The part of the United States which is now known as Alaska has been colonised by several European powers in its history. Surprisingly, perhaps, one of these is Russia, which actually played a significant role in the history of Alaska. Contact with the local Native Americans did not always turn out very well for the indigenous groups in the area though.
One of the Native groups who came into damaging contact with the Russians were the Aleuts, who suffered considerably from their lack of resistance to European diseases. Almost 80 per cent of the original inhabitants of the Aleutian Isles were killed by diseases, and there was also significant conflict with other Native groups too. Contact between the Russians and the Natives was not always disastrous though, and in some areas the two groups interacted reasonably well.
Three Saints Bay, Kodiak Island, was the site of the first proper Russian colony in the region. An explorer called Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov was responsible for its establishment, in 1784, and by the time 1788 was over there were several other colonies around Cook Inlet. The local Koniag people though were killed in large numbers by the Russians.
The main economic trigger for this expansion in this particular area was sea otters, which in this region possessed especially fine, high quality furs. A lack of ships and sailors, though, hampered Russian expansion. Despite this paucity, by 1794 the Russians had reached Yakutat Bay, and a year later the settlement of Slavorossiya was established.
In 1795, Alexandr Baranov had sailed into Sitka Sound, and claimed it for the Tsar of Russia. Hunting parties followed soon after, and by the early 1800s a huge majority of the otter skins the Russian-American colonies were producing came from this area. The settlement of Arkhangelsk would also be established by Baranov, though Tlingit Native Americans would destroy this settlement in 1802.
By 1804, it had been rebuilt, and would later be renamed as Sitka, which was an important settlement once the Americans had established hegemony in the state later on in the 19th century. There were never great numbers of Russian settlers in the area though, and only around 700 or so had established a presence there by the 1850s. The Russians settlers continued to face pressure from American traders and Tlingit aggression.
This means that the Russian presence did not leave many traces of its presence in Alaska, but one significant cultural legacy was preserved, especially in the Aleutian Islands. The Russian Orthodox faith would maintain a missionary presence in the territory until late in the 1800s, with the sacred texts being translated in Aleut very soon after initial contact. There are still adherents of this form of Christianity in the region.
The Russians actually played a reasonably significant role in the history of Alaska. Although they left little tangible sign of their presence, beyond the lingering presence of their religion in some places, they were an important part of the colonial era. Sadly, they also contributed to the decline of the Native American population in the region, with the diseases and conflict that they brought resulting in the deaths of large numbers of indigenous people.
One of the Native groups who came into damaging contact with the Russians were the Aleuts, who suffered considerably from their lack of resistance to European diseases. Almost 80 per cent of the original inhabitants of the Aleutian Isles were killed by diseases, and there was also significant conflict with other Native groups too. Contact between the Russians and the Natives was not always disastrous though, and in some areas the two groups interacted reasonably well.
Three Saints Bay, Kodiak Island, was the site of the first proper Russian colony in the region. An explorer called Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov was responsible for its establishment, in 1784, and by the time 1788 was over there were several other colonies around Cook Inlet. The local Koniag people though were killed in large numbers by the Russians.
The main economic trigger for this expansion in this particular area was sea otters, which in this region possessed especially fine, high quality furs. A lack of ships and sailors, though, hampered Russian expansion. Despite this paucity, by 1794 the Russians had reached Yakutat Bay, and a year later the settlement of Slavorossiya was established.
In 1795, Alexandr Baranov had sailed into Sitka Sound, and claimed it for the Tsar of Russia. Hunting parties followed soon after, and by the early 1800s a huge majority of the otter skins the Russian-American colonies were producing came from this area. The settlement of Arkhangelsk would also be established by Baranov, though Tlingit Native Americans would destroy this settlement in 1802.
By 1804, it had been rebuilt, and would later be renamed as Sitka, which was an important settlement once the Americans had established hegemony in the state later on in the 19th century. There were never great numbers of Russian settlers in the area though, and only around 700 or so had established a presence there by the 1850s. The Russians settlers continued to face pressure from American traders and Tlingit aggression.
This means that the Russian presence did not leave many traces of its presence in Alaska, but one significant cultural legacy was preserved, especially in the Aleutian Islands. The Russian Orthodox faith would maintain a missionary presence in the territory until late in the 1800s, with the sacred texts being translated in Aleut very soon after initial contact. There are still adherents of this form of Christianity in the region.
The Russians actually played a reasonably significant role in the history of Alaska. Although they left little tangible sign of their presence, beyond the lingering presence of their religion in some places, they were an important part of the colonial era. Sadly, they also contributed to the decline of the Native American population in the region, with the diseases and conflict that they brought resulting in the deaths of large numbers of indigenous people.
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