[Red/bold highlights mine for emphasis] [JT]
In June 1846, the Treaty of Washington was signed between Britain and the United States
This refers to the the Oregon Territory.
Note The Hudson Bay Company.
There are numerous links for cross referencing.
Note on page 6;
British-American Diplomacy
Treaty for the Final Settlement of the Claims of the Hudson's Bay and Puget's Sound Agricultural Companies; July 1, 1863
Treaty for the Final Settlement of the Claims of the Hudson's Bay and Puget's Sound Agricultural Companies between the United States of America and Her Britannic Majesty; concluded July 1, 1863; ratified by the United States, March 2, 1864; ratifications exchanged March 5, 1864; proclaimed by the President of the United States, March 5, 1864.
Below are the Documents, searches, with links that are found in the included attachment of the same name.
OREGON TREATY OF 1846
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1846
In the nineteenth century, American and British settlers quarreled over the land , but war was averted by the signing of the Oregon Treaty in 1846.
http://globaledge.msu.edu1846
On the 15th of June, 1846, the famous "Oregon Treaty" was concluded between Great Britain and America. By the second article of that instrument it ...
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The Oregon Treaty, is a treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington ...
Background - Negotiations - Treaty definitions - Aftermath
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Jump to Resolution and treaty: ... up a formal treaty, known as the Oregon Treaty, which was ratified by the Senate on 18 June 1846 by a vote of 41–14. ...
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Foreign Affairs, Treaty of Washington (1846). The Oregon Question A long history of dispute characterized the ownership of the Oregon Territory, ...
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Oregon Treaty of 1846 This agreement set the boundary between the United States and Canada at the 49th parallel west of the Rocky Mountains, veering.
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The Oregon Treaty June 15, 1846. ART. I. From the point of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, where the boundary laid down in existing treaties and ...
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Oregon Treaty of 1846. This treaty with Great Britain established the Northwest boundary of the United States along the 49th parallel. ...
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Document: The Oregon Treaty, 1846 ... making any regulations respecting the navigation of the said river or rivers not inconsistent with the present treaty. ...
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Britannica online encyclopedia article on Oregon Treaty (United States [1846]),
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by TC McClintock - Related articles
British Newspapers and the Oregon Treaty of 1846. Thomas C. McClintock ... On January 3, 1846, Delane published a long editorial on the Oregon territorial ...
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Find out what Oregon Treaty of 1846 means: Dictionary of American History has the definition of Oregon Treaty of 1846. Research related newspaper, magazine, ...
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Foreign Affairs, Treaty of Washington (1846)
A long history of dispute characterized the ownership of the Oregon Territory, which included present-day Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and portions of Montana, Wyoming, and British Columbia.
Spain and Russia had surrendered their claims to the region, but the United States and Britain were active claimants in the 19th century's early years. The matter's resolution was delayed by the Anglo-American Convention of 1818, in which both parties agreed to a temporary policy of "joint occupation" of the region. This accommodation was extended in 1827.
During the 1830s, the American position came to favor establishment of the northern border along 49º north latitude, arguing that the nation's Manifest Destiny required no less. The British, however, wanted to see the southern boundary of British Columbia established at the Columbia River and based their claims on the Hudson's Bay Company's long history in the area.
The British position weakened in the early 1840s as large numbers of numbers of American settlers poured into the disputed area over the Oregon Trail. Possession of Oregon became an issue in the Election of 1844.
Democratic candidate James K. Polk took an extreme view by advocating the placement of the border at 54º 40' north latitude. Expansionists chanted, "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" After the election, Polk put the British on notice that joint occupation would not be extended, but quietly entered into diplomatic discussions.
In June 1846, the Treaty of Washington was signed between Britain and the United States, the latter represented by Secretary of State James Buchanan. Provisions included:
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The boundary between Canada and the United States was set at the 49th parallel, from the Rocky Mountains to the coast; the line was extended southward through the Gulf Islands and then followed the mid-point through the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Pacific Ocean
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Navigation through the Gulf Islands and the Strait of Juan de Fuca was to be ensured for both nations.
The United States achieved a favorable resolution on the main boundary issue and the British retained full control of Vancouver Island, a matter of prime importance to them.
One major point of contention resulted from ambiguous wording in the treaty. It was unclear whether San Juan Island, one of the larger Gulf Islands, belonged to Canada or the U.S. Tensions over this issue peaked in 1859 in the so-called Pig War.
See also Indian Wars Time Table.
Off-site search results for "The Oregon Treaty"...
The Treaty Of Paris
The Seven Year's War was concluded by the Treaty of Paris of Feb. 10, 1763, signed by Britain, France, and Spain. France lost to Britain all of its North American possessions (except Louisiana, which it had ceded to Spain); the treaty excluded ...
http://www.americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/TREATY.HTM
The Pottawattomie Treaty
... means were furnished at the very time of the Treaty, and under the very nose of the Commissioners, how can it be expected but a stigma will attend every transaction of this kind. The sin may lie at the door of the individuals more immediately ...
http://www.adena.com/adena/usa/hs/hs11.htm
USA: The treaty of Tordesillas
... treaty of Tordesillas June 7, 1494 Quotation Information *** Text *** Title :The treaty of Tordesillas Creator : Subject :Colonization of Amerika Description :The treaty of Tordesillas Publisher :Department of Alfa-informatica, University of ...
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/D/1400-1500/columbus/tordesillas0.htm
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Oregon Treaty of 1846 |
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| 1846 |
This agreement set the boundary between the United States and Canada at the 49th parallel west of the Rocky Mountains, veering around Vancouver Island and then proceeding through the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. The Oregon Treaty settled the dispute between the United States and Great Britain over the area in Oregon located between the Columbia River and the 49th parallel. In 1818, both countries had agreed to a joint occupation of Oregon, and this agreement had been renewed by treaty in 1827.
Elected in 1844 on an expansionist platform that included the acquisition of the entire Oregon Territory, which extended to 54 degrees, 40 minutes to the north, President James K. Polk had to satisfy the demands of his countrymen for the region. After a compromise proposal was rejected in July 1845, Polk acquired congressional authority in December to abrogate the 1827 treaty. On 15 June 1846, the Senate ratified a treaty that established the boundary at the 49th parallel. Deteriorating relations with Mexico and favorable public opinion made the compromise acceptable to the United States, while Britain was likewise interested in a peaceful solution because it had more pressing domestic and foreign issues to consider.
Bibliography
Bergeron, Paul B. The Presidency of James K. Polk. Lawrence. University Press of Kansas. 1987.
Jones, Howard. Crucible of Power: A History of American Foreign Relations to 1913. Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 2002.
Ronda, James P. Astoria and Empire. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990.
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| Treaty for the Final Settlement of the Claims of the Hudson's Bay and Puget's ... on the 15th of June, 1846, have resolved to conclude a treaty for this purpose, ... and of any other British subjects in Oregon and Washington Territory, ... |
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/br1864.asp
British-American Diplomacy
Treaty for the Final Settlement of the Claims of the Hudson's Bay and Puget's Sound Agricultural Companies; July 1, 1863
Treaty for the Final Settlement of the Claims of the Hudson's Bay and Puget's Sound Agricultural Companies between the United States of America and Her Britannic Majesty; concluded July 1, 1863; ratified by the United States, March 2, 1864; ratifications exchanged March 5, 1864; proclaimed by the President of the United States, March 5, 1864.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A PROCLAMATION.
WHEREAS a treaty between the United States of America and her Britannic Majesty, for the final settlement of the claims of the Hudson's Bay and Puget's Sound Agricultural Companies, was concluded and signed at Washington, by their respective plenipotentiaries, on the first day of July, 1863, which treaty is; word for word. as follows
The United States of America and her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, being desirous to provide for the final settlement of the claims of the Hudson's Bay and Puget's Sound Agricultural Companies specified in articles III. and IV. of the treaty concluded between the United States of America and Great Britain, on the 15th of June, 1846, have resolved to conclude a treaty for this purpose, and have named as their Plenipotentiaries, that is to say: the President of the United States of America, William H. Seward, Secretary of State; and her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Honorable Richard Bickerton Pemell, Lord Lyons, a peer of her United Kingdom, a knight grand cross of her most honorable order of the Bath, and her Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States of America; who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon and concluded the following:
ARTICLE I.
Whereas by the 3d and 4th articles of the treaty concluded at Washington on the 15th day of June, 1846, between the United States of America and her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, it was stipulated and agreed that in the future appropriation of the territory south of the 49th parallel of north latitude, as provided in the first article of the said treaty, the possessory rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, and of all British subjects who may be already in the occupation of land or other property lawfully acquired within the said territory, should be respected, and that the farms, lands, and other property of every description, belonging to the Puget's Sound Agricultural Company, on the north side of the Columbia River, should be confirmed to the said company; but that in case the situation of those farms and lands should be considered by the United States to be of public and political importance, and the United States government should signify a desire to obtain possession of the whole or of any part thereof, the property so required should be transferred to the said government at a proper valuation, to be agreed upon between the parties:
And whereas it is desirable that all questions between the United States authorities on the one hand, and the Hudson's Bay and Puget's Sound Agricultural Companies on the other, with respect to the possessory rights and claims of those companies, and of any other British subjects in Oregon and Washington Territory, should be settled by the transfer of those rights and claims to the government of the United States for an adequate money consideration:
It is hereby agreed that the United States of America and her Britannic Majesty shall, within twelve months after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, appoint each a commissioner for the purpose of examining and deciding upon all claims arising out of the provisions of the above-quoted articles of the treaty of June 15,1846.
ARTICLE II.
The commissioners mentioned in the preceding article shall, at the earliest convenient period after they shall have been respectively named, meet at the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, and shall, before proceeding to any business, make and subscribe a solemn declaration that they will impartially and carefully examine and decide, to the best of their judgment, and according to justice and equity, without fear, favor, or affection to their own country, all the matters referred to them for their decision, and such declaration shall be entered on the record of their proceedings.
The commissioners shall then proceed to name an arbitrator or umpire to decide upon any case or cases on which they may differ in opinion; and if they cannot agree in the selection, the said arbitrator or umpire shall be appointed by the King of Italy, whom the two high contracting parties shall invite to make such appointment, and whose selection shall be conclusive on both parties. The person so to be chosen shall, before proceeding to act, maker and subscribe a solemn declaration, in a form similar to that which shall already have been made and subscribed by the commissioners, which declaration shall also be entered on the record of the proceedings. In the event of the death, absence, or incapacity of such person, or of his omitting or declining or ceasing to act as such arbitrator or umpire, another person shall be named, in the manner aforesaid, to act in his place or stead, and shall make and subscribe such declaration as aforesaid.
The United States of America and her Britannic Majesty engage to consider the decision of the two commissioners conjointly, or of the arbitrator or umpire, as the case may be, as final and conclusive on the matters to be referred to their decision, and forthwith to give full effect to the same.
ARTICLE III
The commissioners and the arbitrator or umpire shall keep accurate records and correct minutes or notes of all their proceedings, with the dates thereof, and shall appoint and employ such clerk or clerks or other persons as they shall find necessary to assist them in the transaction of the business which may come before them.
The salaries of the commissioners and of the clerk or clerks shall be paid by their respective governments. The salary of the arbitrator or umpire and the contingent expenses shall be defrayed in equal moieties by the two governments.
ARTICLE IV.
All sums of money which may be awarded by the commissioners, or by the arbitrator or umpire, on account of any claim, shall be paid by the one government to the other in two equal annual instalments, whereof the first shall be paid within twelve months after the date of the award, and the second within twenty-four months after the date of the award, without interest, and without any deduction whatever.
ARTICLE V.
The present treaty shall be ratified, and the mutual exchange of ratifications shall take place in Washington, in twelve months from the date hereof, or earlier, if possible.
In faith whereof, we, the respective plenipotentiaries, have signed tall treaty, and have hereunto affixed our seals.
Done in duplicate, at Washington, the first day of July, anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
LYONS.
And whereas the said treaty has been duly ratified on both parts, and He respective ratifications of the same were exchanged at Washington, on the second instant, by William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States, and the Right Honorable Lord Lyons, her Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, on the part of their respective govermnents:
Now, therefore, be it known that I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States of America, have caused the said treaty to be made public, to the end that the same, and every clause and article thereof, may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the United States and the citizens thereof.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this fifth day of Starch, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/br1864.asp
PBS - THE WEST - The Oregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty June 15, 1846. ART. I. From the point of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, where the boundary laid down in existing treaties and ...
www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/.../oretreat.htm - Cached - Similar
http://www.ccrh.org/comm/river/docs/ortreaty.htm
| | Document: TREATY WITH GREAT BRITAIN, IN REGARD TO LIMITS WESTWARD OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. The United States of America and her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, deeming it to be desirable for the future welfare of both countries that the state of doubt and uncertainty which has hitherto prevailed respecting the sovereignty and government of the territory on the northwest coast of America, lying westward of the Rocky or Stony Mountains, should be finally terminated by an amicable compromise of the rights mutually asserted by the two parties over the said territory, have respectively named plenipotentiaries to treat and agree concerning the terms of such settlement -- that is to say: the President of the United States of America has, on his part, furnished with full powers James Buchanan, Secretary of State of the United States, and her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland has, on her part, appointed the Right Honorable Richard Pakenham, a member of her Majesty's Most Honorable Privy Council, and her Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States; who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon and concluded the following articles: -- Article I. From the point on the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, where the boundary laid down in existing treaties and conventions between the United States and Great Britain terminates, the line of boundary between the territories of the United States and those of her Britannic Majesty shall be continued westward along the said forty-ninth parallel of north latitude to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island, and thence southerly through the middle of the said channel, and of Fuca's Straits, to the Pacific Ocean: Provided, however, That the navigation of the whole of the said channel and straits, south of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, remain free and open to both parties. Article II. From the point at which the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude shall be found to intersect the great northern branch of the Columbia River, the navigation of the said branch shall be free and open to the Hudson's Bay Company, and to all British subjects trading with the same, to the point where the said branch meets the main stream of the Columbia, and thence down the said main stream to the ocean, with free access into and through the said river or rivers, it being understood that all the usual portages along the line thus described shall, in like manner, be free and open. In navigating the said river or rivers, British subjects, with their goods and produce, shall be treated on the same footing as citizens of the United States; it being, however, always understood that nothing in this article shall he construed as preventing, or intended to prevent, the government of the United States from making any regulations respecting the navigation of the said river or rivers not inconsistent with the present treaty. Article III. In the future appropriation of the territory south of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, as provided in the first article of this treaty, the possessory rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, and of all British subjects who may be already in the occupation of land or other property lawfully acquired within the said territory, shall be respected. Article IV. The farms, lands, and other property of every description, belonging to the Puget's Sound Agricultural Company, on the north side of the Columbia River, shall be confirmed to the said company. In case, however, the situation of those farms and lands should be considered by the United States to be of public and political importance, and the United States government should signify a desire to obtain possession of the whole, or of any part thereof, the property so required shall be transferred to the said government, at a proper valuation, to be agreed upon between the parties. Article V. The present treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by her Britannic Majesty; and the ratifications shall he exchanged at London, at the expiration of six months from the date hereof, or sooner, if possible. In witness whereof, the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seals of their arms. Done at Washington, the fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-six. JAMES BUCHANAN. [l. s.] RICHARD PAKENHAM. [l. s.] |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_country
Oregon Country
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Oregon country)
Map of Oregon Country
Oregon Country or Oregon (to be distinguished from the U.S. state also called Oregon) was a predominantly American term referring to a region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from the Columbia River frequented by ships from all nations engaged in the fur trade, most of these from the 1790s through 1810s being Boston-based. The Oregon Treaty of 1846 ended disputed joint occupancy pursuant to the Treaty of 1818 and established the British-American boundary at the 49th parallel.
Oregon was a distinctly American term for the region. The British used the term Columbia instead.[1] The Oregon Country consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40′N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The area now forms part of the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, all of the US states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming. The British presence in the region was generally administered by the Hudson's Bay Company, whose Columbia Department comprised most of the Oregon Country and extended considerably north into New Caledonia and beyond 54°40′N, with operations reaching to tributaries of the Yukon River.[2]
Contents |
Early exploration
George Vancouver explored Puget Sound in 1792. Vancouver claimed it for Great Britain on 4 June 1792, naming it for one of his officers, Lieutenant Peter Puget. Alexander Mackenzie was the first European to cross North America by land north of Mexico since Cabeza de Vaca of the Narváez expedition.[3], arriving at Bella Coola on the what is now the Central Coast of British Columbia in 1793. From 1805 to 1806 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark scouted the territory for the United States on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. David Thompson, working for the Montreal-based North West Company, explored much of the region beginning in 1807, with his friend and colleague Simon Fraser following the Fraser River to its mouth in 1808, attempting to ascertain whether or not it was the Columbia, as had been theorized about it in its northern reaches through New Caledonia, where it was known by its Dakleh name as the "Tacoutche Tesse". Thompson was the first European to voyage down the entire length of Columbia River. Along the way, his party camped at the junction with the Snake River on July 9, 1811. He erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. Later in 1811, on the same expedition, he finished his survey of the entire Columbia, arriving at a partially constructed Fort Astoria just two months after the departure of John Jacob Astor's ill-fated Tonquin.[4]
Name origin
Carver's map of The River of the West, 1778
Main article: Oregon (toponym)
The origin of the word Oregon is not known for certain. One theory is that French Canadian fur company employees called the Columbia River "hurricane river" le fleuve d'ouragan, because of the strong winds of the Columbia Gorge. George R. Stewart argued in a 1944 article in American Speech that the name came from an engraver's error in a French map published in the early 1700s, on which the Ouisiconsink (Wisconsin River) was spelled "Ouaricon-sint", broken on two lines with the -sint below, so that there appeared to be a river flowing to the west named "Ouaricon".[5][6] This theory was endorsed in Oregon Geographic Names as "the most plausible explanation".[7]
Territorial evolution
The Oregon Country was originally claimed by Great Britain, France, Russia, and Spain; the Spanish claim was later taken up by the United States. The extent of the region being claimed was vague at first, evolving over decades into the specific borders specified in the US-British treaty of 1818. The U.S. based its claim in part on Robert Gray's entry of the Columbia River in 1792 and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Great Britain based its claim in part on British overland explorations of the Columbia River by David Thompson and on prior discovery and exploration along the Coast. Spain's claim was based on the Inter caetera and Treaty of Tordesillas of 1493-94, as well as explorations the Pacific coast in the late 1700s.[8] Russia based its claim off its explorations and trading activities in the region and asserted its ownership of the region north of the 51st parallel by the Ukase of 1821, which was quickly challenged by the other powers and withdrawn to 54°40′N by separate treaties with the US and Britain in 1824 and 1825 respectively.[9] Spain gave up its claims of exclusivity via the Nootka Conventions of the 1790s. In the Nootka Conventions , which followed the Nootka Crisis Spain granted Britain rights to the Pacific Northwest, although it did not establish a northern boundary for Spanish California, nor did it extinguish Spanish rights to the Pacific Northwest.[10] Spain later relinquished any remaining claims to territory north of the 42nd parallel to the United States as part of the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819. In the 1820s Russia gave up its claims south of 54°40′ and east of the 141st meridian in separate treaties with the United States and Britain. [11]
Meanwhile, the United States and Britain negotiated the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 that extended the boundary between their territories west along the 49th parallel to the Rocky Mountains. The two countries agreed to "joint occupancy" of the land west of the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean.
In 1821, as part of the forced merger between the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company the British Parliament imposed the laws of Upper Canada on British subjects in Rupert's Land and Columbia District , and gave the authority to enforce those laws to the Hudson's Bay Company. John McLoughlin, as chief factor of Fort Vancouver, applied the law to British subjects and sought to maintain law and order over American settlers as well.
In 1843 settlers established their own government, called the Provisional Government of Oregon. A legislative committee drafted a code of laws known as the Organic Law. It included the creation of an executive committee of three, a judiciary, militia, land laws, and four counties. There was vagueness and confusion over the nature of the 1843 Organic Law, in particular whether it was a constitutional or statutory. In 1844 a new legislative committee decided to consider it statutory. The 1845 Organic Law made additional changes, including allowing the participation of British subjects in the government. Although the Oregon Treaty of 1846 settled the boundaries of US jurisdiction, the Provisional Government continued to function until 1849, when the first governor of Oregon Territory arrived.[12]
A faction of Oregon politicians hoped to continue Oregon's political evolution into an independent nation, but pressure to join the United States would prevail by 1848.[13]
Early settlement
Fort Vancouver in 1845
David Thompson navigated the entire length of Columbia River in 1811. Map of Columbia and its tributaries showing modern political boundaries
Explorer David Thompson of the British-owned North West Company and later Hudson's Bay Company penetrated the Oregon Country from the north, via Athabasca Pass, arriving in 1807. In 1810, John Jacob Astor founded the Pacific Fur Company, which established a fur-trading post at Astoria, Oregon in 1811. Thompson traveling down the Columbia River reached the partially constructed Fort Astoria just two months after the departure of the ill-fated Tonquin. Along the way he had camped and claimed the land at the future Fort Nez Perces site at the confluence with the Snake River. This initiated a very brief era of competition between American and British fur traders. The Pacific Fur operation broke down during the War of 1812 and was sold to the North West Company. Under British control, Astoria was renamed Fort George.[14]
In 1821 when the North West Company was merged with the Hudson's Bay Company, the British Parliament imposed the laws of Upper Canada on British subjects in Columbia District and Rupert's Land, and gave the Hudson's Bay Company authority to enforce those laws. John McLoughlin was appointed head or Chief Factor of the Columbia Department in 1824. He moved its regional headquarters to Fort Vancouver, which became the de facto political center of the Pacific Northwest. McLoughlin applied the laws to British subjects, kept peace with the natives and sought to maintain law and order over American settlers as well.
Astor continued to compete for Oregon Country furs through his American Fur Company operations in the Rockies.[15] In the 1820s, a few American explorers and traders visited this land beyond the Rocky Mountains. Long after the Lewis & Clark Expedition and also after the consolidation of the fur trade in the region by the Canadian fur companies, American "Mountain Men" such as Jedediah Smith and Jim Beckwourth came roaming into and across the Rocky Mountains, following Indian trails through the Rockies to California and Oregon. They were looking for beaver pelts and other furs, which were had by trapping but difficult to obtain in the Oregon Country due to the policy of the Hudson's Bay Company of creating a "fur desert", via deliberate over-hunting in order to make the country's frontiers with the US unprofitable for American ventures.[16] The Mountain Men, like the Metis employees of the Canadian fur companies, adopted Indian ways and many of them married Indian women.
Reports of Oregon Country eventually circulated in the eastern United States. Some churches decided to send missionaries to convert the Indians. Jason Lee, a Methodist minister from New York, was the first Oregon missionary. He built a mission school for Indians in the Willamette Valley in 1834. Others followed within a few years.
American settlers began to arrive from the east by the Oregon Trail starting in the late 1830s, and came in increasing numbers each subsequent year. Increased tension led to the Oregon boundary dispute. Both sides realized that settlers would ultimately decide who controlled the region. Belatedly, the Hudson's Bay Company, which had previously discouraged settlement as it conflicted with the lucrative fur trade, reversed their position. In 1841 James Sinclair guided more than 100 settlers from the Red River Colony to settle on HBC farms near Fort Vancouver, on orders from Sir George Simpson. The Sinclair expedition crossed the Rockies into the Columbia Valley, near present-day Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia, then traveled south-west down the Kootenai River and Columbia River following the southern portion of the well established York Factory Express trade route.
Map of the route of the York Factory Express, 1820s to 1840s. Modern political boundaries shown.
The Canadian effort proved to be too little, too late. For, in what was dubbed "The Great Migration of 1843" or the "Wagon Train of 1843",[17][18] an estimated 700 to 1000 emigrants left for Oregon. Britain ceded Columbia District south of the 49 parallel to the United States by the Oregon Treaty in 1846.
The Oregon trail started in St. Louis, Missouri
The Oregon Treaty
Main article: Oregon Treaty
In 1843, settlers in the Willamette Valley established a provisional government at Champoeg, which was personally (but not officially) recognized by John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1845.
Political pressure in the United States urged the occupation of all the Oregon Country. Expansionists in the American South wanted to annex Texas, while their counterparts in the Northeast wanted to annex the Oregon Country whole. It was seen as significant that the expansions be parallel, as the relative proximity to other states and territories made it appear likely that Texas would be pro-slavery and Oregon against slavery.
Mural on walls of Oregon Capitol Building depicting the provisional government seal
In the 1844 U.S. Presidential election, the Democrats called for expansion into both areas. After being elected, however, President James K. Polk supported the 49th parallel as a northern limit for U.S. annexation in Oregon Country. It was Polk's uncompromising support for the expansion into Texas and relative silence on the Oregon boundary dispute that led to the phrase "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!", referring to the northern border of the region and often erroneously attributed to Polk's campaign. The goal of the slogan was to rally Southern expansionists (some of whom wanted to annex only Texas in an effort to tip the balance of slave/free states and territories in favor of slavery) to support the effort to annex Oregon Country, appealing to the popular belief in Manifest Destiny. The British government, meanwhile, sought control of all territory north of the Columbia River.
Despite the posturing, neither country really wanted to fight what would have been the third war in 70 years against the other. The two countries eventually came to a peaceful agreement in the 1846 Oregon Treaty that divided the territory west of the Continental Divide along the 49th parallel to Georgia Strait; with all of Vancouver Island remaining under British control. This border still divides British Columbia from neighboring Washington, Idaho, and Montana.
During the 1840s the HBC shifted its Columbia Department headquarters from Fort Vancouver to Fort Victoria on Vancouver Island. The plan to move to a more northerly location dated back to the 1820s. George Simpson was the main force behind the move north; John McLoughlin became the main hindrance. McLoughlin had devoted his life's work to the Columbia business and his personal interests were increasingly linked to the growing settlements in the Willamette Valley. He fought Simpson's proposals to move north, but in vain. By the time Simpson made the final decision, in 1842, to move the headquarters to Vancouver Island, he had many reasons for doing so. There was a dramatic decline in the fur trade across North America. In contrast the HBC was seeing increasing profits with coastal exports of salmon and lumber to Pacific markets such as Hawaii. Coal deposits on Vancouver Island had been discovered and steamships such as the Beaver had shown the growing value of coal, economically and strategically. A general HBC shift toward Pacific shipping and away from the interior of the continent made Victoria Harbour much more suitable than Fort Vancouver's location on the Columbia River. The Columbia Bar at the river's mouth was dangerous and routinely meant weeks or months of waiting for ships to cross. The largest ships could not enter the river at all. Finally, the growing numbers of American settlers along the lower Columbia gave Simpson reason to question the long term security of Fort Vancouver. He worried, rightfully so, that the final border resolution would not follow the Columbia River. By 1842 he thought it more likely that the US would at least demand Puget Sound, and the British government would accept a border as far north as the 49th parallel, excluding Vancouver Island. Despite McLoughlin's stalling, the HBC had begun the process of shifting away from Fort Vancouver and toward Vancouver Island and the northern coast in the 1830s. The increasing number of American settlers arriving in the Willamette Valley after 1840 served to make the need more pressing.[19]
In 1848, the U.S. portion of the Oregon Country was formally organized as the Oregon Territory. In 1849, Vancouver Island became a British Crown colony, with the mainland being organized into the colony of British Columbia in 1858. Shortly after the establishment of Oregon Territory there was an effort to split off the region north of the Columbia River, which resulted in the creation of Washington Territory in 1853.
Descriptions of the land and settlers
Alexander Ross, an early Scottish Canadian fur trader, describes the lower Columbia River area of the Oregon Country (known to him as the Columbia District):
"The banks of the river throughout are low and skirted in the distance by a chain of moderately high lands on each side, interspersed here and there with clumps of wide spreading oaks, groves of pine, and a variety of other kinds of woods. Between these high lands lie what is called the valley of the Wallamitte [sic], the frequented haunts of innumerable herds of elk and deer.... . In ascending the river the surrounding country is most delightful, and the first barrier to be meet with is about forty miles up from its mouth. Here the navigation is interrupted by a ledge of rocks, running across the river from side to side in the form of an irregular horseshoe, over which the whole body of water falls at one leap down a precipice of about forty feet, called the Falls."
After living in Oregon from 1843 to 1848, Peter H. Burnett wrote:
[Oregonians] were all honest, because there was nothing to steal; they were all sober, because there was no liquor to drink; there were no misers, because there was no money to hoard; and they were all industrious, because it was work or starve.[20][21]
See also
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Russo-American Treaty (1824)
References
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^ Meinig, D.W. (1995) [1968]. The Great Columbia Plain (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Classic ed.). University of Washington Press. pp. 104. ISBN 0-295-97485-0.
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^ Mackie, Richard Somerset (1997). Trading Beyond the Mountains: The British Fur Trade on the Pacific 1793-1843. Vancouver: University of British Columbia (UBC) Press. pp. 284. ISBN 0-7748-0613-3.
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^ DeVoto, Bernard (1953). The Journals of Lewis and Clark. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. xxix. ISBN 0-395-08380-X.
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^ Nisbet, Jack (1994). Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson Across Western North America. Sasquatch Books. pp. 4–5. ISBN 1-57061-522-5.
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^ Stewart, George R. (1944). "The Source of the Name 'Oregon'". American Speech (Duke University Press) 19 (2): 115–117. doi:10.2307/487012. http://www.jstor.org/pss/487012. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
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^ Stewart, George R. (1967) [1945]. Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States (Sentry edition (3rd) ed.). Houghton Mifflin. pp. 153, 463.
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^ McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (Seventh ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
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^ Elliott, John Huxtable (2007). Empires of the Atlantic World. Yale University Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 9780300123999. online at Google Books
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^ Haycox, Stephen W. (2002). Alaska: An American Colony. University of Washington Press. pp. 1118-1122. ISBN 9780295982496. http://books.google.com/books?id=8yu3pYpzLdUC.
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^ Weber, David J. (1994). The Spanish Frontier in North America. Yale University Press. p. 287. ISBN 9780300059175. online at Google Books
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^ Chiorazzi, Michael G.; Marguerite Most (2005). Prestatehood Legal Materials. Haworth Press. pp. 959. ISBN 9780789020567. online at Google Books
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^ Chiorazzi, Michael G.; Marguerite Most (2005). Prestatehood Legal Materials. Haworth Press. pp. 959–962. ISBN 9780789020567. online at Google Books
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^ Clarke, S.A. (1905). Pioneer Days of Oregon History. J.K. Gill Company.
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^ Meinig, D.W. (1995) [1968]. The Great Columbia Plain (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Classic ed.). University of Washington Press. pp. 52. ISBN 0-295-97485-0.
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^ Mackie, Richard Somerset (1997). Trading Beyond the Mountains: The British Fur Trade on the Pacific 1793-1843. Vancouver: University of British Columbia (UBC) Press. pp. 65, 108, 110–111. ISBN 0-7748-0613-3. online at Google Books
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^ Mackie, Richard Somerset (1997). Trading Beyond the Mountains: The British Fur Trade on the Pacific 1793-1843. Vancouver: University of British Columbia (UBC) Press. pp. 64–65, 259. ISBN 0-7748-0613-3. online at Google Books
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^ The Wagon Train of 1843: The Great Migration. Oregon Pioneers. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
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^ Events in The West: 1840-1850. PBS. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
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^ Mackie, Richard Somerset (1997). Trading Beyond the Mountains: The British Fur Trade on the Pacific 1793-1843. Vancouver: University of British Columbia (UBC) Press. pp. 240–245, 256–262, 264–273, 276. ISBN 0-7748-0613-3. online at Google Books
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^ MacColl, E. Kimbark. The Growth of a City: Power and Politics in Portland, Oregon 1915-1950. Portland, Oregon: The Georgian Press. ISBN 0960340815.
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^ MacColl cites Peter H. Burnett, Recollections and Opinions of an Old Pioneer, New York 1880, pg 181.
External links
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| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oregon Country |
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Convention Between Great Britain and Russia, 1825 (Treaty of St. Petersburg, 1825)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Country"
[in the pdf the below are hyperlinks]
Categories: History of British Columbia | History of Oregon | History of Washington (U.S. state) | History of Idaho | History of Montana | History of Wyoming | Fur trade | Former regions and territories of the United States | Lewis and Clark Expedition | Oregon Country | Pacific Northwest | Divided regions
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http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Treaty-of-1818
| Encyclopedia Treaty of 1818 The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary, and the restoration of slaves between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, was a treaty signed in 1818 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It resolved standing boundary issues between the two nations, and allowed for joint occupation and settlement of the Oregon Country, known to the British and in Canadian history as the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company, and including the southern portion of its sister fur district New Caledonia. Motto Dieu et mon droit(French) God and my right1 Anthem God Save the King (Queen) Territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Capital London Language(s) English² Government Constitutional monarchy Monarch - 1801–1820 George III - 1820–1830 George IV - 1830–1837 William IV - 1837–1901... Landscape in Oregon Country, by Charles Marion Russell Map of Oregon Country Oregon Country was a region of western North America that originally consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ... Columbia District was a regional department of the Hudsons Bay Company, and included all of the Columbia River basin, extending as far north as the Thompson River. ... Hudsons Bay Company (HBC; Compagnie de la Baie dHudson in French) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ... | ||||
Treaty provisions | ||
| The treaty name is variously cited as Convention respecting fisheries, boundary, and the restoration of slaves[1], Convention of Commerce (Fisheries, Boundary and the Restoration of Slaves)[2], and Convention of Commerce between His Majesty and the United States of America [3], [4].
Newfoundland — IPA: [nuw fən lænd] (French: , Irish: ) is a large island off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... Labrador (also Coast of Labrador) is a region of Atlantic Canada. ... Lake of the Woods from space, May 1998 Lake of the Woods. ... The 49th parallel of north latitude forms part of the International Boundary between Canada and the United States from Manitoba to British Columbia on the Canadian side and from Minnesota to Washington on the U.S. side. ... For individual mountains named Rocky Mountain, see Rocky Mountain (disambiguation). ... Painting by Benjamin West depicting (from left to right) John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin. ... This article is about military actions only. ... Lake of the Woods from space, May 1998 Lake of the Woods. ... For the river in Canada, see Mississippi River (Ontario). ... The Northwest Angle (the purple portion) in Minnesota, bordering Manitoba, Ontario, and Lake of the Woods The Northwest Angle viewed from space The Northwest Angle, known simply as the Angle by locals, and coterminous with Angle Township, is a small part of northern Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota that... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area Ranked 12th - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 400 miles (645 km) - % water 8. ... Official language(s) None[1] Spoken language(s) English 85. ... Landscape in Oregon Country, by Charles Marion Russell Map of Oregon Country Oregon Country was a region of western North America that originally consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ... Signing of the Treaty of Ghent. ... This article is about the U.S. – U.K. war. ... The origins of slavery in Colonial America are complex and there are several theories that have been proposed to explain the trade. ... | ||
| Newfoundland — IPA: [nuw fən lænd] (French: , Irish: ) is a large island off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... Labrador (also Coast of Labrador) is a region of Atlantic Canada. ... Lake of the Woods from space, May 1998 Lake of the Woods. ... The 49th parallel of north latitude forms part of the International Boundary between Canada and the United States from Manitoba to British Columbia on the Canadian side and from Minnesota to Washington on the U.S. side. ... For individual mountains named Rocky Mountain, see Rocky Mountain (disambiguation). ... Painting by Benjamin West depicting (from left to right) John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin. ... This article is about military actions only. ... Lake of the Woods from space, May 1998 Lake of the Woods. ... For the river in Canada, see Mississippi River (Ontario). ... The Northwest Angle (the purple portion) in Minnesota, bordering Manitoba, Ontario, and Lake of the Woods The Northwest Angle viewed from space The Northwest Angle, known simply as the Angle by locals, and coterminous with Angle Township, is a small part of northern Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota that... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area Ranked 12th - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 400 miles (645 km) - % water 8. ... Official language(s) None[1] Spoken language(s) English 85. ... Landscape in Oregon Country, by Charles Marion Russell Map of Oregon Country Oregon Country was a region of western North America that originally consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ... Signing of the Treaty of Ghent. ... This article is about the U.S. – U.K. war. ... The origins of slavery in Colonial America are complex and there are several theories that have been proposed to explain the trade. ... History
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References
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^ a b United States Department of State [2005-01-01] (2005-01-01). Treaties In Force: A List of Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States in Force on January 1, 2005 (PDF), Compiled by the Treaty Affairs Staff, Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State., 2005 (in English), 326. Retrieved on 2006-03-27.
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^ Lauterpacht, Elihu, et. al, ed. (2004). "Consolidated Table of Treaties, Volumes 1-125", in Edited by Elihu Lauterpacht, C. J. Greenwood, A. G. Oppenheimer and Karen Lee.: International Law Reports: (in English). Cambridge University Press, 8. ISBN 0-521-80779-4. Retrieved on 2006-03-27.
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^ a b c LexUM (2000). Convention of Commerce between His Majesty and the United States of America.--Signed at London, 20th October, 1818. Canado-American Treaties. University of Montreal. Retrieved on 2006-03-27.
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^ a b LexUM (1999). CUS 1818/15 Subject: Commerce. Canado-American Treaties. University of Montreal. Retrieved on 2006-03-27.
