Download or read book The Acquisition of Oregon Territory, Vol. 1 written by Joseph Schafer and published by . This book was released on 2015-06-30 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Acquisition of Oregon Territory, Vol. 1: Discovery and Exploration The earliest voyages along the Pacific seaboard, of what Is now the United States, were made by Spaniards. The expedition of Cabrillo and Ferelo, from Mexico in the year 1542-3, brought into view nearly the entire extent of the California coast; these discoveries were confirmed, and extended to at least the forty-second parallel - the southern boundary of Oregon - by Vizcaino and Aguilari in 1602-3. But having thus early established a claim upon more territory than she was ever able to subdue and occupy In a thorough manner, Spain took no further interest in maritime discoveries northward from Mexico for one hundred and seventy years. When she at last bestirred herself, in 1774 and 1775, sending out expeditions as far north as Alaska, the purpose was not to seek a new field for the expanding energies of her people; history proved that they were not able to make proper use even of California. The northern voyages were undertaken in response to a species of counsel of despair. The Spaniards feared that Russia, already lodged in Alaska, - would come down the coast, and that England might succeed in finding a northwest passage from the Atlantic into the Pacific. Jeopardizing all Spanish possessions along that coast; they hoped to avert both of inese calamities by fastening their claim upon as great a stretch of coast as possible. In a word, the voyages of Perez. Heceta and Bodega, while notable as exploits of eighteenth century seamanship. and historically fortunate in becoming connected with the American territorial claims of half a century later, represent a forced. Irrational expression of the Spanish national life, and could not have been expected greatly to benefit that nation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.