Oregon Question

Oregon Question

Dispute over ownership of the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Spain, Russia, the U.S., and Britain all had claims to the region based on exploration or settlement. Spain vacated its claims after the Nootka Sound controversy and in an 1819 treaty with the U.S. The U.S. and Britain established a joint claim over the Oregon Country in 1818. Russia abandoned its claims in separate treaties (1824–25). A compromise Oregon Treaty between the U.S. and Britain (1846) drew the U.S.-Canada land boundary at 49°N.