The Struggle for Oregon During the 19th Century’s Late 30s and Early 40s

Abstract

Introduction. Oregon in the early 19th century was a sparsely populated territory, but it had a favorable geographical position on the Pacific coast. It was a strategically important region, which, thanks to the Columbia River, provided a connection with the interior of the United States and the Pacific Ocean. Spain, Great Britain, and the USA fought for the right to possess this territory. In historiography the struggle for Oregon has received insufficient coverage in a number of aspects. Methods and materials. The methodology used in writing the article is based on the achievements of modern historical science. The study is based on sources obtained from domestic and foreign repositories. Domestic and foreign historiographies are involved. Classical methods of historical analysis, including prosopography and document correspondence, were used to process sources and literature. At the same time, when studying the literature and processing the entire complex of received materials, systematic and comparative approaches were involved. The study itself contains aspects of an interdisciplinary approach. Analysis. The article deals with the circumstances of the rivalry for Oregon from the turn of the 1830s to the 1840s. It may be viewed in the context of relations between the United States and Great Britain in regards to British North America. In order to gain a stronger foothold in Oregon, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), in addition to the fur trade, engaged in a wider commerce through agriculture. The strengthening of this activity takes place simultaneously with the development of ties with the Russian-American Company (RAC). The circumstances of the preparation and implementation of this commercial activity between 1838 and 1842 are studied. The first full-scale American naval circumnavigation expedition was commanded by Captain Charles Wilkes (1798–1877). Results. It was in Oregon that the confrontation between the United States and England over the possession of new colonies intensified. Russia, which had colonial possessions in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, pursued a pragmatic policy due to the wars of independence during the 1810s and 1820s. In Latin America, the formerly numerous and vast Spanish colonies became independent states. The formation of Mexico generally called into question any Spanish claim to the Northwest of America. This article continues a series of publications by the authors, which analyze the struggle of the leading European colonial powers for Oregon and the US West Coast. The Author’s contribution is the following: A.Yu. Petrov is in charge of finding new archival materials on the problem in the Russian State Navy Archives (RGA VMF) in Saint Petersburg, investigating all available literature on the subject, developing methods and providing a conclusion, and finding new facts on Russia’s involvement in the struggle for colonies in the Pacific Northwest. L.M. Troitskaia has been searching for all materials on the expedition of Ch. Wilkes concerning the interactions between nations in the North Pacific Ocean.