The first inhabitants of the region were the NOOTKA, who made their living by hunting and fishing. They were the only Canadian NATIVE PEOPLE to specialize in WHALING and were the first in BC to meet Europeans. The coastal environment was particularly bountiful in fish of many varieties, and the semisedentary Nootka developed an elaborate culture.

The sound was likely first explored by James COOK in 1778, although Peréz Hernandez had approached it 4 years earlier. Cook first called the inlet King George's Sound, then Nootka Sound, thinking this was its native name. Soon after, the region became a centre of trade and then of competition among Russia, Britain and Spain. In 1789 a Spanish force occupied the sound and built a fort; 2 months later a British force arrived and a quarrel developed. In the ensuing NOOTKA SOUND CONTROVERSY, Spain eventually agreed to a convention (1794) according to which both nations were free to navigate and fish in the Pacific, to trade and establish settlements. At first the Nootka prospered from the sea-otter fur trade that followed European explorations, but the introduction of diseases such as SMALLPOX virtually wiped them out.

The main native settlement at Yuquot ("windy place") is still important for the remaining Nootka, many of whom work in pulp mills at Gold River and CAMPBELL RIVER.

See also NORTHWEST COAST.