Bruce McIntyre Watson

Bruce McIntyre Watson is a Vancouver, BC-based historian whose research focuses on both the maritime and land-based fur trade west of the Rocky Mountains. His archival work has been the basis for numerous articles and a variety of talks. Two books arising from this are Leaving Paradise: Indigenous Hawaiians in the Pacific Northwest, 1787-1898 (co-authored with Jean Barman), Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2006, and Lives Lived West of the Divide: A Biographical Dictionary of Fur Traders Working West of the Rockies, 1793-1858 (3 vols.), Kelowna, BC: Centre for Social, Spatial, and Economic Justice, University of British Columbia, 2010.

Author's Entries

  • Hawaiians in the Oregon Country

    Native Hawaiians were among the earliest outsiders in present-day Oregon. The future state’s first resource to be exploited by outsiders was animal pelts, highly valued for trimming garments and making hats. Prevailing winds meant that ships heading to Oregon for that purpose routinely stopped in the Hawaiian Islands, also known …

    Oregon Encyclopedia