What did the Oregon Treaty (1846) define?

• A. It defined the border along the 49th parallel without deviations.
• B. It defined the border of the 49th parallel that runs straight across where Canada meets the US except for around Vancouver Island, and guaranteed that the HBC had full control of the land's area and resources.
• C. It established joint control of the Oregon region by Britain and the United States.
• D. It created a free trade zone at the border.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that the Oregon Treaty defined the boundary between British territory and the United States in the Pacific Northwest. It set the border along the 49th parallel north from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, with Vancouver Island remaining British. This settled competing claims and defined sovereignty rather than creating joint control or a free-trade zone. The treaty did not grant the Hudson’s Bay Company blanket control of land and resources; it simply established political boundaries and left economic activity under the respective governments.