He wasted no time in establishing one at Friendly Cove, but for no known reason abandoned it a few months after arriving. In 1789 Esteban Jose Martinez returned to build that fort. The Spanish, like the British, realizing the importance of the area, hoping to solidify Spanish sovereignty in it and aware of the movement of Russian explorers down the coast for sea otter pelts and lands to conquer, decided to build a fort at Friendly Cove. One expedition, commanded by John Meares, arrived in 1786 then in 1788, Mears built a small trading post at Friendly Cove. Many British expeditions, after Cook, arrived to trade with the Nootka. The Russians also recognized the political value of the area, but the Americans, while seeing political advantages, seemed only interested in its commercial viability. On departing, the owner of the vessels left John Mackay with Maquinna and thus Mackay became the first white resident of British Columbia.ĭuring this period both Spain and Britain sought to expand their colonial possessions and, as a result, Nootka Sound and the North Pacific region became important in the plans of both of them. Hanna’s second trip, on the Sea Otter, was not so successful because he had been beaten there by the Captain Cook and the Enterprise which had bought up all the skins. In 1785, British Captain James Hanna from China in the Harmon became the first commercial fur trader to arrive in Nootka, the first of hundreds who would make their way to the West Coast as a result of the published accounts of Cook’s voyage. Unfortunately, Cook didn’t see the results of his findings: he had been killed in the Hawaiian Islands in February, 1779. This news particularly excited fur traders and Cook’s maps and observations helped open up the Pacific Coast to further trade and exploration. Once back in England, news spread of Cook’s expedition and the high prices paid in the Far East for their sea otter pelts. After almost a month in Nootka Sound, Cook and his ships left the area laden with furs and a better understanding of the Nootkan people. His illustrations provide a fairly accurate picture of both the dwellings and the way of life among the people at that time. Repairs finished, Cook explored the rest of Nootka Sound, stopping at the Nootkan Village of Yuquot where John Webber, his shipboard artist, made water-colours of the sights and peoples. They used a trail from Tahsis up the Tahsis Valley to Woss Lake, then to the Nimpkish River and to Nimpkish Lake where they traded with east-coast Vancouver Island natives who in turn traded with groups on the Mainland. The presence of iron among the Nootkas amazed both Cook and his men and the origin of this iron has never been traced, but may have come about through an overland trade route already established by the Nootka. In exchange they wanted knives, chisels, nails, buttons and any kind of metal. The Nootka offered various animal skins for trade, particularly the sea otter, but also offered such goods as carvings, spears and fish hooks. On March 31, Cook anchored in Resolution Cove and while repairs on the ships continued, trading took place between the natives and Cook’s men. As Cook’s ships arrived the Nootka people came out to meet them in canoes: this meeting was the first cultural exchange here between one of the more powerful First Nation’s groups and Europeans. On March 29, 1778, in search of the Northwest Passage, Captain James Cook with two vessels, the Resolution and the Discovery sailed into Nootka Sound looking for a sheltered bay in which to make repairs. This exploration oversight would later prove costly to Spain. Because the Spanish did not actually land and then take formal possession, the British would not acknowledge Spanish sovereignty over the area. Here he traded with the First Nations people for furs, but made no landing. In 1774 the Spanish became the first Europeans to sight the entrance of Nootka Sound when the Santiago, out of Monterey and under Captain Juan Perez, anchored off Nootka at Estevan Point which he named Punta San Esteban after one of his officers Esteban Jose Martinez. Editorial courtesy of Nootka Sound Serviceīy Bernard Cobin, B.A., John Sharpe, B.A.
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