Empires of the Wind: Exploration of the United States Pacific West Coast

FAIN: BH-50304-09

Maritime Museum Association of San Diego (San Diego, CA 92101-3309)
Raymond Ashley (Project Director: March 2009 to June 2011)

Two one-week workshops for eighty school teachers on Pacific exploration and the colonization of the American west coast, to be held at sites in San Diego, California.

Empires of the Wind: Exploration of the United States Pacific West Coast is a six-day workshop developed by the Maritime Museum of San Diego (MMSD), specifically for school teachers, to examine the role of the Pacific in American History. This dynamic period of the nation's history was the product of developments in the sciences, technology, and economics, set against the evolving geopolitics of the time. The arrival of the earliest European explorers on the Pacific Coast of what is now the United States pre-dated the arrival of the pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts, by a full 78 years, underscoring the importance of the West Coast in the development of the young nation. The seeds of this period, and its stunning confluence of cultures, helped set our young nation on its trajectory of achievement arising from diversity. The purpose of this workshop, then, is to provide teachers with expertise in this formative and rich period of history.