The role of the Spanish in Canada is not one that is well known even by Canadians. They left their influence on both the East and West Coast On the east coast, the Basques fished for cod but then developed a whaling industry that ran for from the 15th to 19th century. More than 15 years of archaeological research has unearthed the remains of some 20 whaling stations along the shores of Red Bay Harbour. Underwater research in the harbour led to the discovery of three Basque galleons and several small boats, superbly preserved examples of 16th-century shipbuilding.On the Pacific coast Spanish explorers sailed up from their Californian and Mexican colonies looking for sea otter pelts and other natural resources. There were encounters with English, French and Russian ships with similar motives. There are many Spanish names scattered up and down the coast. Who were these people? Why did they come here? Why did they leave?
David Watson
David Watson is a retired Canadian physician who has spent the last few winters here in Nerja. He was born and spent most of his life in Winnipeg, Manitoba until he moved to the West Coast in 2010. Both he and his wife love to travel and after he completed medical school and an internship, they took a year off and backpacked around the world. He then became interested in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and did his specialty training in that area obtaining his Canadian Fellowship in 1992. Over the next few years he became interested in helping people with chronic pain issues who were not being helped by the regular medical system. He started looking at complementary therapies especially those that treated the underlying cause rather than masking the symptoms.
His other interests include genealogy, stamp collecting, and playing the bagpipes.
After the move to the coast, he questioned the number of Spanish names that are seen on the road signs. When he started to come to the history group lectures, he realized that these questions could lead to an interesting talk as the role of the Spanish in Canada is not something many of us know much about.
Christina Sinclair