Compare the significance for Canada of the Treaty of Washington, and the Alaska Boundary Dispute.
Introduction
The Treaty of Washington and the Alaska Boundary Dispute both were significant incidents in the history of Canada. Both share some amount of similarities. At the time when the Treaty of Washington was signed in 1871, the Dominion of Canada was newly formed but still it was under the imperial control of the British Empire. The Alaska Boundary Dispute also took place at the same time when the Dominion of Canada was formed in 1867, but all the foreign affairs of Canada were still controlled by the British Empire. The Treaty of Washington was signed on the basis of the decisions taken by a Joint Commission which appointed five judges to address various issues of dispute between Great Britain and the US. In a similar way, a Joint Commission was appointed at the time of resolving the Alaska Boundary Dispute too. In both the cases, the British judges showed more interest in settling their own issues with the US than resolving the issues of Canada. The decisions taken in both the cases were in favor of the United States and as a result the decisions faced immense criticism from the Canadian side. Canadians were miffed because of the British favoritism showed towards the US. This paper would discuss and compare the significance for Canada of the Treaty of Washington, and the Alaska Boundary Dispute..
The Treaty of Washington, signed in 1871, holds a great amount of historical significance for American, Great Britain and Canadian history. Though the first prime minister of Canada, Sir John A Macdonald, was one of the five commissioners appointed to a Joint Commission, which was supposed to address various issues of dispute between the Britain and the United States, he had minimal influence in the matters. Besides Sir John A Macdonald, the other commissioners were Sir Stafford Northcote, Earl Grey, Mountague Bernard and Sir Edward Thornton. The main issues discussed by the commission was the compensation to the United States for the damages inflicted by the British ship called 'the Alabama' during the American Civil War, the American desire to resume the use of Canadian and Newfoundland inshore fisheries, the San Juan Boundary dispute on the west coast and restitution to Canada for Fenian raids.
The treaty of reciprocity signed between Canada and the US lapsed in 1866, and it made a negative economic impact upon Canada. It was thought that if America gained a renewed access to Canadian fisheries, then it would help re-establish reciprocity and the US markets would be open to Canada. The US fishermen had the fishing right in Canadian waters still, but they had to pay a fee. The US being in complete anti-reciprocity mood, the Canadian authorities started to seize the American ships which failed to pay the fishing fee. Thus the situation between both the countries was quite hostile. Since Macdonald hardly had any influence in the matters discussed by the commission, he realized that he would receive minimal support from the British as they were more interested in settling their issues with the US. However, finally it was decided that the US would have fishing rights in the Canadian fisheries for 10 years in exchange for unlimited access of Canadian fish products to the American market. Later on, a hefty amount of sum worth $5.5 million was also paid to Canada by the USA.
Macdonald further broached the topic of Fenian raids and the damages done by it, but the US showed no interest in discussing this issue. However, Canada received compensation worth $2.5-million from the British for the Fenian raids. The issue about the San Juan Boundary dispute on the west coast between the US mainland and Vancouver Island was also broached by Macdonald. Sun Juan Island was an ideal place for sheep farming and its position at the mid-point of the waterway made it a land of dispute between the two countries. However, it was decided by the Joint Commission that the issue would be handed over to the Kaiser in Germany for arbitration and the Kaiser later awarded the island to the USA. Macdonald faced severe criticism for not being able to put forward the interests of Canada strongly to the Commission and the Canadians were very disappointed with the decisions signed in the treaty because all of them were made in favor of the USA. However, there is no denying the fact that the treaty brought some peace and friendliness between the US and Canada, both of whom trying to forget their own differences worked towards establishing a better relationship.
The Treaty of Washington had several significance on the relationships of US, Canada and United Kingdom. Demilitarization of US-Canada border, industrialization of Great Lakes region and resolution of some long standing issues helped build a better relationship between UK, Canada and US. US recognition of the Canadian Prime Minister Macdonald meant that US finally recognized Canadian dominion. With the successful resolution of issues like fishing, Vancouver Island dispute and Fenian raids a better international relationship between Canada and US started.
The Alaska Boundary Dispute
The Alaska boundary dispute took place when Canada was still under the British rule. All its foreign affairs were controlled by the British Empire. There was a dispute going on between the British and the Russians since 1821, and after the US purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, a territorial dispute ensued between the British dominated Canada and the USA. The dispute involved the issue of legal boundaries of Alaska. Especially, after gold was discovered in the area around the Yukon, the dispute between Canada and USA intensified with both the countries seeking access to the treasure trove of gold.
Just like what happened in the Treaty of Washington, a Joint High Commission was formed by the US and Great Britain to address the issue of the territorial dispute. The commission wanted to conduct a survey and draw a marking of the territory to reach a compromise between the two disputing countries, and hence agreed to a convention which would have materialized the goal. However, an objection was raised by a number of western states of the US to the commission's work, and as a result, the US refused to ratify the convention.
After about 5 years, the US and Great Britain decided to form an Alaskan Boundary Tribunal to resolve the dispute. Just as in the treaty of Washington, five commissioners were appointed to solve the matters of conflict, in a similar manner the tribunal consisted of six judges with three judges from each side. The then US President Theodore Roosevelt appointed former senator George Turner, Secretary of War Elihu Root, and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge as judges from the US side while Great Britain appointed Baron Alverstone, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Allen B. Aylesworth and Sir Louis A. Jette from Canada.
The British owing to their self-interest took the side of USA and voted in their favor. An International Boundary Commission, formed by the tribunal, marked the official boundaries between Canada and Alaska. USA was happy with the official division of territories as it got much of the lands it claimed whereas Canada was miffed with the British for having compromised with the interests of Canada. Just like the Treaty of Washington, the Alaska boundary dispute too removed the bone of contention between the two conflicting countries, USA and Canada and brought some peace to both the nations.
Although the Alaska land dispute was between US and Canada but Canada was represented by UK. UK at that time wanted to improve its relationship with US and agreed with whatever US wanted in the Alaska Treaty. Before the Alaska discussions tension between US and Canada on border disputes was high. Alaska dispute although went against the interest of Canadians but at least it solved a long standing issue. Canadians were unhappy at the way UK represented them in the Alaska talks but in the long run the US and Canadian international relationship improved after the treaty.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Treaty of Washington and the Alaska Boundary Dispute are two significant occurrences in the history of Canada. Both the cases took place when Canada was still under the control of the British Empire. In both the cases, a Joint Commission was formed to resolve the issues of dispute. The judges appointed from the Canadian side, in both the cases, had minimal influence in the matters discussed by the Commission because the British judges showed more interest in resolving their own issues with USA than that of Canada. The decisions taken in both the cases were in favor of USA and as a result, the decisions received severe criticism from the Canadians. However, one positive effect of both the cases was that they helped Canada and the US sort out their differences and work towards fostering a friendlier relation with each other.
Bibliography
Waite, P.B. Treaty of Washington. The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2006. Accessed January 29, 2014 from <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/treaty-of-washington/>
The Washington Treaty. Canada History. 2013. Accessed January 29, 2014 from <http://www.canadahistory.com/sections/eras/nation%20building/Washington%20Treaty.html>
Alaska Boundary Dispute. The Free Dictionary. Accessed January 29, 2014 from <http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Alaska+Boundary+Dispute>
Keenleyside, Hugh and Brown, Gerald S. Canada and the United States: Some Aspects of Their Historical Relations. Cengage Learning. 1952. Accessed January 29, 2014 from <http://www.questia.com/read/9352181/canada-and-the-united-states-some-aspects-of-their>
Alaska Boundary Dispute. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2014. Accessed January 29, 2014 from <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1316476/Alaska-Boundary-Dispute>
