On his return trip to Oregon in 1843, Whitman guided nearly 900 immigrants along the Oregon Trail. ![]() Many Indians blamed the epidemic on the white missionaries, and the Whitmans and 12 others were murdered.īefore his death, Marcus Whitman made an epic 3,000 mile journey to Boston, publicizing the attractions of the Pacific Northwest and warning easterners of the need to offset British influence in the region. In 1847, a severe epidemic of measles broke out in the area. The couple founded a mission near present-day Walla Walla, Washington. The most famous western missionaries were Marcus Whitman, a young doctor, and his wife, Narcissa Prentiss Whitman, who were sent west in 1836 by the Methodists. The first missionaries arrived in Oregon in 1834. This inspired missionary activity in the Pacific Northwest. Louis to learn "the true mode of worshiping the Great Spirit." In 1831 three chiefs of the Nez Perce tribe and another from the Flathead nation arrived in St. In the end, it was religion that led to American settlement of Oregon. politicians, merchants, and fur traders were unsuccessful in promoting American settlement of Oregon. In 1819 the United States persuaded Spain to cede its claims to Oregon to the United States, and two years later Secretary of State John Quincy Adams warned Russia that the United States would oppose any Russian attempts to occupy the territory. ![]() In 1818 British and American negotiators agreed that nationals of both countries could trade in the region this agreement was renewed in 1827. Spain, Russia, Britain, and the United States all claimed rights to the Pacific Northwest. American politicians grew alarmed that Britain, and not the United States, would gain sovereignty over the region. When the War of 1812 began, the British navy made it impossible to supply Astoria, and Astor sold the post to Canadian traders.įor nearly two decades, Britain dominated the Pacific Northwest. By the time the weary survivors reached Astoria, they found that the British already controlled the fur trade. The land expedition was nearly as unlucky. Then, after dropping several passengers off at Astoria, the ship proceeded northward, where Indians destroyed it and massacred the crew. The sea expedition ran aground on a sandbar at the entrance to the Columbia River, killing eight men. He hoped the post would secure a monopoly over the western fur trade, and then ship the furs to eager customers in China.Īstor sent two expeditions to the Far West-one by land and one by sea. In 1810, John Jacob Astor, an American who had made a fortune in the Great Lakes fur trade, decided to open a trading post, named Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River. Digital History Printable Version The Pacific Northwest
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