Simon Metcalfe | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 23, 1741 London, England |
| Died | 1794 (aged 52–53) |
| Occupation | Maritime fur trader |
| Spouse | Catherine Humphrey |
| Parent(s) | George and Anne Metcalfe |
| Signature | |
 | |
Simon Metcalfe (also spelled Metcalf) (April 23, 1741 – 1794) was a British-born American surveyor and one of the first American maritime fur traders to visit the Pacific Northwest coast.
As early visitors to the Hawaiian Islands in 1789, Metcalfe and his son Thomas Humphrey Metcalfe unwittingly provided Western military weapons and advisors for Kamehameha I, when two of their men and a ship and its armaments were captured.[1] These helped the chief win strategic battles and unify the Hawaiian Islands. The son Thomas and most of his crew were killed about 1789-1790 in an attack by Hawaiian warriors, which the father never learned about.
Simon Metcalfe later returned to the Pacific Northwest. He and all but one of his crew were killed in 1794 in an attack by Haida warriors who were allowed on the ship for trading. This was in what were then known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, now known as Haida Gwaii in present-day British Columbia, Canada.
- ^ "Settlement - 1800", Hawaiian Encyclopedia.