Celebrated Canadian historian Barry Gough will discuss how Royal Navy policies kept the peace in the north Pacific while affirming British interests, in a lecture tonight at 7 in the San Juan Island Library.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Call San Juan Island National Historical Park at 378-2902 or the library, 378-2798, for special access information.

Co-Sponsored by San Juan Island National Historical Park and the island-based Madrona Institute, Gough’s program is the third in the August lecture series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Pig War crisis.

Jonathan Greenberg, director of international dispute resolution for the international law firm Heenan Blaikie, will present the final talk in the series on Aug. 28.

Gough’s talk is entitled “Collision of Empires on San Juan 1859: ‘Tut,

tut, no, no, the damned fools!’” and is related to his book, “The Royal Navy and the Northwest Coast of North America, 1810-1914.” He has been writing about the history of the Pacific Coast for almost four decades and is known for the authenticity of his work, which has received international recognition.

The founding director of Canadian Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, Gough also is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a fellow of King’s College London and a life member of the Association of Canadian Studies.

In addition to “The Royal Navy,” his books include “Gunboat Frontier:

British Maritime Authority and Northwest Coast Indians, 1846–90″; “First Across the Continent: Sir Alexander Mackenzie” and “Fighting Sail on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.” He lives in Victoria, B.C., with his wife, Marilyn.

Gough holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in American Studies from Yale University, and a B.A. in history from Stanford University.

For more information about the speakers, visit www.nps.gov/sajh or www.madrona.org.