The history of Alaska has often been complex, in terms of how it was colonised by European powers, so it is perhaps less surprising than it sounds that Russia was one of the nations which played a major role in its development. Although not much of a palpable legacy was left behind, they did play a key role. They also encountered significant conflict with local Native Americans.
On the Aleutian Islands, some four fifths of the native Aleuts died as a result of European diseases, against which they had almost no resistance. Other Native Americans got on reasonably well with the Russian traders who began to appear during the 18th century. In other places, though, there was significant conflict, which took its toll on the native population.
The first Russian colony was established in Three Saints Bay on Kodiak Island, with the expedition led by the explorer Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov, in 1784. This did not well for the local indigenous people, with the Russians killing many hundreds of the local Koniag people. By 1788, there were several Russian settlements in place, especially in the area of mainland adjacent to Cook Inlet.
Much of the economic motivation for this colonisation was the presence in the area of sea otters with very high quality furs. There was a shortage of sailors and ships which hampered Russian exploitation of this resource though. Despite this hindrance, the Russians did manage to reach Yakutat Bay in 1794, and had built a small town which came to be known as Slavorossiya there by 1795.
They reached Sitka Sound in 1795, with Alexandr Baranov leading the expedition there, and trappers and hunters followed him soon afterwards. By the time of the early 1800s, a vast percentage of the sea otter pelts produced in Russian American had their origins in this part of Alaska. Baranov would go on to found the settlement of Arkhangelsk, though it would be destroyed by the Tlingit nation of Native Americans 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.
The Russians did not leave very much which was tangible behind them, apart from their religion. The Russian Orthodox faith was proselytised vigorously in the Aleutian Islands, and a missionary presence would be maintained by the church there until the mid-19th century. Translations of holy texts into the Aleut language were completed very early on.
The Russian influence on the history of Alaska may not be well known, but it was certainly significant. It contributed directly to the depopulation of the native Aleuts, whose numbers plunged in the wake of Russian contact. The most lasting legacy of Russian colonialism here comes in the form of the Russian Orthodox Church.
On the Aleutian Islands, some four fifths of the native Aleuts died as a result of European diseases, against which they had almost no resistance. Other Native Americans got on reasonably well with the Russian traders who began to appear during the 18th century. In other places, though, there was significant conflict, which took its toll on the native population.
The first Russian colony was established in Three Saints Bay on Kodiak Island, with the expedition led by the explorer Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov, in 1784. This did not well for the local indigenous people, with the Russians killing many hundreds of the local Koniag people. By 1788, there were several Russian settlements in place, especially in the area of mainland adjacent to Cook Inlet.
Much of the economic motivation for this colonisation was the presence in the area of sea otters with very high quality furs. There was a shortage of sailors and ships which hampered Russian exploitation of this resource though. Despite this hindrance, the Russians did manage to reach Yakutat Bay in 1794, and had built a small town which came to be known as Slavorossiya there by 1795.
They reached Sitka Sound in 1795, with Alexandr Baranov leading the expedition there, and trappers and hunters followed him soon afterwards. By the time of the early 1800s, a vast percentage of the sea otter pelts produced in Russian American had their origins in this part of Alaska. Baranov would go on to found the settlement of Arkhangelsk, though it would be destroyed by the Tlingit nation of Native Americans 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.
The Russians did not leave very much which was tangible behind them, apart from their religion. The Russian Orthodox faith was proselytised vigorously in the Aleutian Islands, and a missionary presence would be maintained by the church there until the mid-19th century. Translations of holy texts into the Aleut language were completed very early on.
The Russian influence on the history of Alaska may not be well known, but it was certainly significant. It contributed directly to the depopulation of the native Aleuts, whose numbers plunged in the wake of Russian contact. The most lasting legacy of Russian colonialism here comes in the form of the Russian Orthodox Church.
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