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The Pacific Fur Company (PFC), also known as the Astor Expedition, was an American-owned trading company established in 1810, which competed with the Canadian-owned North West Company (NWC) in the Oregon Country of the Pacific Northwest. Wholly owned by John Jacob Astor of New York City, it was part of his dream to build a global network linking by trade locations in the Atlantic and Pacific. Fur trappers were sent both overland and by the sea to open trading posts on the Pacific coast. The company's base of operations was Fort Astoria, constructed in 1811 at the mouth of the Columbia River near present-day Astoria, Oregon. The War of 1812 saw the collapse of the PFC, its assets purchased in 1813 by the North West Company, its major competitor. The emporium envisioned by Astor was a failure for a number of reasons, but the overland expedition pioneered the route now known as the Oregon Trail, critical for the later American colonization of Oregon and Washington. ==Formation== Astor's plans were to create a company that aimed to control much of the North American fur trade, as well as extend it all the way to the Oregon Country. He intended to expand upon the growing trade routes of the Pacific Ocean. Trade goods for the Pacific Northwest Natives such as beads and blankets would be shipped from New York City and exchanged for fur pelts. Additionally the ports of Russian America would be visited to purchase additional furs. The ships would then sail to the Qing Empire port of Guangzhou, where the furs were sold for impressive profits and Chinese products like porcelain and tea were available. Astor's merchant vessels would then cross the Indian Ocean and head for London to sell the Chinese wares for British manufactured goods in demand at New York City. A potential trade war with British subjects was seen by Astor, but American merchants would not "concede so lucrative a trade to their British and Canadian counterparts without a spirited contest."〔Schwantes, Carlos A. (''In the Mountain Shadows: A History of Idaho.'' ) Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. 1991, p. 25. ISBN 0-8032-9241-4〕 Astor understood his proposal for the expedition was as much political, as it was commercial. He needed to get the support of the government in order to be successful in his endeavor. Astor, along with his Canadian partners, Alexander McKay, Duncan McDougall, and Donald Mackenzie, met in New York on 23 June 1810 to sign the Pacific Fur Company's provisional agreement.〔Schwantes (1991), p. 292.〕 Half of the stock of the company was held by the American Fur Company, owned exclusively by John Jacob Astor, and Astor provided all of the capital for the enterprise. The other half-interest of the Pacific Fur Company was divided among working partners, each owning two-and-a-half to five shares (with some shares held in reserve). The working partners all ventured to the Columbia River, either overland or by ship. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pacific Fur Company」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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