Washington State is part of the Pacific region of the United States of America and was separated from the western part of the “Washington Territory” in 1846. Originally the country was to be named “Columbia Territory”, but then, at the suggestion of Congressman Richard H. Stanton, was given the name “State of Washington” in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States. To distinguish it from the capital Washington, the state is also called “Washington State”, while the capital is usually called “Washington DC”, “The District” or just “DC”. Before the European explorers came to the country, the region on the Pacific coast was settled by many different Indian peoples. The first Europeans to land on the Washington coast in 1775 were Spaniards under Captain Don Bruno de Heceta aboard the Santiago, which was accompanied by the Sonora. The Spaniards claimed the entire coastal areas up to “Prince William Sound”, since they declared the Pacific to be the “Spanish Sea” and counted the coasts as belonging to the Spanish Empire. Several expeditions took place between 1778 and 1792, led by explorers such as the British James Cook, Charles W. Barkley and George Vancouver and the Spaniards Manuel Quimper and Francisco de Eliza. With the British-Spanish Nootka Convention of 1790, Spanish claims to the land were abandoned and the north-west coast was also explored by other nations. After British explorer David Thompson erected a flagpole and claimed the land for Great Britain on July 9, 1811, a North West Company trading post was established on the Snake River. The UK and US reached an agreement to settle territorial claims. Nevertheless, for several decades there was disagreement about the common settled areas. Finally, in the “Oregon Treaty” of June 15, 1846, Great Britain gave up all claims to the land south of the 49th parallel. Washington joined the Union on November 11, 1889, becoming the 42nd state. Already at the beginning of the settlement period, agriculture and the timber industry became important sources of income for the residents. In the eastern part of the state, the Yakima Valley became famous beyond the state borders for its apple trees. Other industries such as shipbuilding, fishing and mining were gradually added. For a long time, Tacoma was known for the large smelters, where gold, silver, copper and lead were processed. Seattle was the main seaport for trade with Alaska. Shipbuilding was also carried out there for some time. Heavy industry gained particular importance during the two world wars in particular. Check topschoolsoflaw.com for brief history of the state of Washington.