporter of Kendrick. Ingraham kept a journal of the voyage, but it has been lost. He wrote a separate journal describing Nootka Sound in 1789, which has survived. The third officer of the Columbia was 19 year old Robert Haswell, who kept an account of the voyage that came to serve as the main chronicle of the first two years. He also kept a journal during Gray's second voyage without Kendrick. A Spanish captain passing by the islands offered to take Woodruff to Madeira. He eventually returned to America and lived in Connecticut most of the remainder of his life. This incident deepened Haswell's dislike of Kendrick, as Haswell had been friendly with Woodruff and held him in high esteem. In his journal Haswell complained bitterly, describing Woodruff as "an officer under the Great Captain James Cook on his last Voyage". Haswell was mistaken: Woodruff was a gunner's mate under Cook, not an officer. While at Cape Verde Kendrick unpacked and reorganized the hold of the Columbia, hoping to improve its handling under sail. The hold of Columbia contained most of the expedition's provisions for the next two years, as well as a large assortment of trade goods hoped to be useful for acquiring sea otter pelts on the Pacific Northwest coast. These trade goods included such things as tin mirrors, beads, calico, mouth harps, hunting knives, files, and bar metal that could be worked into chisels or other tools. Despite the reorganization of the hold, Columbia continued to handle poorly. Kendrick continued the journey on December 21, 1787, and reached Brett Harbour on Saunders Island in the western Falkland Islands on February 16, 1788. Here they collected water and made final preparations for the voyage around Cape Horn. Kendrick considered wintering in the Atlantic, but decided to leave the Falklands on February 28, 1788. They sailed south toward Cape Horn. Five days later they passed Isla de los Estados (Staten Island), the eastern extremity of Tierra del Fuego. A storm was approaching from the west. Kendrick continued south, trying to skirt the edge of the storm. Other ships had escaped storms near Cape Horn by sailing farther south, a plan that Kendrick used. He evaded the worst of the storm by sailing to nearly 62° south latitude, about 400 mile (644 km) south of Cape Horn. Through March the ships struggled through cold and heavy weather, dealing with frost, sleet, twenty foot swells, high winds, and icebergs. About a month later William Bligh tried rounding Cape Horn in but was forced back. On March 22 the ships were about 670 mile (1078 km) south southwest of Cape Horn. They had passed west of the cape and so changed course toward the northwest. But during the night of April 1 the winds shifted, indicating dangerous weather. Kendrick had the Columbia adjust course in an attempt to race ahead. A signal gun was fired and the Washington followed. But in the morning light, with the storm still approaching, the two ships had lost sight of each other. Over three more days of heavy seas and blizzard like conditions, they were entirely lost to one another. The Columbia, badly damaged, was driven back eastward, while the crew made what repairs they could. For ten days Washington continued on through a series of violent squalls, culminating in a gale that Haswell described as "greatly sirpassing [sic] any thing before I had aney [sic] Idea of." Once the storm cleared Gray was pleased to be separated and saw a chance to free himself from Kendrick's command. Kendrick had written orders for Gray in the event they were separated. They would rendezvous at Alejandro Selkirk Island (then known as Más Afuera), the westernmost island of the Juan Fernández Islands, 540 mile (869 km) west of the coast of Chile. Gray made his way there, arriving on April 22, 1788. He brought the Washington to within a few miles of the island, then waited over night. In the morning Gray scanned the horizon and saw no sign of the Columbia, unsurprisingly since Washington was a faster vessel. Nevertheless, Gray figured he had fulfilled Kendrick's order and was now free to continue on alone. Gray was in need of water and wood, but there was no place to land at Alejandro Selkirk Island, so he headed north to Ambrose Island (Isla San Ambrosio), part of the Desventuradas Islands. Arriving on May 3, Gray sent men ashore. Spending the day on the island they did not find water but returned to the ship with a catch of fish, seals, and sea lions. Then Gray continued on, passing far west of the Galápagos Islands by May 24. Kendrick reached the rendezvous at Más Afuera about a month after Gray had left it. Kendrick had been instructed by Joseph Barrell "not to touch at any part of the Spanish dominions unless driven there by some unavoidable accident". With Columbia badly in need of repairs and running out of water and wood, and Kendrick's eagerness for any news of Washington, he decided to risk visiting Más a Tierra, today known as Robinson Crusoe Island, where there was a small Spanish settlement. Kendrick had the Columbia approach the harbor, stopping about a mile offshore, unsure what sort of treatment he might receive. The Spanish governor of the island, Don Blas Gonzales, recognized a ship in distress. He sent out a fishing boat with a few armed men. The Spanish officer Nicholas Juanes came on board Columbia. He noted the ten cannons but thought the crew friendly and unthreatening. Kendrick said he needed a safe anchorage for making repairs and to take on water and wood. Juanes took first mate Joseph Ingraham back to shore to request permission to enter the harbor. Don Blas Gonzales was intrigued by this American ship, the first he had ever seen, and granted permission. On August 2, 1788, the crew of Washington sighted land near the present border of California and Oregon, near the mouth of the Klamath River. After a friendly but brief encounter with a group of natives in a large redwood canoe, they continued north, looking for a safe harbor. They sailed past many native villages and encampments before finding a harbor deemed safe, in the vicinity of Tillamook Bay. They attracted the attention of many natives who began visiting the sloop for trade, offering, among other things, sea otter skins and fresh food, including baskets of berries, which helped relieve the symptoms of scurvy. Haswell noted that these natives had smallpox scars and carried steel knives, indicating previous encounters with trading vessels. On August 13, Gray anchored Washington in a protected inlet near a native village. The sloop remained in this harbor for five days. Many natives came to trade and parties were sent ashore to collect water and wood. After a couple days Gray decided to leave but Washington grounded on a rocky reef. While waiting for high tide one last party was sent ashore where an altercation occurred. In the ensuing chaos crewmember Marcus Lopius was killed. Officers Coolidge and Haswell, and another crewmember were wounded as they fled into the surf to their longboat. Native war canoes tried to capture the longboat and, failing that, positioned themselves between Washington and the open sea. During the night Washington was freed from the reef and tried to escape but grounded again, on a shoal. At high tide the next day, August 18, Washington was freed again. The sloop's swivel guns were used to hold off the war canoes and Washington escaped into the open ocean. Gray set a course for Nootka Sound, still far to the north. Shortly after this the Spanish war frigate Princesa, under José Esteban Martínez, and the packet San Carlos, under Gonzalo López de Haro, both sailing south from Alaska, passed but failed to spot Washington. Two weeks later they passed Columbia, again without visual contact. The next year Martínez and Haro would establish Santa Cruz de Nuca at Nootka Sound and, with Kendrick and Gray present, trigger events leading to the Nootka Crisis.

Washington arrived at Friendly Cove in Nootka Sound on September 16, 1788, finding another ship already there: Felice Adventurer, under John Meares, a British vessel but flying a Portuguese false flag to avoid paying for an East India Company licence, required of British merchants in China. Two more vessels arrived, Iphigenia Nubiana under William Douglas, who would later partner with Kendrick, and North West America under Robert Funter. The North West America was built at Nootka Sound and launched on September 20. All three vessels were part of a fur trading venture under Meares. After a few days Meares left, and shortly after, on September 22, Kendrick's Columbia arrived. Kendrick re assumed command of both ships and the expedition as a whole. On October 26, 1788, the remaining two British ships left for Hawaii and China. Once they were gone Kendrick announced that the expedition would spend the winter in Nootka Sound. They would befriend the native Nuu chah nulth people and gain an advantage in the fur trade over the competing British ships. During the winter Kendrick met and established friendly relations with the Nuu chah nulth chiefs Maquinna and Wickaninnish. Kendrick knew Meares's ships would return after the winter. By staying at Nootka Sound he hoped to preempt the British by getting an early start. Kendrick had moved Columbia to a cove known as Mawina or Mowina, today called Marvinas Bay, about 5 mile (8 km) deeper into Nootka Sound. He had fortified a small island and built an outpost on it, with a house, gun battery, blacksmith forge, and outbuildings. Kendrick called it Fort Washington. It was the first US outpost on the Pacific coast. Kendrick intended it to be the foundation of an American presence on the Pacific Northwest coast, and as a headquarters for controlling the fur trade. Over the summer Kendrick used the outpost and his friendship with the Nuu chah nulth to collect hundreds of furs from the region. Kendrick had decided that Columbia was too unwieldy for close sailing on the Pacific Northwest coast. The smaller, more maneuverable Washington was better suited for trading. Therefore, almost immediately after arriving Washington was readied for another trading voyage. The British captains Douglas and Funter had discovered that Kendrick had control of the fur trade around Nootka Sound and that Gray had been trading in the south. Therefore the North West America set off northward to seek furs and Iphigenia prepared to do likewise. On May 2, days after North West America had left, Gray took Washington north as well. While sailing away from Nootka Sound Gray encountered Princesa, under Spanish naval officer Esteban José Martínez, who had come to take possession of Nootka Sound for Spain. Martínez informed the officers of the Washington that they were trespassing in Spanish waters and demanded to know their business. Gray and his officers showed him a passport and made weak excuses for being on the Northwest coast. Martínez knew they were dissembling but let them go, knowing that the command ship Columbia was trapped in Nootka Sound. Martínez anchored in Friendly Cove, Nootka Sound, on May 5, 1789. Within the day Douglas and Francisco José Viana, the nominal captain of the Iphigenia, were meeting with Martínez on Princesa. Kendrick soon arrived and joined them. When questioned about his presence at Nootka Sound Kendrick dissembled, saying Columbia had been badly damaged and the crew suffering from scurvy. They had put into Nootka for repairs and recovery. Kendrick told Martínez that, expecting to have to winter at Nootka, he had built a house for the crew, a blacksmith forge, and a gun emplacement for protection. He said he had sent Washington north to look for material for barrel hoops. Kendrick readily acknowledged Spanish authority in the region and said he would leave as soon as Columbia was repaired. Douglas gave similar excuses for Iphigenia and gave over the ship's papers which, being in Portuguese, Martínez held for translation. On May 12, 1789, the Spanish vessel San Carlos arrived. With this reinforcement in place, Martínez seized Iphigenia and arrested the crew. This alarmed Chief Maquinna, who moved his Nuu chah nulth people from Friendly Cove to a village deeper into Nootka Sound. After a couple weeks Martínez, in a tricky diplomatic situation, decided to let Iphigenia go after Douglas agreed to certain conditions. Kendrick and Ingraham acted at witnesses to the agreements. Among the conditions Martínez required Douglas to promise to leave the Pacific Northwest and never return—a promise he broke immediately upon leaving Nootka Sound as he sailed north to cruise the coast for furs. Douglas sailed from Nootka Sound around the start of June. On June 8, 1789, the North West America returned. Martínez confiscated the vessel as security for payments Douglas owed for repairs and supplies given to Iphigenia. On June 15, 1789, Meares's small sloop Princess Royal, under Thomas Hudson, arrived at Friendly Cove. Needing repairs and in no condition to resist, Hudson readily accepted Martínez's authority. Robert Gray returned to Nootka Sound on June 17, finding the Spanish in control, Fort San Miguel built, North West America captured and Princess Royal detained. Gray sailed Lady Washington directly to Kendrick's outpost at Marvinas Bay. While Gray had been away Kendrick's friendship with the natives had resulted in his collecting of hundreds of furs. Thinking they would soon depart, Kendrick took Columbia and Washington to Friendly Cove, anchoring there on June 28. On July 2, Martínez let the Princess Royal depart. Within hours Meares's command ship Argonaut under James Colnett arrived. Martínez and Colnett clashed right away, each claiming Nootka Sound by authority of their respective kings. Despite his misgivings, Colnett allowed Argonaut to be brought into Friendly Cove and tied to Princesa and Columbia. As tensions rose while Martínez and Colnett continued to argue, Kendrick, knowing that Martínez was planning to seize Argonaut, prepared for the possibility of violence. The next day the arguments between Martínez and Colnett nearly turned violent, and Martínez had Colnett arrested. Martínez had Princesa's cannon loaded and ready, and asked Kendrick to do the same with Columbia, which he did. Seeing Argonaut trapped between the two ships as well as the cannon of Fort San Miguel, Colnett realized that resistance was futile. The events set in motion during the summer of 1789, especially the seizure of Argonaut, lead to the Nootka Crisis. It took time for the news to reach Europe, but when it did it nearly resulted in war between Britain and Spain.

On July 13, 1789, the day after Martínez seized Princess Royal, the Nuu chah nulth leader, Callicum, the son of Maquinna, went to Friendly Cove. He called angrily to Martínez, who shot him dead with a musket. Sources differ over the details of the event, but whatever the case it deepened the rift between the Spanish and Nuu chah nulth. Maquinna fled to Clayoquot Sound. The next day Kendrick decided it was time to leave Nootka Sound. Kendrick asked Martínez if he would be allowed to return to Nootka Sound the next year. Martínez agreed, with certain conditions and requests, to which Kendrick agreed. Martínez asked Kendrick to take the prisoners from North West America to Macau, offering 96 sea otter skins to cover expenses. He also asked Kendrick to sell 137 prime sea otter skins in Macau for him. Martínez also offered to deliver letters from the Americans. Kendrick wrote to Joseph Barrell, but knowing the letter would probably be read by the Spanish, kept his message short. He said he would cruise north then proceed to China, where he expected to receive instructions from Barrell. He also wrote a letter to his wife Huldah. While at Clayoquot Sound, Kendrick and Gray switched vessels. Kendrick ordered Gray to take Columbia to China, and Kendrick would take Washington north, trading for furs. Kendrick recognized that with the British driven off out of the trade due to the Nootka Crisis the Americans had a window of opportunity on the Northwest coast. All the furs in Washington were transferred to Columbia and the crews were divided so Kendrick would have a full complement of experienced sailors on Washington. On July 30 Gray sailed Columbia out of Clayoquot Sound, making for Hawaii and China. The reason for this exchange of ships remains unknown, but one reason could be that Kendrick thought Washington was easier to handle because she was smaller. Whatever the reason, Gray returned to Boston via Canton, later taking a second expedition in Columbia that would enter the Columbia River on the modern Washington Oregon border, and result in its naming for the ship. Kendrick's movements after leaving Clayoquot Sound are unknown. The next confirmed report dates to September, about a month after leaving Clayoquot. Kendrick encountered Thomas Metcalfe's Fair American near Dundas Island and Dixon Entrance. Metcalfe continued to Nootka Sound and told Martínez about meeting Kendrick. Martínez wrote that Kendrick was in "one of the mouths of the Strait of Fonte". How Kendrick got from Clayoquot to Dixon Entrance is not known. There is some evidence that he might have entered the Salish Sea, passing east of Vancouver Island. After his meeting with Metcalfe, Kendrick sailed across Hecate Strait to Haida Gwaii. His activities there are not known in detail but he likely stopped at several Haida villages such as Skidegate and Skedans. At Anthony Island, or SG̱ang Gwaay, he traded with the Haida village of Ninstints, under Chief Koyah, or Coyah. Ninstints had been visited by George Dixon in 1787, and by Robert Gray in June, 1789, when Kendrick sent him north to trade. Robert Haswell's account of Ninstints during Gray's visit is the earliest written description. Kendrick arrived at Ninstints about three months after Gray's visit. While Kendrick trading at Ninstints minor thefts from the ship caused some tension. One day Kendrick's clothes, which had been hung out to dry, were stolen. Kendrick had Chief Koyah and Chief Skulkinanse held as hostages until the stolen goods were returned. The clothes and most other missing items were returned. Knowing that trading would be over once the chiefs were released Kendrick demanded all the remaining furs be brought for trade. Some accounts say Kendrick paid for these furs at the same rate he had been paying,

Kendrick went to the Hawaiian Islands, arriving in November, 1789. Lady Washington was the 15th Western ship known to have visited Hawaii after James Cook. Kendrick sailed around the Island of Hawaii and anchored in Kealakekua Bay, not far from where Cook had been killed in 1779. Native Hawaiians came aboard to trade. Kendrick asked for Chief Kaʻiana, who had been on the Iphigenia at Nootka Sound and was friendly to Kendrick and other traders. Kaʻiana brought Kendrick a letter from Richard Howe, the clerk of Columbia, which had been in Hawaii in August. The letter warned of native duplicity and told of an attack on Iphigenia that summer. Kendrick also learned of the complicated and changing political situation in Hawaii. Chief Kamehameha I and his sub chiefs, such as Kaʻiana were expanding their power and eager to acquire firearms, which they had been obtaining from other traders. Kendrick was reluctant to trade firearms, fearing his own safety, but probably provided a few in trade for provisions. During his stay at Kealakekua Bay Kendrick recognized sandalwood. Knowing that sandalwood was prized in China he asked Kamehameha for permission to leave a man to harvest sandalwood for later pickup. Kamehameha wanted assistance training his men in the use of firearms. The details of the deal are not known, but whatever the exact terms Kamehameha agreed and Kendrick left his carpenter Isaac Ridler and two others, James Mackay and Samuel Thomas.

Kendrick anchored about a mile offshore of Macau on January 26, 1790. Gray had arrived in November and by January had made it to Whampoa, a trading center near Guangzhou (Canton), about 30 mile (48 km) up the Pearl River. Both captains found trading difficult under the Canton System. Kendrick sent a letter to Gray, telling of his arrival and asking for advice on how to proceed. Gray sent a letter back along with letters from Joseph Barrell, the owner of their venture. Gray described his difficulties with the Canton System and suggested Kendrick go to a smuggling area called Dirty Butter Bay on the west side of Montanha Island (today part of Hengqin). Gray also provided the names of buyers who would assist in smuggling. The letters from Barrell were friendly and reaffirmed Kendrick's command of the venture and broad authority to continue as he judged best. Kendrick took Lady Washington to Dirty Butter Bay on January 30, 1790. He found it rife with smuggling and illegal activity. There were two East India Company hulks acting as floating warehouses full of opium. Kendrick received another letter from Gray, who suggested Kendrick sell his cargo to Gray's agent in Whampoa, and that Gray would take the money himself. Kendrick refused, saying he might bring Washington up to Whampoa. To this Gray replied, warning of the difficulties involved and suggesting Kendrick remain where he was. As spring progressed Kendrick found himself stuck in Macau. The Chinese refused to give him permission to leave port and the Portuguese Governor of Macau, Lazaro da Silva Ferreira, would not intervene. The reason for this is unclear. Stuck in Macau, Kendrick asked William Douglas for assistance. Douglas had been captain of Iphigenia but had left Meares's company and taken command of the American schooner Grace, sailing under a US flag. Kendrick's first mate, Davis Coolidge, became Douglas's first mate. Kendrick and Douglas formed a loose partnership. Douglas was about to sail to the Pacific Northwest. He agreed to stop in Hawaii on the way back and pick up Kendrick's sandalwood. On August 9, 1790, Gray returned to Boston with Columbia. There were large celebrations of this first US circumnavigation and Gray became a national hero. However, the venture was a failure financially. Gray and Haswell blamed Kendrick for the failure. Some were skeptical of Gray's claims about Kendrick, such as the clerk John Hoskins and Joseph Barrell himself. In addition, questions were raised about the total number of furs Gray sold in China. Gray said they sold 700 skins, with Haswell's records as evidence. Barrell's agent at Canton said there were at least 1,215 furs, and perhaps more than 1,500. The discrepancy was never resolved. Gray proposed another venture in which he would have command of Columbia, with Haswell as first mate, and without Kendrick's overall command. While Columbia was being made ready controversy grew over Kendrick's role in the first venture. Newspapers published articles condemning Kendrick and calling him a rogue and a cheat. He was also held responsible for the Nootka Crisis and the looming war. John Quincy Adams wrote about Kendrick's "egregious knavery and unpardonable stupidity". During all this time Kendrick remained at Dirty Butter Bay, unable to leave due to the restrictions that had been placed upon him. In late 1790 a new governor of Macau, Vasco Luis Caneiro de Sousa de Faro, was appointed, and Kendrick's restrictions were lifted. By this time Douglas had returned with a cargo of furs, Kendrick's Hawaiian sandalwood, and Kendrick's men James Mackay and Samuel Thomas. After selling the furs and sandalwood the two captains decided to sail together to Japan in an attempt to open trade there. They left China on March 31, 1791. Kendrick and Douglas approached the Kii Peninsula of Japan on May 6. Seeking shelter from an approaching typhoon Kendrick and Douglas sailed into the channel between the mainland and the island of Kii Ōshima, near the fishing villages of Kushimoto and Koza. Both villages immediately sent messages to the daimyō at Wakayama Castle. After the storm passed a few Japanese fishermen visited the ships. Kendrick offered food and drink, and a few of the fishermen went on board. None of the ships' crewmembers spoke Japanese, but the Chinese crewmen were able to communicate via writing. Kendrick and Douglas learned that there was no market for sea otter furs in Japan, contrary to the rumors they had heard in Macau. The fishermen also persuaded Kendrick and Douglas not to go to Osaka, where they would have faced certain arrest. While they waited for favorable weather, five men were sent ashore on Oshima Island to collect water and wood. They fired a warning musket shot at a local farmer who tried to stop them. In the meantime, the messages from the villages reached Wakayama Castle and the daimyō sent a force of samurai. On May 17, Kendrick and Douglas departed, perhaps having heard that troops were coming. The samurai arrived two days later. The result of this first visit of Americans to Japan was largely symbolic for the United States. For Japan, it resulted in a new system of alarms and coastal patrols, increasing Japan's isolation under sakoku. A few days after leaving the Kii Peninsula, Kendrick and Douglas came across some islands that weren't on any charts they had. Possibly part of the Nanpō Islands, they named them the "Water Islands". Here, they decided to separate. Douglas sailed to Alaska, perhaps by way of Hawaii, while Kendrick made for the Pacific Northwest coast.

In early June, 1791, Kendrick arrived at Bucareli Bay. He spent about a week trading in Tsimshian and Haida territory. He visited several villages in Haida Gwaii before arriving at the southern end of the islands. On June 13 he visited the Haida village X̱yuu Daw Llnagaay, also spelled Ce uda’o Inagai. The village is located on a point north east of Saawdaan G̱awG̱a, or Keeweenah Bay, near Ninstints in the territory of Koyah, with whom Kendrick had had trouble in 1789. Sources differ over exactly how events unfolded. Whatever the details, trading proceeded in a friendly manner for a couple of days and many Haida from the region came. A festive mood developed and Kendrick relaxed his security. Kendrick was told that Koyah was no longer a chief, and when Koyah came he appeared to hold no ill feelings. Koyah joined the Haida trading on board, having brought his own furs to trade. By some accounts Kendrick traded a blue nankeen coat to Koyah. The Spanish officer Francisco de Eliza had re established the fort at Friendly Cove but was away exploring the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Strait of Georgia. The acting commandant, Ramón Saavedra, sent an armed boat, telling Kendrick that Nootka Sound belonged to Spain and no one could enter or trade without permission. Kendrick defiantly said they had come to trade and would do so. Saavedra decided to take no action and await the return of Eliza. Kendrick arrived at his old base in Marvinas Bay, Nootka Sound, on July 12. Many chiefs gathered at Marvinas Bay. Kendrick entertained them with Chinese fireworks, after which he launched into a speech claiming that the Europeans were coming to the region with the intention of establishing settlements. He told them that if he held the deeds to their land it could prevent the Europeans from gaining a permanent foothold in the region. Kendrick promised that they would retain all their traditional rights and that he was essentially asking for the right to use the region as one of the Nuu chah nulth. Additionally, he promised to defend the lands against incursions from European traders and other tribes outside their confederation. But the most important thing he offered, from the Nuu chah nulth perspective, was firearms. If they were well armed they could defend themselves against traders who previously had felt free to raid villages at will. The memory of Maquinna's brother Callicum being shot to death by the Spanish was still fresh. The chiefs agreed to Kendrick's proposal. In July 1791 Kendrick purchased Marvinas Bay from Maquinna and other chiefs, with "all the land, rivers, creeks, harbours, islands, etc., with all the produce of sea and land appertaining thereto." The deed mentions only four muskets traded in exchange, although by 1792 Wickaninnish was said to have acquired about 200 muskets from Kendrick. Kendrick's land purchases collectively gave him title to over 1000 square miles (2,590 km2) of Vancouver Island, including nearly all of Nootka Island and the lands around Nootka Sound and Clayoquot Sound. Kendrick arrived at Macau on December 7, 1791, and was soon again anchored at the smugglers haven Dirty Butter Bay. Several other American traders were there, including Joseph Ingraham of the Hope, Crowell of the Hancock, and Coolidge of the Grace. The Fairy arrived soon after Kendrick. From these traders Kendrick learned of his diminished reputation in Boston. On March 28, 1792, he wrote to Joseph Barrell, defending himself against the charges made against him and describing how Gray had cheated Barrell by under reporting furs sold in Macau and selling the difference for his personal profit. He also described the land purchases he had made and promised to send copies of the deeds. Lacking specific instructions he proposed that he would continue in Barrell's employ "as usual", including, he suggested, command of Columbia. Alternatively, if Barrell was not interested in continuing the relationship, he proposed buying Lady Washington for $14,000, plus interest, and operating on his own. He entrusted the letter to Ebenezer Dorr, who had come to Macau with Ingraham on the Hope and was returning to Boston on the Fairy. Kendrick could not expect a reply from Barrell for at least a year. In the meantime he decided to strengthen his position in Hawaii and on the Northwest coast. Not longer after Dorr and most of the other traders left Kendrick fell ill. When Ingraham left on April 1, 1792, he described Kendrick as near death. Kendrick and Stoddard sailed from Macau in September, 1792, planning to winter in Clayoquot Sound. Only a few days out they were caught in a violent typhoon, during which Washington was badly damaged and Avenger was lost, never to be seen again. Kendrick returned to Macau and took loans to pay for the major repairs Washington needed. Howell would take command of Washington after Kendrick's death. The letter was received by the State Department on October 24, 1793. Jefferson was already trying to organize an overland expedition, under André Michaux, to the Pacific coast. The Michaux expedition never came to be, but the plan eventually resulted in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Jefferson's reaction to Kendrick's letter is unknown, but the timing was not good. France had declared war on Britain and Spain just as Kendrick was writing the letter. Joseph Barrell had told Kendrick that any lands purchased could be authorized by Congress after the fact. Although this was true, in early 1793 Congress was unwilling to provoke Britain and Spain by annexing land on the Pacific coast. Unlike Quadra, Fidalgo deeply mistrusted the Nuu chah nulth and other Northwest natives, and his attitude and behavior toward them had quickly led to unrest, undoing the friendly relations that had been built by Quadra and Alejandro Malaspina. Some of the Nuu chah nulth chiefs wanted to attack and destroy the Spanish post. Fidalgo knew that Kendrick was allied with the natives and had probably brought more firearms for them. After anchoring in Friendly Cove Kendrick went ashore with John Howell as translator. Fidalgo told Kendrick that he was under orders to deny Washington entry at Nootka Sound. Kendrick responding by threatening to "raise the Indians and drive [the Spanish] from their settlement" if Fidalgo gave him any trouble.

Kendrick arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in late 1793. During the early winter he met with King Kamehameha on the Island of Hawaii. By January, 1794, he had given his carpenter John Boyd into the service of Kamehameha at Waiakea on Hilo Bay. Boyd began to work on building a ship for Kamehameha, planned to be a 40 ton, long armed sloop. The next day Kendrick, John Howell, and Keeaumoku Pāpaiahiahi went aboard Discovery. Vancouver and Kendrick met face to face for the first time. Vancouver and Howell had met at Nootka Sound when Howell was serving as translator for Bodega y Quadra. Kendrick told Vancouver he was wintering in Hawaii and planning to return to the Pacific Northwest coast in the spring. Howell would stay in Hawaii to manage Kendrick's business. Vancouver knew that Kendrick had already sailed among the islands, inspecting his operations in Kauai and Oahu, and was continuing to strengthen his ties and trade with the Hawaiians. Among the items he had acquired was the largest feathered war cloak, about 9 feet (3 m) long and 24 feet (7 m) wide. Reportedly, he had traded his two stern chaser cannons for the cloak. He had also obtained chunks of ambergris worth thousands of dollars. His men on Kauai were collecting sandalwood and pearls and were starting to produce molasses, a valuable trade good on the Northwest coast. Despite Vancouver's efforts, Kendrick was able to proceed as if nothing had happened. He ignored both Vancouver's claim over the Island of Hawaii and Brown's claim over the islands from Maui to Oahu. Not long after Vancouver left Hawaii, Kendrick also sailed to the Pacific Northwest coast. He found the situation at Nootka Sound bleak. Chief Maquinna's people had suffered a hard winter and famine. The conflict with Wickaninnish was ongoing. Maquinna wanted to move his people closer to the Spanish fort at Friendly Cove, but the new commandant, Ramón Saavedra Guiráldez y Ordónez, refused. Neither John nor his son Juan knew that Resolution had been attacked and captured by Chief Cumshewa and possibly Kendrick's old enemy Koyah. All but one of the crew were killed, including Solomon Kendrick. Juan Kendrick learned about this later and in 1799, with others who had lost friends or family members on Resolution, exacted revenge. Being part of the Spanish Navy's San Blas Department, it was probably not his first time in California. On October 5, 1794, William Brown arrived on Jackall. He learned that he could no longer count on help from Vancouver, who with failing health was soon to return to England. The earliest account comes from the log of Captain John Boit as told to him by John Young, just 10 months after the incident. Boit reported:

"On the 3rd of December Capt John Kendrick in the snow Lady Washington of Boston arrived at Fairhaven and was met with a very friendly reception by Captain Brown. And on the 6th of the same month in consequence of a long quarrel between the Chiefs of Oahu and Kauai a battle was fought and victory was gained by the King of Oahu by the assistance of Kendrick who immediately informed Captain Brown that on the morrow he should cause the flag of the United States to be hoisted and fire a federal salute, which he begged might be answered by the two Englishmen, and it was accordingly agreed to, and Captain Brown ordered three guns to be unshotted for that purpose. And about ten the next morning the ship Jackal began to salute, but on coming to the third gun it was discovered not to be primed, so the apron of the 4th gun was taken off and fired, and being shotted with round and grapeshot it pierced the side of the Lady Washington and killed Captain Kendrick as he sat at his table, and killed and wounded many on deck." James Rowan, the mate of Lady Washington at the time, would later say that "he had sworn since Captain Kendrick's death he would salute no vessel in a hurry, except at a safe distance." Most narratives of Kendrick's death also refer to the account published by Sheldon Dibble, a missionary who worked in Hawaii from 1836 to 1845, because his sources included local oral traditions of the battle. According to Dibble:

"Captain Brown interested himself in the war, but Captain Kendrick took no part in it. The first engagement was at Punahawale, where victory leaned to the side of Kaeo and several foreigners who aided Kalanikupule. The next engagement was at Kalauao in which it is said that Captain Brown with his men rendered efficient aid to Kalanikupule. In this engagement Kalanikupule was victorious and Kaeo was slain. On the return of the party to Honolulu, Captain Brown fired a salute in honor of Kalanikupule's victory. The American sloop was at anchor only a few yards distant, and Captain Kendrick was at dinner in the cabin. A wad, as is supposed, from one of the guns passed into the cabin and struck him in the head and killed him instantly. There was an investigation in the case held by foreigners on board one of the vessels and the decision was that the occurrence was a casualty." It is believed that Kendrick's body was buried in the same location as those of Captain Derby in 1802 and Isaac Davis in 1810, in what would become the cemetery for foreigners near the corner of King St. and Pi'ikoi St. in Honolulu. Grave stones for Derby and Davis stood at this site until 1900, and it has been speculated that if the chiefs had designated a burial location for Kendrick and the other Lady Washington casualties it would have been used to bury other foreigners in the years to come. John Howell, the clerk onboard Lady Washington whom George Vancouver described as having "once been a clergyman of the Church of England" is presumed to have presided over Kendrick's burial service. Nineteen days after Kendrick's death, a group of Kalanikūpule's warriors attacked from canoes, killing Brown and many of his men. The survivors managed to escape to Kealakekua Bay with the ships. Whatever journals, logs, and other papers Kendrick had kept over the years were lost.

With the loss of Kendrick's own journals and logs his story was pieced together from other sources, especially Haswell's journal and the miscellaneous papers of the financiers of the expedition. Soon after his death Americans came to dominate the maritime fur trade that Kendrick had helped pioneer. Many of those who followed in his footsteps praised him, such as Amasa Delano and William F. Sturgis. Kendrick's harbor at Marvinas Bay, also known as Kendrick's Cove and Safe Harbor Retreat, became a common anchorage for American ships trading on the Northwest coast. Kendrick Bay and Kendrick Islands, in southern Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, are named for John Kendrick. Several places in British Columbia are named for John Kendrick, including Kendrick Inlet in Nootka Sound, and Kendrick Point in Haida Gwaii. The Kendrick House, also known as the Sparrow House, is a full Cape Cod style house located on Route 28 in South Orleans, built circa 1800. The John Kendrick Maritime Museum in Wareham, Massachusetts displays several personal artifacts of Kendrick, as well as others from various local families of the era. The Kendrick Woods Conservation Area and John Kendrick Road also exist in the town of Orleans, Massachusetts.