Secret Coast: Spanish in Homais Cove, Vancouver Island, 1774

In 1774, the first Europeans to arrive on the coast of what is now called Vancouver Island were the Spanish: the ship Santiago, under the Captain Juan Pérez. They were met by the indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth inhabitants. Four years later, Captain Cook arrived just north of here, and claimed these lands for Britain. These events led to the Nootka Crisis which, in the 1790s, nearly brought Spain and Britain to war.
The Secret Coast Expedition is sponsored by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and by the Spanish Embassy in Canada. To find out more about our wilderness expedition, or about the book that will result from this work, visit www.secret-coast.com