Alaska

The first European to lead an expedition to Alaska was Vitus Bering, a Dane sailing for the Russian Empire. Although Bering died on this expedition, as a result of his explorations in 1741-42, the Russians laid claim to the area. However, Russian settlement was initially sporadic and driven by private individuals in search of furs. Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov, who headed the largest fur company trading in Alaska, established the first permanent Russian settlement in North America on Kodiak Island in 1784. In 1797 Shelikhov’s son-in-law, Nikilay Petrovich Rezanov, consolidated all the fur trading companies operating in Alaska and in 1799 obtained an imperial charter for the Russian American Fur Company, modeled after the British East India Company. Rezanov visited Alaska in 180506, and traveled to California to establish trade contacts with the Spanish. The success of the Russian enterprise, however, was largely due to the management of Aleksandr Andreyevich Baronov, who had been appointed by Shelikhov to take control of Alaskan affairs in 1790. Bar-onov became the dominant presence in Russian America for almost two decades and established the town of New Archangel at Sitka in 1804. Recognizing his need for supplies, Baronov opened trading relations with the British and Americans, even though this action was technically illegal. He also established a base at Fort Ross in California and purchased supplies from the Spanish. During the early 19th century, the company made huge profits, in part by using ships from the United States to bring furs to China. Baronov died in 1819, on his way back to Russia after being forced out of power by company officials.

The Russians treated Native Americans harshly. The early fur traders, following patterns of Native dealings established in Siberia, exploited the Aleuts mercilessly. Often fur traders would invade a village, hold the women and children hostage, and compel the men to hunt furs. In the winter of 1763-64 some Aleuts rebelled, destroying four Russian ships and killing as many as 150 Russians. The Russians responded with brutality, burning 18 villages in 1766. The Aleuts did not oppose the Russians again. As a result of exploitation, disease, and war, the Aleut population declined from about 20,000 upon contact to 2,000 in 1800 (see also disease and epidemics). The Tlingit were more hostile to the Russians from the beginning and wiped out some outposts. New Archangel struggled for survival in its first years because settlers could not hunt and fish for fear of Tlingit attack. The Russian church sent missionaries to Alaska in 1794, but they had a limited impact on the Natives.

The Russian hold on Alaska remained tenuous throughout this period. Their fur trading also had a devastating impact on the environment, driving some animals to extinction and significantly decreasing the numbers of others.

Further reading: Claus-M. Naske and Herman Slotnick, Alaska: A History of the 49th State (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979); S. Frederick Starr, ed., Russia’s American Colony (Durham, N. C.: Duke University Press, 1987); Alan Taylor, American Colonies (New York: Penguin, 2001).