History of Seattle

The city was settled on November 13, 1851. The Puget Sound region has been inhabited by humans for at least 12,000 years. By the time of the European arrival in North America, it was home to many distinct cultures, most of which had in common a fishing and hunting and gathering economy and some form of the gift-exchange system called the potlatch. When Europeans first explored the area of what is now Seattle, they encountered members of the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka), Suquamish, Duwamish, Coast Salish, Makah, Quinault, and Chinook peoples, all of whom occasionally warred among themselves but were generally peaceful toward the newcomers.

The early modern history of the Seattle area, like that of the Northwest generally, is closely connected with expeditionary efforts to find the Northwest Passage and the subsequent development of the overseas trade with North Asia. Explorers in the service of Spain, notably Juan de Fuca, sailed along the Pacific coast of Washington and entered the far reaches of Puget Sound, as did Russian traders and explorers. However, Great Britain was the first European power to command the systematic exploration of the region. Spurred by Capt. James Cook’s reports of a thriving local market in sea otter skins that were traded with Russian and Chinese adventurers, the admiralty sent an experienced sailor, George Vancouver, to map the area and locate the Northwest Passage. Vancouver arrived in 1792 and named the inland sea for his second lieutenant, Peter Puget. Vancouver’s reports on the region’s economic possibilities and natural beauty encouraged further British exploration, but Britain’s nominal control over the area effectively ended with the arrival of American explorers, trappers, and traders in the following decade.