Nootka Sound

**Nootka Sound** is a trading post and landing ground on the Pacific north-west coast of the Americas.

James Delaney inherited this plot of land from his father, Horace Delaney, to the annoyance of Sir Stuart Strange and the East India Company that needs that point of the coast for their own naval trade.

## Story

The Nootka trading post and landing is a small piece of ground on the Pacific north-west coast of the Americas, in what was formerly Spanish America. Horace Delaney bought it —and a wife— from an indigenous tribe in 1784, in exchange of beads and gunpowder. Thirty years later, the East India Company sought to obtain possession of this plot of land, implementing corrupted attorneys to steal it from the Delaney family. In order to do so, they had to put their hands on the Nootka Treaty and destroy it. Unfortunately for them, the document was secreted by Delaney, Sr.'s latest wife, Lorna Bow.

According to Sir Stuart Strange, by virtue of geography, the Nootka sound is a point of contention between His Majesty's Government and the United States. Therefore, that private ownership of the Nootka Sound landing ground represents an opportunity for Americans who dispute its sovereignty when the time comes to draw the border. James Delaney was well aware of all of this as well as the fact that British and American Government are preparing to begin their secret peace talks in Ghent. As negotiators are preparing depositions to draw the Canadian-American border for when the current hostilities end, and because of the strategical position of Nootka Sound, whoever owns it has legal entitlement to the entire island of Vancouver, which is the gateway to China. For this reason, the border is very valuable to the Crown and to the East India, but also incredibly valuable to the Americans. James refused to sell it or being bribed, intending to take advantage of his inheritance to set the basis for his own trading company, the Delaney Nootka Trading Company.

Hostilities ensued between Delaney, the Crown and the East India Company who also had to deal with the presence of Americans spies and double agents among them.

## Memorable Quotes

“*This Nootka Sound is a curse. It will bring the King and Empire down upon your head.*”
― Brace to James

**Sir Stuart Strange**: “*By virtue of geography a point of contention between His Majesty's Government and the cursed United States.*”
**James Delaney:** “*So this small piece of land that my father bought for beads, bless him, and gunpowder, some 30 years ago, actually will be very, very valuable to the Crown and to the East India, but also incredibly valuable to the Americans.*”

## Images

Nootka Sound on a mapNootka Sound on a map
## Appearances

Season 1
* S1, Ep. 1: Episode 1 (mentioned)
* S1, Ep. 2: Episode 2 (mentioned)
* S1, Ep. 3: Episode 3 (mentioned)
* S1, Ep. 6: Episode 6 (mentioned)
* S1, Ep. 7: Episode 7  (mentioned)

## Notes

* Nootka Sound is an inlet or “sound” (basically a narrow ocean channel between two bodies of land) on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, which is now located in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is part of the traditional territory of the indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth Native American tribe, depicted in Taboo as being the tribe of James Delaney’s (Tom Hardy) mother.

## References

1. ↑ Knight, Steven (writer) & Nyholm, Kristoffer (director); January 21, 2017 BBC; January 24, 2017, FX; "Episode 3". *Taboo*.
2. ↑ Knight, Steven (writer) & Nyholm, Kristoffer (director); January 14, 2017, BBC; January 17, 2017, FX; "Episode 2". *Taboo*.
3. ↑ Knight, Steven (writer) & Engström, Anders (director); February 18, 2017 BBC; February 21, 2017, FX; "Episode 7". *Taboo*.
4. ↑ Taboo- Everything you need to know about Nootka Sound