• Home
  • Archives

Dave Knows Portland

Subscribe to Dave Knows Portland by Email

October 23, 1813: Astoria Handed Over to the British

October 23, 2011 by Dave Leave a Comment

Fort Astoria 1813Founded in 1811 when the Astor Expedition landed at the mouth of the Columbia River to establish an outpost of the Pacific Fur Company, Fort Astoria was not a raving success.

When the War of 1812 broke out, the Pacific Fur Company partners present in Astoria decided to cut their losses and avoid a possible military takeover. On October 23, 1813 they sold the post to the British North West Company.

Their actions proved prescient as a few weeks later a British man-of-war arrived to take possession. Fort Astoria was renamed Fort George, and the British retained control of the Northwest fur trade for the next several decades, long after the war ended in 1818.

Filed Under: Astoria, History, This Day in History

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Dave Knows Portland Archive

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in