Oregon Treaty
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Oregoncountry.png The Treaty with Great Britain, in Regard to Limits Westward of the Rocky Mountains, also known as the Oregon Treaty or Treaty of Washington, is a bilateral treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846 in Washington, D.C.. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to the Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by both Britain and the U.S. since the Treaty of 1818.
Joint occupation steadily grew intolerable for both sides. After a British minister rejected U.S. President James K. Polk's offer to settle the boundary at the 49th parallel north, Democratic expansionists called for the annexation of the entire region up to 54°40', the northern border of the Oregon Country. However, after the outbreak of the Mexican-American War diverted U.S. attention and resources, a compromise was reached.
The treaty was negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State James Buchanan, who later become president, and Richard Pakenham, envoy to the United States and member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom for Queen Victoria. The treaty was signed on June 15, 1846.
The Oregon Treaty set the U.S. and British North American border at the 49th parallel with the exception of Vancouver Island, which was given to the British. The 49th parallel became the U.S.-Canadian border between Washington and British Columbia when Canada was formed. The U.S. portion of the region was organized as Oregon Territory on August 14, 1848.
The treaty defined the border in the Strait of Juan de Fuca through the major channel. Due to difference in the location of the major shipping channel, both the British and the Americans had settled on the same islands. Navigation of "channel[s] and straits, south of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, remain free and open to both parties."
Hudson's Bay Company retains the right to use the Columbia River.
In 1859, an unclear description of the border in the treaty later led to the bloodless crisis known as the Pig War over the ownership of the San Juan Islands.
See also
id:Traktat Oregon it:Trattato dell'Oregon pl:Traktat oregoński pt:Tratado de Oregon de 1846