Born on Pico Island in the Portuguese Azores in 1828, Joseph Silvey began whaling when he was just 12 years old. Around 1860, when Silvey came to the BC coast on a whaling schooner, he decided to jump ship to try his hand at gold mining.

From harpooning whales in small open rowboats, to serving up liquor to rambunctious millworkers, to being the first man to have a herring seine license in BC, Silvey was the Renaissance man of his generation. His friends were many, and inclued saloon keeper Gassy Jack Deighton for whom Vancouver's Gastown is named, his prestigious grandfather-in-law Chief Klapilano and the infamous whaler and sealer Captain Abel Douglas.

Although Portuguese Joe and his family prospered - he had 11 children with two wives and his many descendants still populate the BC coast - they also had their share of grief. Joe's first wife Khaltinaht died after a few short years of marriage; his eldest child Elizabeth was kidnapped and forced to marry against her will; and his sixth child John was murdered during a rowboat robbery.

Historian Jean Barman brings to life the story of Portuguese Joe - the romance, the tragedy and the adventure - piecing together interviews with Silvey's descendants, archival records and historical photographs to build an intriguing and entertaining portrait of Joseph Silvey, his family, and the time and place in which he lived.