Editing Haida people (section)

=== 18th century ===
[[File:Voyage autour du monde - planche XIII - Jeune Femme des Isles de la Reine Charlotte.jpg|thumb|upright|Young Haida woman with [[lip plate]], portrayed in [[George Dixon (Royal Navy officer)|George Dixon's]] (1789): ''Voyage autour du monde'']]

The first recorded contact between the Haida and Europeans was in July 1774 with Spanish explorer [[Juan José Pérez Hernández|Juan Pérez]], who was sailing north on an expedition to find and claim new territory for [[Spain]]. For two days in a row, the Santiago sat off the shore of [[Haida Gwaii]] waiting for the currents to settle down enough to allow them to dock and set foot on land. While they waited, several canoes of Haida sailed out to greet them, and ultimately to trade with Pérez and his men. After two days of poor conditions, however, the Santiago was ultimately unable to dock and they were forced to depart without having set foot on Haida Gwaii.<ref>{{Cite book|last=White|first=Fredericke|title=Emerging from out of the Margins: Essays on Haida Language, Culture, and History|publisher=Peter Lang AG International Academic Publishers|year=2014|location=New York|pages=25–45}}</ref>

The Haida conducted regular trade with Russian, Spanish, British, and American [[maritime fur trade]]rs and whalers. According to sailing records, they diligently maintained strong trade relationships with Westerners, coastal people, and among themselves.<ref>{{cite web |last=MacDonald |first=George F. |title=Canoes and Trade |url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/haida/havct01e.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712014458/https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/haida/havct01e.html |archive-date=2024-07-12 |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=The Haida: Children of the Eagle and Raven |publisher=[[Canadian Museum of History]]}}</ref> Trade for sea-otter pelts was initiated by British Captain [[George Dixon (Royal Navy officer)|George Dixon]] with the Haida in 1787. The Haida did well for themselves in this industry and until the mid-1800s they were at the centre of the profitable China sea-otter trade.

Although they had gone on expeditions as far as [[Washington (state)|Washington State]], at first they had minimal confrontations with Europeans. Between 1780 and 1830, the Haida came into conflict with European and American traders. Among the [[Colonial police action against the people of Haida Gwaii|dozens of ships the tribe captured]] were the ''Eleanor'' and the ''Susan Sturgis''. The tribe made use of European weapons they acquired, using cannons and canoe-mounted [[swivel gun]]s.<ref name=":2" />