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The Champoeg Meetings in Oregon Country were the first attempts at governing in the Pacific Northwest by European American and French Canadian pioneers. Prior to this, the closest entity to a government was the Hudson's Bay Company, mainly through Dr. John McLoughlin at Fort Vancouver in present-day Vancouver, Washington. There were a series of meetings over three years held at Champoeg on the French Prairie along the Willamette River in present-day Marion County, Oregon, beginning in 1841.〔Carey, Charles (''History of Oregon.'' ) Chicago: The Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. 1922〕 A small but growing number of pioneers were settling in the Willamette Valley where no Euro-American government was in place. With the death of prominent settler Ewing Young in 1841, a group of settlers led by Jason Lee began to advocate for a settler run local government in the region. These meetings at Champoeg eventually culminated in a vote on May 2, 1843, ending in favor of forming what became the Provisional Government of Oregon. Although primarily supported by the American pioneers in the region, several French-Canadian settlers did vote in favor of forming the government. A state park and marker at the site of the May 2 vote commemorate the proceedings, as well as a large mural behind the desk of the Oregon Speaker of the House in the Oregon House of Representatives chamber at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem. ==Background== The Oregon Country was at one point claimed by the United States along with the three European nations of Russia, Great Britain and Spain. Interest by these nations caused several voyages to map the coast, with Alessandro Malaspina, Robert Grey, and George Vancouver arriving in the 1790s. The overland treks of Alexander Mackenzie and Lewis & Clark which reached the Pacific Coast in 1793 and 1805 respectively continued to ferment interest by Europe and the United States. In 1818, the United States and Britain signed a treaty that called for the two countries to peaceably co-exist in the region, but not exclude other claims. Through a series of other treaties the number of countries claiming the Oregon Country was reduced to just two, the United States and Britain. As such expeditions expanded Euro-American knowledge of the Pacific Northwest, the possibilities of exploiting the growing fur trade made several companies attempt establishing a permanent presence there. The first to do so was the Montreal based North West Company, which under David Thompson arrived in now Montana and created posts such as the Saleesh House to trade with the Salish and Kootenai tribes.〔Malone, Michael P. (''Montana: A History of Two Centuries'' ), Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991, p.44〕〔 The American Pacific Fur Company financed the next commercial push into the region, working with primarily the Chinookan peoples at Fort Astoria on the mouth of the Columbia River. The War of 1812 ended the American venture and its operations were sold to its competitors, the North West Company, which was itself amalgamated into the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821.〔 From Fort Vancouver located near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, the operations of the Hudson's Bay Company grew and quickly became the primary commercial force in Oregon Country. Despite the activities of American mountain men and upwards of 12 attempted companies,〔 the commercial hegemony of the British company remained in force until after the formation of the Provisional Government. Britain and the U.S. continued the "joint occupation" as economic activity in the region continued to expand. In the 1830s missionaries such as Protestants like Jason Lee, Henry H. Spalding, Marcus Whitman and Catholics like François Norbert Blanchet, Modeste Demers and Pierre-Jean De Smet would also travel overland to Oregon Country and establish missions among the Native Americans. As time passed many of these trappers and missionaries settled the land and developed farms, timber and grist mills. Then in the 1840s more and more settlers arrived via the Oregon Trail that the early missionaries and trappers helped to trail blaze.〔Clarke, S.A. (''Pioneer Days of Oregon History.'' ) Cleveland: J.K. Gill Company. 1905〕 Finally, enough Americans, Canadians and Europeans were living in this land, that by Western standards was considered ungoverned, that a critical mass was reached and the settlers began to develop plans for a government. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Champoeg Meetings」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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