or disputed tribal identity. While language and tradition united the Klallam people, there were extensive trade, inter-marriage, and other forms of cooperation between the Klallam and surrounding tribes. Like many other indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest coast, the Klallam held potlatches, which played a large role in determining social status. Post-Contact Europeans first began to explore the Pacific Northwest coast with Juan Pérez in 1774, James Cook in 1778, and many others, especially maritime fur traders, from the 1780s on. Early explorers did not enter the Strait of Juan de Fuca or make direct contact with the Klallam. By the time direct contact was made, sometime before 1789, the Klallam had already heard about the European newcomers. Charles William Barkley was the first European known to have entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca, in 1787. Robert Gray reached Clallam Bay in 1789. From 1790 to 1792 the Spanish, based at Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island, made multiple expeditions into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Manuel Quimper reached Port Discovery Bay in 1790. In 1791 Francisco de Eliza led a small exploring fleet, which for a time based itself at Port Discovery. It is not known which ship first made contact with the Klallam, but it was most likely before 1789 and probably at the village at Clallam Bay or Port Discovery, and involved gifts of knives, buttons, and copper. George Vancouver made contact with the Klallam in 1792. He thought he was the first European to visit them and wrote about their indifference, which surprised him. He traded them copper, knives, and minor trade goods. In 1825 the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) established Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River. There was little traffic between the Klallam and the fort. The only serious incident between the two occurred in 1828 when five white men were killed by a number of Klallam, two of which had been serving as guides and had been mistreated by the white men. In response a party of about 60 men from Fort Vancouver visited Klallam territory and attacked the first group they found, killing seven including women and children, and burning their house. Then, with the help of an HBC ship they attacked, plundered, and destroyed a Klallam village near Dungeness Spit. HBC records say they killed 25 Klallam altogether. In 1832 the HBC trading post Fort Nisqually was established on the southern