Module IV - Russian America

Essential Question:
What is the Legacy of Russian Colonization of Alaska?

This is the first map of Alaska made on a Russian expedition.

Russia has impacted Alaska through their effects on the land and effects on the people and culture. These effects can still be seen today. Early explorers came over to see what Alaska was all about, who was here and what type of resources it had to offer. Vitus Bering and Alexi Chirklov were the 2 early Russian explorers to venture over to Alaska. Soon after their return from Alaska, they came back wanting to find more.


There quickly became a high demand for the furs of Alaskan animals. The hunters would hunt one area of land until there was nothing left to hunt. They would then pack up and move to another location and do the same thing. They had a complete disregard for the land and animals. They had no concern about the effects of their hunting style. The Natives only hunted what they needed. They respected the land and animals. They understood that hunting beyond their means would have drastic effects on the animal population. The Russians established a fur trading industry which placed high demands on the different furs Alaska had to offer.

Russian Church in Alaska

Russians also had an impact on the naming of the towns and villages of Alaska. A few examples of those towns are Nikolaevsk, Ninilchik, and Sitka. Sitka was the capital of colonial Russian America. They also brought their architectural abilities. They built houses and buildings in these towns and villages that still exist today.

Native Alaskans

Russian Colonization also affected the Native people. Because of the decline of Russians in Alaska, they had to resort to using Natives to work for them. The Russians treated the Natives harshly and gave them unfair payment for their labor. Unfortunately, the Russians also brought diseases that the Natives had never seen before. The Native population started to decline because of lack of treatment.





The Russians introduced new foods and industry to Alaska. They introduced farming and were successful in producing vegetables such as cabbages, cucumbers, potatoes, and turnips. These are still seen today especially at the Alaska State Fair. The vegetables are grown to award winning sizes. They introduced ships, sleds and dogs for travel on land, and horse drawn sleighs and wagons. They introduced their tools such as knives, axes, saws, and cooking utensils. They brought the wheel, steam, water, and wind power.

I found a video that shows how Russia's legacy is still indirectly affecting things that are happening today. It's a long video but is very interesting.
This site is where I got a lot of my information from.

Examine Question:
The Russian American Company: when was it founded and what were the terms of its operation?

Russian American Company Symbol. Here is some information about the flag.

The Russian American Company was founded in 1799. They secured a 20-year charter, which was renewed twice. Because of this, they established a monopoly over all trade manufacturing in Alaska and the company prospered greatly. Alexander Baranov was the chief manager and governor of the colony for the first 20 years.

Currency of the Russian American Company

The Russian American Company’s goal was to hunt for fur seals and fur trade. The Company received a granted documentation and a privilege to use all trades, crafts and establishments located along the Northwestern coast. Areas included the Bering Straight, Aleutian and Kuril Islands, and beyond. They were allowed to acquire any discovered land into the Russian Empire, found settlements and build fortifications, trade with neighbor states and hire any class of free people. They also had to take care of the Spiritual Mission in America.

I know this is not RAC, but I can imagine this is what one of their store fronts would look like.

The Company had trade relations with China, California, and Chili. Their main exported goods were pelt, baleen, walrus tooth, and beaver spring. Food was the main import. They also were pretty much forced to make scientific explorations because of the difficult trade connections with Russia through Siberia. They had to take longer routes home and explore the land as they went.


Extend Question:
For more detail, feel free to also review the included link for Russian American Reader.

This article was very interesting. I didn’t realize that the Russians were so disrespectful not only to the Natives but to their land. To put it simply, they were ruthless bullies. They forced the Natives to hunt and gather fur for them. If the Natives refused, they would hold their women and children hostage until they complied. They brought disease among the Natives that they were unable to treat.

Shelikhov

It was interesting to read that the investors had to create partnerships with others in order to keep their businesses alive. The reason was that it was expensive support the voyages. One investor, Gregorii Shelikhov, worked hard to take over all the posts and the territory of the Kodiak Islanders. The Kodiak Islanders resisted the invasion but were easily defeated because their defense was not adequate enough to hold Shelikhov off. What’s interesting is that Shelikhov eventually had to make peace with them because he needed to trade with them and he had to do it on fair terms.





After the death of Shelikhov, Russia gave a company called the Russian American Company a monopoly over Alaska. There was one person that was in charge of this Company and his name was Alexander Baranov. What’s interesting about this man is that he was given control to run the company as well as govern the town. That is a lot of power given to one man and a lot of responsibility.




Evaluation:
I thought this week's module had a lot of interesting information. There were a lot of links provided to help better understand the material and to get a better insight. I enjoyed reading through it and being informed about how Alaska was discovered and what happened here in the early stages.

Blog Reviews

I like how Claire described “Alaskan Culture” as a contradiction. She did a good job defending her position by explaining how resources were used only when they were needed and were never taken in abundance. Now, people want to use the resources until they are gone and then move on to the next spot with no respect to the land or animals.

I enjoyed Brenda’s blog. She has a lot of interesting links and videos to help improve understanding of her questions.

Betty did a nice job giving her understanding of the readings. I like how she closed with Native people needing to keep their traditions and cultures alive.