Contents -- Illustrations -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- 1 The 'Backside of America' -- 2 Nova Albion -- 3 The Strait of Anian and Other Northwest Passages -- 4 Sea Otter Pelts, Muscovites, and Mandarins -- 5 Merchant Sea Traders -- 6 Meares and a Scheme of Empire -- 7 Botany Bay and Nootka Sound -- 8 Encroachments in the Spanish Lake -- 9 Impasse -- 10 A Voyage of Discovery -- 11 Westward the Course of Empire -- 12 Epilogue -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y.