Part Fourteen: The End of the Oregon War
Alright, got a new update ready.
Part Fourteen: The End of the Oregon War
A Snowy Ceasefire:
As the United States and the United Kingdom moved toward negotiation, fighting died down in Oregon. The United States Pacific Squadron, led by John Sloat and based in Monterrey, California, drove off the British ships near Fort Astoria. The Pacific Squadron then continued north and began denying ships from passing near Fort Victoria. After a few days, the Pacific Squadron travelled up toward Fort Langley and met Fremont and his men at Warren Bay.[1] Fremont and Sloat coordinated an amphibious landing on the east side of Vancouver Island and proceeding south to capture Fort Victoria. However, they never got the chance to enact this plan.
In early February, a ceasefire was arranged between the United Kingdom and the United States, and the path was laid toward negotiation. A month later, the peace negotiations began in Madrid, with Washington Irving as United States ambassador to Spain representing American interests and Sir Frederick Pollock,[2] a Privy Councillor, representing Britain. Alexander Christie was also present at the negotiations as a voice of the Hudson's Bay Company. The deliberation on the specifics of the peace treaty last for a few weeks, but finally a workable peace was made.
The Peace of Madrid:
The Peace of Madrid was signed on March 18, 1847, after being ratified by both Congress and Parliament. While it was clear that the United States won the Oregon War, the country did not accomplish all its war aims and even have to make some concessions. The main body of the treaty was concerned with the concessions in the Oregon Territory. Firstly, the United States did not gain up to the 54 40'N line that surrounded American support for the war. The border line was arranged at the 52nd degree North latitude, so as to pass between Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Islands. Further, Great Britain retained fishing rights off the coast of Oregon north of Vancouver Island.
Also in the Peace of Madrid, the two sides also took the opportunity to settle the remaining territorial disputes along their shared border. To connect the region under jurisdiction of the United States north of the Lake of the Woods in northern Itasca, the border was extended west to the Red River. Also, Maine's border was settled as the River Saint John's going to the longitude midway between the American claim up to 1798 and the American claim after 1798. The border would then continue south along the longitude until it reached the Saint Croix River, and would follow the Saint Croix River to the coast. An odd inclusion into the treaty was the article calling for the return of the skull of Chief Comcomly, which had been stolen from his burial ground in 1834 by a physician to be placed in a museum in England.[3]
After the Peace:
With the Oregon War ended, the two sides returned to diplomatic normalcy, but the war would begin a rift between Great Britain and the United States that would affect world politics for at least a century. The American reaction to the end of the war was generally positive. The United States had bested her former master for sure, unlike the ambiguity of the American victory in the War of 1812. However, some Americans felt disheartened that the United States did not gain all of the disputed territory in the peace.
In Britain, the war was looked upon as a minor affair compared to Britain's domestic troubles of the time. However, Parliament was alarmed at the relative lack of defense that the colonies in British North America put up, especially Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with their important naval bases, and attributed it to the decentralization of the colonies and the slow dispensations from Parliament. As a result, the British government encouraged confederation in the Maritime colonies, granting self-governance to Nova Scotia in 1848. New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island followed with self-governance in the 1850s. In 1861, the last step to confederation was completed with the Charlottetown Conference. At the conference, the three colonies were joined into the Acadian Union, with the administrative capital settling in Moncton, New Brunswick.
[1] Warren Bay is OTL Boundary Bay, which lies on the border between British Columbia and Washington. But with no boundary, I had to think of a new name. Warren Bay is named after the USS Warren, the first ship of the Pacific Squadron that Fremont saw coming north.
[2] Frederick Pollock was a Privy Councilor in OTL, but not in 1847 according to Wikipedia. IOTL he is also known for the Pollock Octahedral Numbers Conjecture apparently.
[3]This happened IOTL, but I don't think it was ever returned.
Part Fourteen: The End of the Oregon War
A Snowy Ceasefire:
As the United States and the United Kingdom moved toward negotiation, fighting died down in Oregon. The United States Pacific Squadron, led by John Sloat and based in Monterrey, California, drove off the British ships near Fort Astoria. The Pacific Squadron then continued north and began denying ships from passing near Fort Victoria. After a few days, the Pacific Squadron travelled up toward Fort Langley and met Fremont and his men at Warren Bay.[1] Fremont and Sloat coordinated an amphibious landing on the east side of Vancouver Island and proceeding south to capture Fort Victoria. However, they never got the chance to enact this plan.
In early February, a ceasefire was arranged between the United Kingdom and the United States, and the path was laid toward negotiation. A month later, the peace negotiations began in Madrid, with Washington Irving as United States ambassador to Spain representing American interests and Sir Frederick Pollock,[2] a Privy Councillor, representing Britain. Alexander Christie was also present at the negotiations as a voice of the Hudson's Bay Company. The deliberation on the specifics of the peace treaty last for a few weeks, but finally a workable peace was made.
The Peace of Madrid:
The Peace of Madrid was signed on March 18, 1847, after being ratified by both Congress and Parliament. While it was clear that the United States won the Oregon War, the country did not accomplish all its war aims and even have to make some concessions. The main body of the treaty was concerned with the concessions in the Oregon Territory. Firstly, the United States did not gain up to the 54 40'N line that surrounded American support for the war. The border line was arranged at the 52nd degree North latitude, so as to pass between Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Islands. Further, Great Britain retained fishing rights off the coast of Oregon north of Vancouver Island.
Also in the Peace of Madrid, the two sides also took the opportunity to settle the remaining territorial disputes along their shared border. To connect the region under jurisdiction of the United States north of the Lake of the Woods in northern Itasca, the border was extended west to the Red River. Also, Maine's border was settled as the River Saint John's going to the longitude midway between the American claim up to 1798 and the American claim after 1798. The border would then continue south along the longitude until it reached the Saint Croix River, and would follow the Saint Croix River to the coast. An odd inclusion into the treaty was the article calling for the return of the skull of Chief Comcomly, which had been stolen from his burial ground in 1834 by a physician to be placed in a museum in England.[3]
After the Peace:
With the Oregon War ended, the two sides returned to diplomatic normalcy, but the war would begin a rift between Great Britain and the United States that would affect world politics for at least a century. The American reaction to the end of the war was generally positive. The United States had bested her former master for sure, unlike the ambiguity of the American victory in the War of 1812. However, some Americans felt disheartened that the United States did not gain all of the disputed territory in the peace.
In Britain, the war was looked upon as a minor affair compared to Britain's domestic troubles of the time. However, Parliament was alarmed at the relative lack of defense that the colonies in British North America put up, especially Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with their important naval bases, and attributed it to the decentralization of the colonies and the slow dispensations from Parliament. As a result, the British government encouraged confederation in the Maritime colonies, granting self-governance to Nova Scotia in 1848. New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island followed with self-governance in the 1850s. In 1861, the last step to confederation was completed with the Charlottetown Conference. At the conference, the three colonies were joined into the Acadian Union, with the administrative capital settling in Moncton, New Brunswick.
[1] Warren Bay is OTL Boundary Bay, which lies on the border between British Columbia and Washington. But with no boundary, I had to think of a new name. Warren Bay is named after the USS Warren, the first ship of the Pacific Squadron that Fremont saw coming north.
[2] Frederick Pollock was a Privy Councilor in OTL, but not in 1847 according to Wikipedia. IOTL he is also known for the Pollock Octahedral Numbers Conjecture apparently.
[3]This happened IOTL, but I don't think it was ever returned.
