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49 stories matching britain
- Seattle to Ottawa: Hands Off Alaska
The Chamber of Commerce refused arbitration over Britain's boundary claims, warning that Canada was trying to take Alaska's harbors and the young city's northern trade.
- Bismarck’s Bluff: Germany Claims Samoa While Washington Watches
As the German Chancellor declares no treaty prevents his nation from seizing control of the Pacific islands, U.S. officials in Washington struggle to respond to a diplomatic crisis that threatens American interests across the ocean.
- The Day the San Juan Islands Almost Sparked a War
Before the archipelago was a tourist destination, it was the site of a tense naval standoff between American and British forces over a disputed boundary.
- The Last Stand of the American Flag in Samoa
Secretary Bayard’s dismissal of Consul Reesell sparks outrage over U.S. surrender to German bullying in the Pacific.
- San Juan Islanders Draw a Line in the Salish Sea
At a packed meeting in the little town of San Juan, American settlers pass defiant resolutions against the Governor of Vancouver Island and thank the U.S. troops sent to hold the island — an early scene in the boundary standoff remembered as the Pig War.
- The Senate’s Betrayal: A Treaty That Gave Away Seattle’s Future
A scathing Senate report warns that the new fisheries treaty with Britain surrenders American fishing rights and invites foreign control over Pacific waters.
- The Forgotten Panic Over 'Pauper Immigration'
An 1887 editorial reveals how Seattle's civic leaders—and the nation—framed foreign labor as a social and financial 'drain,' echoing the xenophobic rhetoric of modern political debates.
- The Union Treasurer Who Caught a Ship
Thomas Pentory left a letter admitting he was short in the books, then sailed for Britain. Tacoma wired Port Townsend to take him off the vessel.
- The Fishery Wars: Washington Territory's Diplomatic Standoff
A fiery debate in Congress regarding Canadian encroachment and retaliatory measures against British fishing interests in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Missionary Who Claimed the Pacific Northwest
A century of folklore credits Marcus Whitman with winning Oregon and Washington for the United States through a patriotic Fourth of July ritual.
- The Pig War: How a Single Shot Almost Started a War
A minor dispute over a pig on San Juan Island spiraled into an international standoff between the United States and Great Britain in 1859.
- Steilacoom Empties Its Garrison for a Near-War on San Juan Island
On Aug. 9, 1859, soldiers and two brass cannon left Steilacoom aboard the steamer Julia to reinforce Capt. Pickett’s tiny command, as the U.S. and Britain edged toward war over a boundary and a pig.
- The Pig War: How a Single Foraging Hog Nearly Triggered a Border War
A look back at the bizarre diplomatic standoff between the U.S. and Britain on San Juan Island, sparked by a hungry pig in a settler’s garden.
- The Fraser River Gold Rush and the Fear of 'Foreign' Highways
How the 1858 gold fever in British Columbia forced the United States to confront its own regional expansionism and the presence of a 'foreign highway' at its northern border.
- The Ghost Husband of Tacoma
A woman remarries after believing her husband died in a British train wreck, only to discover he is alive and working as a railway guard.
- The San Juan Island Standoff
Tensions between American settlers and British authorities on San Juan Island flare in the territorial legislature, sparking a debate over sovereignty and the treatment of American interests.
- The Captain Who Caught a Monster: Seattle’s Own Sea Serpent Hoax
Captain Pat J. Boyton of Seattle claims to have captured a 63-foot sea serpent in the Pacific, sending a letter from his ship that has locals buzzing with wonder and skepticism.
- The World at War, Felt in Kennewick
As Europe descends into the First World War, Kennewick residents with roots in Germany, Belgium, and Britain watch the news with growing anxiety and divided loyalties.
- The Union Veteran Who Sued the Railroad for a Million-Dollar Tacoma
Anthony P. Carr says Northern Pacific agents helped a claim-jumper steal his homestead. More than a thousand Tacoma lots—and the people living on them—depend on what the Supreme Court decides.
- Britain Is Quietly Mapping Alaska's Border, Former Federal Attorney Warns
In a Seattle interview, C. S. Johnson says the British government is spending freely to survey disputed Alaska territory while the U.S. government stalls, and Alaskans fear losing valuable mining districts.
- The Makah Sealers’ Schooner Controversy
A bureaucratic fight over whether tribal sealers can legally use schooners as refuge during dangerous Bering Sea storms.
- A Fraternal Leader Draws the Line at English—and at the Ballot Box
Visiting Knights of Pythias supreme chancellor W. W. Blackwell wants the order to require English and ties voting rights to language, warning of foreign anarchists.
- The Shadow Over San Juan Island
A Supreme Court justice warns that the legal limbo surrounding the San Juan islands threatens to turn the territory into a lawless refuge for criminals.
- The Economic Anxiety of the 1893 Tariff Debate
Washington's leading industries feared that a new trade bill would prioritize Eastern markets and force local businesses to lower wages to compete with international labor.
- Tacoma Bets Its Future on a Giant Interstate Fair
In August 1891, Governor McGraw urged every county to send exhibits as Tacoma raced to open a fair that promised to fill hotels, showcase the Northwest, and put the city on the map.
Also about this, in other words
- The Fading Majesty of the British Crown
A 1885 editorial reflects on the diminishing power of the British monarchy, suggesting the institution may soon become a mere formality that the public outgrows.
- Queen Victoria's Silver, for the Men Who Pulled a Drowning Crew from the Surf
Six Washington coast men who braved the November breakers off Long Beach to save a foundering British ship's crew are honored with silver medals sent by the Queen herself.
- The Wreck of the Brittain
A maritime expert surveys the remains of a vessel lost on the rocks, detailing the disastrous navigation error that caused the sinking.
- The 'Second Gibraltar': Britain’s Plan to Fortify Puget Sound
Tensions mount on the Pacific border as the British Admiralty, spooked by U.S. sealing regulations, orders immediate military improvements to the entrance of the Puget Sound.
- An International Love-Feast at the Boundary
Washington and British Columbia celebrate the completion of the Fairhaven & Southern Railroad with silver hammers and toasts to a shared future.
- A Rough Arrival from Yokohama
The steamer Crown of England arrives in Puget Sound after a harrowing 23-day voyage marked by mechanical failures and a violent 26-hour gale.
- Four British Sailors Jump Ship—and Find American Liberty at Port Townsend
A steamer captain tried to return stowaways to Esquimalt, but a U.S. commissioner freed them, exposing a diplomatic gap over extradition.
- Seattle Settlers Condemn British Rule in Ireland
A local assembly of Irish-American organizers drafts a formal protest against the British government's land policies and the forced migration of the Irish peasantry.