In 1789 the Viceroy of New Spain, Manuel Antonio Flores, instructed Esteban José Martínez to occupy Nootka Sound, on Vancouver Island in present-day British Columbia, build a settlement and fort, and to make it clear that Spain was setting up a formal establishment [REF].
In 1789, the Spanish commander Esteban José Martínez led an expedition that arrived at Nootka Sound on May 5, 1789.