Title: Astoria
Subtitle: or, Anecdotes of an enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains
First published: 1838
Description: In 1811 a group of American traders built a fort at the mouth of the Columbia River, named Fort Astoria in honor of its financier, John Jacob Astor. Envisioned as the spur of a fur-trading empire, by 1813 the project was a business failure and the fort was surrendered to the British. But in its short life Astoria rendered incalculable benefits to public understanding of the Great Northwest. The exploration of trade routes, the description of various Indian tribes and their customs, and an American claim on the Northwest coast were among many of its legacies.

Astor never relinquished his pride in the enterprise and insisted that the West would one day be a dominating factor in national politics. To drive his point home he asked Washington Irving, the country's most renowned and respected author, to transform the papers of Fort Astoria into a unified and readable history. Irving accepted the offer and published Astoria in 1836.

From its first appearance--when it was hailed by no less a reviewer than Edgar Allan Poe--to the present day, Astoria has been read as a vivid and fascinating history, comparable indeed to the finest of romances, but rooted in the rough and hardy life of trapping, hunting, and exploration.
Subjects: Overland journey to the Pacific coast, Fur trade, Descriptions et voyages, Contributions in discoveries (in geography), Pacific Fur Co, Description and travel. [from old catalog], Fourrures, Description and travel, Oregon, Overland journeys to the Pacific. [from old catalog], Discovery and exploration, Commerce, Pacific Fur Company, Overland journeys to the Pacific, Indiens, History, Pacific fur company. [from old catalog], Indiens d'Amérique, Indians of North America, Voyages par terre jusqu'au Pacifique, Sources, American Fur Company, Voyages to the Pacific coast, Travel, Astoria (or.), Northwestern states, description and travel, Oregon, history, Discoveries in geography, American literature, Fiction, westerns, Fiction, historical, general, Fiction, action & adventure, Frontier and pioneer life, fiction, Northwest, pacific, fiction
Places: Oregon, Astoria (Or.), Northwestern States, Astoria (Or.)., West (U.S.), Pacific Northwest, Canada, Or Astoria, United States, Northeastern States, Spain, Astoria (Orégon), États-Unis, Amérique du Nord, Orégon, États du Nord-Ouest (États-Unis), Oregon. [from old catalog], Or. [from old catalog] Astoria, Oklahoma, Astoria, États-Unis (Nord-Ouest), Nord-Ouest (États-Unis)
People: John Jacob Astor (1763-1848), John Jacob Astor, Fernan Gonzales conde de Castilla (d. 970), Fernando III King of Castile and Leon (1199?-1252), Fernán Gonzáles conde de Castilla (d. 970)
Time periods: To 1859, 711-1516, 19th century