The Nuu-chah-nulth, also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifteen related tribes whose traditional home is on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
John Meares was an English navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war.
Nootka Island is an island adjacent to Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is 510 square kilometres (200 sq mi) in area. It is separated from Vancouver Island by Nootka Sound and its side-inlets, and is located within Electoral Area A of the Strathcona Regional District.
Nootka Sound is a sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Pacific Northwest, historically known as King George's Sound. It separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island, part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It played a historically important role in the maritime fur trade.
Robert Gray was an American Merchant Sea Captain who is known for his achievements in connection with two trading voyages to the northern Pacific coast of North America, between 1790 and 1793, which pioneered the American maritime fur trade in that region. In the course of those voyages, Gray explored portions of that coast and in the year 1790 he completed the first American circumnavigation of the world. He was also noted for coming upon and naming the Columbia River, in 1792, while on his second voyage.
Tahsis is a village municipality on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, about 300 km (186 mi) northwest of the provincial capital Victoria at 49°55′33″N126°37′16″W. As of 2011, the Canadian census listed 316 residents, a decline from the 2006 Census count of 366 residents. The Village of Tahsis economy used to be dependent on forestry, but after the closure of the local sawmill in 2001, the economy became heavily dependent on sport fishing for salmon and halibut, outdoor recreation and tourism.
Maquinna was the chief of the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Nootka Sound, during the heyday of the maritime fur trade in the 1780s and 1790s on the Pacific Northwest Coast. The name means "possessor of pebbles". His people are today known as the Mowachaht and reside today with their kin, the Muchalaht, at Gold River, British Columbia, Canada.
Nuu-chah-nulth, a.k.a.Nootka, is a Wakashan language in the Pacific Northwest of North America on the west coast of Vancouver Island, from Barkley Sound to Quatsino Sound in British Columbia by the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples. Nuu-chah-nulth is a Southern Wakashan language related to Nitinaht and Makah.
The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations are a First Nations government on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations are a member nation of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, which spans all Nuu-chah-nulth-aht peoples except for the Pacheedaht First Nation.
The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The organization is based in Port Alberni, British Columbia.
Esteban José Martínez Fernández y Martínez de la Sierra, or simply José Esteban Martínez (1742–1798) was a Spanish naval officer, navigator and explorer, native of Seville. He was a key figure in the Spanish exploration of the Pacific Northwest and the Nootka Crisis.
Fort San Miguel was a Spanish fortification at Yuquot on Nootka Island, just west of north-central Vancouver Island. It protected the Spanish settlement, called Santa Cruz de Nuca, the first colony in British Columbia.
The Nootka Crisis, also known as the Spanish Armament, was an international incident and political dispute between the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation, Spain, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the fledgling United States of America triggered by a series of events revolving around sovereignty claims and rights of navigation and trade. It took place during the summer of 1789 at the Spanish outpost Santa Cruz de Nuca, in Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island in present-day British Columbia, Canada. The commander of the outpost, Jose Esteban Martínez, seized some British commercial ships which had come for the maritime fur trade and to build a permanent post at Nootka Sound. Public outcry in Great Britain led to the mobilization of the Royal Navy, and the possibility of war. Both sides called upon allies, the Dutch joined the side of Great Britain; Spain mobilized her navy and her key ally France also mobilized theirs, but the latter soon announced they would not go to war. Without French help, Spain had little hope against the British and the Dutch, resulting in Spain seeking a diplomatic solution and making concessions.
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. Called Princesa Real while under the Spanish Navy, the vessel was one of the important issues of negotiation during the first Nootka Convention and the difficulties in carrying out the agreements. The vessel also played an important role in both British and Spanish exploration of the Pacific Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands. In 1790, while under Spanish control, Princesa Real carried out the first detailed examination of the Strait of Juan de Fuca by non-indigenous peoples, finding, among other places, the San Juan Islands, Haro Strait, Esquimalt Harbour near present-day Victoria, British Columbia, and Admiralty Inlet.
Opitsaht, spelled also as Opitsat and Opitsitah, is a Tla-o-qui-aht settlement/community in the Southwest area of the Meares Islands, Clayoquot South, British Columbia. This peninsula-like region is the home to the Tla-o-qui-aht people from the Nuu-chah-nulth nation, a tribe from the Pacific Northwest region in the lower Vancouver area, known for their lifestyle revolving around the marine life trade and culture within the community.
Santa Cruz de Nuca was a Spanish colonial fort and settlement and the first European colony in what is now known as British Columbia. The settlement was founded on Vancouver Island in 1789 and abandoned in 1795, with its far northerly position making it the "high-water mark" of verified northerly Spanish settlement along the North American west coast. The colony was established with the Spanish aim of securing the entire west coast of the continent from Alaska southwards, for the Spanish crown.
The Yuquot Whalers' Shrine, previously located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, was a site of purification rituals, passed down through the family of a Yuquot chief. It contained a collection of 88 carved human figures, four carved whale figures, and sixteen human skulls. Since the early twentieth century, it has been in the possession of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, but is rarely displayed. Talks are underway regarding repatriation.
James Charles Stuart Strange was a British officer of the East India Company, one of the first maritime fur traders, a banker, and a Member of Parliament.
Whaling on the Pacific Northwest Coast encompasses both aboriginal and commercial whaling from Washington State through British Columbia to Alaska. The indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast have whaling traditions dating back millennia, and the hunting of cetaceans continues by Alaska Natives and to a lesser extent by the Makah people.
