Northwest Territory

The Northwest Territory is a land of cool, lush rainforests, magnificent mountain ranges, high desert plains, rocky coastlines, and rivers teeming with salmon. Long before Lewis and Clark began their arduous and remarkable journey across the North American continent in the nineteenth century, the upper Northwest corner had been home to a diverse blend of Native American cultures. With its moderate climate and extensive natural resources, the Northwest offered a rich environment within which many different tribal nations could develop and flourish, including the Nootka, Haida, Quinault, Makah, Puyallup, Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Snohomish. Even with its abundant resources (including timber, fur, and fishing), the region remained relatively ignored throughout much of the 1800s, with probably no more than a couple thousand U.S. settlers and maybe 30,000 Native Americans. John Jacob Astor and the Hudson’s Bay Company both established trading companies in the area during the early half of the nineteenth century. Yet the Northwest remained fairly remote until gold was discovered in the Yukon in 1890. The resulting influx of treasure hunters transformed Seattle from a backwater seaport to a bustling, metropolitan city.

From the game's History encyclopedia, AoE3: DE 100.19.18309.