A Brief History of Oregon and New Columbia (1804 - 1834)
America's history in the Pacific Coast starts with the Treaty of Franklin in 1804, which was signed between United States, Quebec and Britain. In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars (1798-1803) in which Britain attempted to defeat Napoleon (while holding Brittany/Breton for a time) it became clear that Britain was no longer interested in (or capable of) holding most of its mainland North American possessions. Britain responded favorably to American and Quebecois offers to purchase the remnants of its Rupert's Land holdings and their respective assets (including the chartered Hudson's Bay Company) in order to continue funding Britain's war against Napoleonic France.
Quebec gained the rest of the rest of its northern neighboring land, including the Ungava Peninsula and most of the Labrador region, except for a small portion to the immediate east of the Natashquan River. This land remained under firm British control as its quasi-penal colony for dissenting Newfoundlanders. Quebec allowed Britain to retain fishing rights off the Labrador coast, Ungava Bay and throughout the adjoining coastline and fjords in the Hudson Bay and James Bay (for whatever good that did Britain - historians generally agree that they didn't really need the fish.) Britain retained the entirety of Newfoundland, and had no inclinations to let that go. (The matter never even came up at the negotiating table.)
For its part, the United States gained the entire ownership, operations and assets of the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company; being that these were the entire reason for Britain's continued claims over the remainder of Rupert's Land and indeed most of the Columbia District (i.e. Oregon Country) these lands were also sold to the United States along with the purchase of the two aforementioned companies. A profit-sharing arrangement was hammered out, with both nations splitting the profits equally, and sending independent auditors to all company offices to ensure the fair implementation of this arrangement. After all, Britain still wanted at least some money from the fur-trapping trade, even if it couldn't devote attention to its upkeep. Britain also maintained a small fort at York Factory for joint protection of that settlement, if only to ensure the safety of the company administrative offices. The United States agreed to these terms willingly, knowing that 50% of the profits was a whole lot better than nothing.
However, the southern region of the Columbia District south of the eponymous river (OTL state of Oregon) and the land to the west of Puget Sound and its surrounding network of rivers and bays was not sold to the United States, but rather to Spain, who had been making claims on this land for quite some time but had not adequately backed these up with any sort of outposts or even a thorough explanation. The eventual border was extended through the Spokane River, then to Lake Coeur d'Alene to 47.5 degrees north latitude, then across to the existing border with Spanish Louisiana, also at 47.5 degrees based on a separate treaty with Spain in 1806. (This granted the United States a thin strip of existing OTL northern states of Idaho, Montana and North Dakota, as well as all the rest of OTL modern mainland Canada to the west of TTL Quebec.)
To divide the land north of the Columbia River, a border was set at the location of OTL Olympia, Washington; land to the west of a line drawn south from this point to the Columbia River (approx OTL Longview, Washington) became Spanish, while lands to the east of this line (and indeed the eastern land adjoining the Puget Sound) became American. The Spanish sale was agreed upon in a separate Treaty of Cadiz.
The early sale of these companies and their lands (as compared with IOTL) meant that Britain had not yet attempted to build numerous forts, nor attempt to over-hunt regions in an attempt to unfairly compete against American fur trapping companies; the latter were effectively discouraged from forming, since the United States government did not wish to allow significant competition and the potential draining of the profits flowing into its treasury. The lack of competition meant that the Pacific Northwest regions were rather less explored and even less well understood, at least from the perspective of Britain and America; Spanish exploration, however, continued at a modest pace subsequent to this sale. Historians have often argued that Britain made a strategic error in selling this territory before fully understanding its worth and full potential.
However, the British resolutely refused to allow the United States any claim over the large island near the mouth of the Puget Sound, citing an agreement of joint discovery with Spain as its motivation for keeping at least a nominal level of ownership over the island. In fact Britain had signed an agreement with Spain (in exchange for some level of military assistance in the Napoleonic Wars) which granted Spain effective control over what became known as Isla de Quadra (Quadra's Island), named after the Spanish Peruvian captain (Bodega y Quadra) who had discovered the island slightly before Captain James Cook.
Despite these limitations, America generally regarded this purchase as somewhat of a strategic victory over Britain, as it effectively removed a potential attack vector (as perceived by Americans) by Britain via the Great Lakes and indeed the Hudson Bay. Only Newfoundland remained as a possible staging point for military acts against the United States, even though Britain was largely too distracted in France and Scotland to do anything about it. Consequently, naval harrassment of American (and Quebecois) vessels was practically gone by 1800. This led to a slight warming of diplomatic relations between Britain and her former colonies, and in ideal circumstances might have led to better relations; however, these were far from ideal circumstances, and most Americans felt better off with this benign neglect than other possible interactions with Britain. Meanwhile, commerce with Britain continued at a modest pace, centering on the New England states who profited most due to proximity.
However, the immediate use of these newly-acquired northern lands (while expanding American lands by sizable amount) was limited, since the Louisiana Territory was still firmly claimed by Spain, and no sale appeared to be forthcoming: America had used up a fair amount of money to pay for its other acquisitions, and in any case, Spain was not motivated to sell the land, believing it to be of value for possible further northern expansion of New Spain. While the new territories were still contiguous with American territories around the Great Lakes, the colder winters made for a less hospitable crossing to the Pacific coast, so the initial American expedition to reach the far west was delayed until 1809. This allowed Spain slightly more time to explore and settle its new territories, especially west of the Rocky Mountains.
As compared with OTL, the following factors led to a different pattern of state growth: the national acceptance of smaller (and more easily defensible) state claims, slightly higher immigration rates from Europe, the lack of an equivalent War of 1812 with Britain, and an increased desire to make the most out of existing land near the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers as well as the Great Lakes. A number of new, smaller states sprang up from a vast, riverine patchwork of territories.
While slower at first than OTL, settlement in the Oregon Country proceeded at a modest pace, though only the hardiest settlers managed to survive the journey and remain there to maintain a permanent presence in the early years. Somewhat spurred by continued Spanish presence in the region, Congress authorized tracts of land to be given away to pioneers heading west; eventually a small cash bonus was also paid out, to continue to bolster the ranks. The territory flourished despite some initial setbacks, and the pioneer mentality created a new kind of consciousness in the new and growing state. Oregon residents maintained a civic identity mixed from a rugged recipe of pride in their hardiness and persistence, stewed with an anti-Spanish settlement, sprinkled in with a dash of being the western vanguard of a great nation who were holding off the perceived Spanish hordes.
Most fur trappers in the companies remained somewhat put off this mentality, which discouraged them from settling in the region and made for some interesting stories told in alehouses back "home" in York Factory or nearby settlements. For their part, Oregon residents were quick to welcome other Americans (or even Quebecois) who moved there and made an honest effort to stay, despite their background, original language or religion. The sense of being the first and most important western frontier managed to blur many of the lines that could have otherwise divided the populace; seeing the Spanish as a common threat, they agreed to hang together rather than hang separately. This mentality would pervade the region well into statehood, and even long after New Spain (and its successor states) abandoned its claims on Quadra Island and the land to the south of the Columbia; its profound effects on the populace would persist for another century.
By 1834, the territory had met the qualifications for statehood, so the new state of Oregon was admitted to the union. Oregon was bordered on the west by the Spanish-claimed Olympic Peninsula and by Puget Sound; to the south by the sprawling Columbia River; to the east by the Okanagan River; and to the north by the Frasier River, the South Thompson River, and then 51 degrees north latitude. The state was nearly halved from its initial proposed size by carving off the northeastern region (east of the Okanagan River) into the territory (of the same name), which would later be settled more fully and develop into another state.
Oregon's capital city was Oregon City (OTL Seattle), founded between Puget Sound and Lake Adams (OTL Lake Washington). Other major settlements which quickly became bustling cities were Salem (OTL Bellevue), Norfolk (OTL Tacoma), New Boston (OTL Olympia), Portland (OTL Everett), Quincy (OTL Bellingham) and Langley (OTL Surrey BC). Fort Vancouver, formerly owned by the British, was rebuilt several times and eventually became a fairly major military outpost to guard against perceived Spanish incursions into the state. Spanish forts on the south side of the Columbia effectively discouraged American ships from travelling into the Willamette River system, but neither side did much to antagonize each other, knowing full well that they had to pass by each other's land in order to fully conduct their trade. However, relationships were strained at best.