Russian colonization of the Americas
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Russian colonization of the Americas proceeded in several places.
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[edit] Alaska
After the discovery of northern Alaska by Ivan Fedorov in 1732, and the Aleutian Islands, southern Alaska, and northwestern shores of North America in 1741 during the Russian exploration conducted by Vitus Bering and Aleksei Chirikov, it took 50 years until the founding of the first Russian colony in Alaska in 1784 by Grigory Shelikhov. The Russian-American Company was formed in 1799 by Nikolay Rezanov for the purpose of hunting sea otters for their fur.
The peak population of the Russian colonies was about 40,000, although most of these were Aleuts.
The colony was never very profitable, because of the costs of transportation. At the instigation of Secretary of State William Seward, the U.S. Senate approved the purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 on April 9, 1867.
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| History of Alaska |
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In modern Russia and even in its predecessor, the Soviet Union, there has been speculation in the mass media that Alaska was not, in fact, sold, but was instead leased to the U.S. for 99 or 150 years and has to be returned to Russia. The treaty itself, however, is quite clear that it is a complete cession. The speculation may be explained in part by the notion that soon after the 1917 revolution in Russia all the secret tsarist international agreements were officially denounced and declared void by the new government.
A hundred-pound bell was unearthed in an orange grove near Mission San Fernando Rey de España, southern California, in 1920. It carried the following inscription, (translated from Russian): "In the Year 1796, in the month of January, this bell was cast on the Island of Kodiak by the blessing of Archimandrite Joaseph, during the sojourn of Alexandr Baranov." It is not known how this Russian Orthodox artifact from Kodiak, Alaska made its way to a Catholic mission in Southern California, though its existence gives proof of the Russian diaspora on the Pacific Rim and its intertwining with Spanish and Native American cultures.
The Orthodox Church in America can trace its activities back to early Russian missionaries. The witness of Herman of Alaska, Saint Innocent of Alaska, and Peter the Aleut has contributed to the continuing strong Orthodox community in Alaska.
A series of commemorative coins was released in the USSR in 1990 and 1991 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the discovery of Russian America. It consisted of a silver coin, a platinum coin and two palladium coins in each year.
[edit] Elsewhere in North America
Subsequently, Russian explorers and settlers continued to establish trading posts in Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and as far south as Fort Ross in northern California. Fort Ross, some 50 miles north of San Francisco, was founded in 1812 and closed in 1841. El Presidio Real de Sonoma, or Sonoma Barracks, was established at Sonoma, California in 1836 by Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (the "Commanclate-General of the Northern Frontier of Alta California") as a part of Mexico's strategy to halt Russian incursions into the region.
In 1818, Dr. Schäffer, a Russian entrepreneur, occupied Kauai and negotiated a treaty of protection with the island's governor Kaumualii, vassal of King Kamehameha I of Hawaii, but the Russian Tsar refused to ratify the treaty.
[edit] See also
- Grigory Shelikhov
- Alexandr Baranov
- Johan Hampus Furuhjelm
- Nikolai Rezanov
- Battle of Sitka
- Saint Innocent of Alaska
- Yevgeniy Tsvetov
- Kseniya Galper
