Question

1.) What is colonialism and why did European powers colonize the pacific northwest?

Answer 1

1. Colonialism is defined as a system of political and military domination that a powerful territory (metropolis), implements to have a formal and direct control over a less powerful territory (colony). In this system the colony is perceived as a dependent land, meaning that they have to follow the political, economic and military system of the metropolis, more importantly, they don’t have neither freedom nor rights to take part in important decisions. Following this concept, it can be stated that the evident motives of the European powers to colonize the Pacific Northwest were the quest for territory, wealth, military strategy, economic control and glory for the king.  

2. The Lewis and Clark expedition, also known as the corps of discovery expedition, was in fact the first American expedition to cross the western region of the United States of America. The captain in charge was Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark. This expedition was very important as it aimed at some important factors, the first one was to establish American presence before the Britain and the Europeans did, another one was to study the area geographically, the plants and to build up trade with the American Indian tribes. One of the most important contributions of this expedition to the settlement of the Pacific Northwest was the mapping of the North American continent, they drew 140 maps of the area, which were the first accurate maps of the area, and with these they were able to do a legal claim of the land.  

3. On one hand, Nootka Sound controversy, a dispute over the seizure of vessels at Nootka Sound, which was a large sea of the Pacific Ocean on the harsh west coast of Vancouver Island; this sound separated the Vancouver Island and Nootka Island. During the Nootka Sound convention on October 28th, 1790, it was established that both Great Britain and Spain were free to navigate and fish in the pacific and to trade on unoccupied land. On the other hand, George Vancouver, who was an officer of the Royal Navy and an explorer, best known for his contributions regarding the exploration and charting of North America’s northwestern pacific coast regions including contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon.  

Answer 2

1. Colonialism is a type of foreign policy where a country exercises political control over another country by occupying it with its settlers and exploiting the economic gain that comes with it.

2. The Lewis and Clark expedition was very important because it marked the first expedition towards the western half of the United States. At the end of this expedition many new animals, regions, and people were discovered, this eventually led to the westward expansion of the United States to settle in these vast new regions.

3. The Nootka Sound Controversy was a major dispute that almost caused Spain and Great Britain to go to war. The dispute involved claims of who owned the pacific northwest.

Spain claimed to have possession but Great Britain threatened war over such claim. And thus, because of Spain's lack of military power Spain gave into Great Britain's demands, this resulted in the Nootka Sound Convention which stated that each country had the freedom to navigate the Pacific Northwest and be able to install settlements on unoccupied land.