in the late 18th century. Invisible and undetected, pathogens likely borne on trade goods or carried by asymptomatic traders themselves unleashed the first of what would prove to be several waves of deadly plague -- including but probably not limited to smallpox -- which devastated river and coastal communities. In 1775, the first Europeans to visit the coast of what would become British Columbia were Spanish explorers led by Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra who reached the site of present-day Sitka, Alaska. But it was the English, who arrived a few year's later under Captain George Vancouver, who would stay to make the coast and eventually the interior a colony of the British Crown. In 1843, Hudson Bay Company fur-trader James Douglas established a trading post at the southern tip of the coast's biggest island, naming it Fort Victoria after the newly crowned Queen. Twenty-eight years later, it became the capital of the new Canadian province of British Columbia. To follow more of the dramatic history of B.C.'s enduring Central Coast, scroll through time, starting here: Yesterday's " BC's Enduring Central Coast " series included a story about exciting finds from archaeological digs showing ancient human settlement going back 10,000 years, and a video explaining the ancient technique of capturing salmon in stone fish traps. Tomorrow: First Nations guard their history and defend their claim to the coast. The entire multi-part series is collected here as each part is published this week. Tyee Solutions Society editor Chris Wood,