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Post by Herb on Jun 8, 2007 12:48:45 GMT -5
I'm currently reading "First Across the Continent" by Noah Brooks, originally published in 1901.
There's two things I've found interesting so far one that may interest Stuart: according to Brooks the Louisiana Purchase unified the two portions of American Territory - the Republic created by the Revolution and the Oregon Territory - American by rights of a New England's Cpt Grey and his discovery of the Columbia River (named after his ship the Columbia) in 1792. Brooks covers the expeditions of Cook and Vancouver, for the British, and of course Spanish claims. But, I never realized that some in the US even before 1803 were claiming Oregon as US Territory.
The other point is how very little was known about World Geography even in 1803, and I'm just not talking about the interior of the Continental U.S. President Jefferson, before the start of the expedition issued orders to the the American Consuls in Batavia, Java, the Isles of France and Bourbon (off of Madagascar) and the Cape of Good Hope to offer assistance and to supply necessities to Captains Lewis and Clark!
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Post by stuart on Jun 8, 2007 13:32:01 GMT -5
The British claim to Oregon and the dispute with the US wasn't straightforward and in part down to that geographic vagueness; or to be more precise to the fact that the Oregon in question did not equate to the present state but to a much larger area, just as Louisiana originally covered most of the American West between the Mississippi and the Rockies. Oregon was essentially the rest of it north of Spanish/Mexican California, and including present day Washington State and British Columbia.
The British claim to this greater Oregon was based firstly on the explorations of Cook and Vancouver, and more importantly on the actual if transient operations there by both the Hudson's Bay Company and (funnily enough) the East India Company. The Royal Navy also at a quite early date established a naval base at Esquimault on Vancouver Island.
The claim was sustained in the first place by the same policy of trying to bar the US from reaching the Pacific which sent Grant to Mexico, and latterly by the need to hang on to Vancouver Island and Esquimault, but in the end most of Oregon was relinquished as being unsustainable without settlers actually on the ground - and fairly pointless once it became obvious the Americans were going to take California. Agreement was reached to divide Oregon along the 49th parallel but only after the US gave up its claim to that part of Vancouver Island lying below the parallel.
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