Milbanke Sound is a sound

Sound (geography)

In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or it may be defined as a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....

 on the coast of the Canadian province

Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...

 of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, extending east from Queen Charlotte Sound, with Price Island

Price Island (British Columbia)

Price Island is an island on the coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located at the southeastern end of Hecate Strait and the northeastern end of Queen Charlotte Sound. The southermost point of Price Island, called Day Point, is used to delineated the boundary between Hecate...

 on the west, Swindle Island

Swindle Island

Swindle Island is an island on the North Coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located south of Princess Royal Island on the Inside Passage shipping route. Price Island lies just south of Swindle Island...

 on the north, and the Bardswell Group of islands on the south. Milbanke Sound is one of the open sea portions of the Inside Passage

Inside Passage

The Inside Passage is a coastal route for oceangoing vessels along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific coast of North America. The route extends from southeastern Alaska, in the United States, through western British Columbia, in Canada, to northwestern Washington...

, with Seaforth Channel joining from the east and Finlayson Channel

Finlayson Channel

Finlayson Channel is a channel of the British Columbia Coast. It is a northern extension of Milbanke Sound. To its west are Swindle and Sarah Islands, to its east Roderick, Susan and Dowager Islands. It was first charted in 1793 by James Johnstone, one of George Vancouver's lieutenants during his...

 from the north. Mathieson Channel

Mathieson Channel

Mathieson Channel is a channel of the British Columbia Coast. It is a northern extension of Milbanke Sound. To its west are Pooley, Roderick, Susan and Dowager Islands, to its east the Don Peninsula. It was first charted in 1793 by James Johnstone, one of George Vancouver's lieutenants during his...

 also connects to Milbanke Sound from the north, and leads to Fiordland Recreation Area.

History

The Heiltsuk

Heiltsuk

The Heiltsuk are an Indigenous First Nations of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the island communities of Bella Bella and Klemtu. The government of the Heiltsuk people is the Heiltsuk Nation...

 peoples traditionally occupied some of the land around Milbanke Sound.

In late June, 1788, the British fur trade

Fur trade

The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...

r Charles Duncan, captain of the Princess Royal

Princess Royal (sloop)

Princess Royal was a British merchant ship that sailed on fur trading ventures in the late 1780s, and was captured at Nootka Sound by Esteban José Martínez of Spain during the Nootka Crisis of 1789...

entered Milbanke Sound, which was then uncharted waters. He spent a few days trading with the Heiltsuk

Heiltsuk

The Heiltsuk are an Indigenous First Nations of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the island communities of Bella Bella and Klemtu. The government of the Heiltsuk people is the Heiltsuk Nation...

.

In the early 19th century the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

 established Fort McLoughlin

Fort McLoughlin

Fort McLoughlin was a fur trading post established in 1833 by the Hudson's Bay Company on Campbell Island in present-day British Columbia, Canada. The site is believed to have been at McLoughlin Bay on the northeast side of Campbell Island and is associated with the relocation of the Heiltsuk...

 in the Milbanke Sound area. William Fraser Tolmie

William Fraser Tolmie

William Fraser Tolmie was a Canadian surgeon, fur trader, scientist, and politician....

 was stationed there in 1833-1834. Tolmie wrote about the fur trade in the area, saying that it was conducted with the Coast Tsimshians and Heiltsuks, using a pidgin jargon composed of the Kaigani and Tshatshinni dialects of Haida

Haida language

The Haida language is the language of the Haida people. It contains seven vowels and well over 30 consonants.-History:The first documented contact between the Haida and Europeans was in 1774, on Juan Pérez's exploratory voyage. At this time Haidas inhabited the Queen Charlotte Islands, Dall...

 and English. Chinook Jargon

Chinook Jargon

Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...

, commonly used elsewhere, was not widely known in Milbanke Sound at the time.

In recent times archaeological investigations have been carried out in the Milbanke Sound area.