Subject: Re: [BoundaryPoint] Thanks Bill...<br/>
Date: Jul 16, 2000 @ 12:58<br/>
Author: David Mark (David Mark &lt;dmark@...&gt;)<br/>
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<div id="ygrps-yiv-1885971362">On Sun, 16 Jul 2000, Peter Hering wrote:<br/>
<br/>
<blockquote><span title="ireply"> &gt; Bill, thanks for your info on Point Roberts. Actually, I didn&#39;t express myself properly: I know quite a lot about PR, have been there myself, taken a lot of pictures as well - BUT: I&#39;d like to know about the background for the decision to put the border quite there: why should the southern tip of this peninsula belong to the US - with all the difficulties involved..? And why did the southern part of Vancouver<br/>
&gt; Island not become American as well - would be logical in my opinion...!<br/>
&gt; Any material on this border and the decision made accordingly...?!?<br/>
<br/>
 </span></blockquote>The basic point is that the European powers often negotiated boundaries<br/>
without knowing the local geography.  Or when the new USofA negotiated<br/>
about the West. (See Barry Smith&#39;s &quot;On Drawing Lines on a Map&quot;<br/>
(<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://wings.buffalo.edu/philosophy/faculty/smith/articles/drawing.html)">http://wings.buffalo.edu/philosophy/faculty/smith/articles/drawing.html)</a><br/>
for a general treatment but nothing about Point Roberts.)<br/>
<br/>
Anyway, in the mid 1800s, the United States wanted all territory on the<br/>
Pacific Coast up to 54 degrees 40&#39; noth, the S limit of Russian territory.<br/>
Britain on the other hand wanted the border to the Columbia River (or was<br/>
it 42 latitude?)  Anyway, eventually, the compromise was negotiated to be<br/>
the 49th parallel of latitude west to the Pacific.  Britain was so solidly<br/>
settled in to Vancouver Island that they convenced the US to let them<br/>
retain control of the Island. The wording of the treaty was something<br/>
like, &quot;the 49th parallel west to the ocean, thence through the principle<br/>
channel between Vancouver Island and the mainland.  There was later<br/>
argument about whteher the principle channel was east or west of the San<br/>
Juan islands but eventually the US won and the San Juans became US<br/>
territory. <br/>
<br/>
Back to Point Roberts.  When the treaty was worded and signed, presumably<br/>
no-one realized that the 49th parallel intersects the mainland shoreline<br/>
three times!  A similar case of drawing lines on maps without knowing the<br/>
local geography led to Kentucky having a disconnected piece due to the<br/>
fact that the parallel selected for the KY-TN border crosses the<br/>
Mississippi 3 times.  And a piece of Minnesota (the Northwest Angle)<br/>
similarly can be reached by land only through Canada and forms the<br/>
northernmost part of the 48 continguous states, is US territory largely<br/>
because when the treaty wording was plotted out on the geography, there<br/>
were some surprises!<br/>
<br/>
David<br/>
<br/>
David Mark<br/>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="mailto:dmark@...">dmark@...</a><br/>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.geog.buffalo.edu/~dmark/">http://www.geog.buffalo.edu/~dmark/</a></div>