What the Spanish did not have when they visited the Washington coast in 1774 was manpower, Spanish manpower. Naval officers on ships were Spanish, marines were
Catalonian, and seamen were Hispanics. Up to the Nootka Accords, there were never more than 1,000 Spanish on the west side of America. Cortez conquered the Aztecs with but 17 Spanish horsemen … and 70,000 coastal Native Americans who gladly joined the fight against their centuries-old enemies. A conquering idea is not always about numbers. The Spaniards knew this. ~300 years before they’d met the Arawak tribes in the Caribbean and reduced a population of 3 to 5 million to a scattered few. The Spaniards quickly came and left Puget Sound, but we know they were here. (Church Creek’s Spanish Coin a gift from Gerald Thomsen)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Relocation_Act_of_1956
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheewhat_Giant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Short_History_of_Nearly_Everything
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/what-became-of-the-taino-73824867/
https://www.amazon.com/Historical-Atlas-Native-Americans-Barnes/dp/0785823328
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dna-study-shows-caribbean-was-populated-two-waves-180976646/
Many reasons gave Spaniards an advantage over the stone age people they met and conquered. Often mentioned, and just as often overlooked, was their:
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