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°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 region is roughly equivalent to a broad definition of the Pacific Northwest. The phrase describes the period from the early penetration of European trappers and traders until the Oregon Treaty of 1846.

The Oregon Treaty

In 1843, settlers in the Willamette Valley established a provisional government at Champoeg, which was recognized by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1845.

Related Topics:
1843 - Champoeg - 1845

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Political pressure in the United States urged the occupation of all the Oregon Country. President James Knox Polk even campaigned with the slogan Fifty-Four Forty or Fight! in the 1844 US Presidential election, referring to the northern border of the region. The British government, meanwhile, sought control of all territory north of the Columbia River.

Related Topics:
James Knox Polk - Fifty-Four Forty or Fight! - 1844 US Presidential election

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The two countries eventually came to a peaceful agreement in the 1846 Oregon Treaty that divided the territory along the 49th parallel to Georgia Strait, with all of Vancouver Island remaining under British control. This border still divides British Columbia from neighbouring Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

Related Topics:
1846 - Oregon Treaty - 49th parallel - Georgia Strait - Vancouver Island

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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.

Related Topics:
1848 - Oregon Territory - 1849 - Crown colony - 1858

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