Colonization of the Americas, Russian

The Russian colonization of the Americas covers the period from 1732 to 1867, when the Russian Empire lays claim to northern Pacific Coast territories in the Americas.

Russian colonial possessions in the Americas are collectively known as Russian America.

Russian expansion eastward had begun in 1580, and in 1639 Russian explorers had reached the Pacific Ocean.

In 1728, Emperor Peter the Great had ordered navigator Vitus Bering to explore the North Pacific for potential colonization.

The Russians are primarily interested in the abundance of fur-bearing mammals on Alaska's coast, as stocks in Siberia have been depleted by overhunting.

Bering's first voyage is foiled by thick fog and ice, but in 1741 a second voyage by Bering and Aleksei Chirikov sights the North American mainland.Russian promyshlenniki (trappers and hunters) quickly develop the maritime fur trade, which instigates several conflicts between the Aleuts and Russians in the 1760s.

The fur trade proves to be a lucrative enterprise, capturing the attention of other European nations.

In response to potential competitors, the Russians extend their claims eastward from the Commander Islands to the shores of Alaska.

In 1784, with encouragement from Empress Catherine the Great, explorer Grigory Shelikhov founds Russia's first permanent settlement in Alaska at Three Saints Bay.

Ten years later, the first group of Orthodox Christian missionaries begins to arrive, evangelizing thousands of Indians, many of whose descendants continue to maintain the religion.

By the late 1780s, trade relations open with the Tlingits, and in 1799 the Russian-American Company (RAC) is formed in order to monopolize the fur trade, also serving as an imperialist vehicle for the Russification of Alaska Natives.Angered by encroachment on their land and other grievances, the indigenous peoples' relations with the Russians deteriorates.

In 1802, Tlingit warriors destroy several Russian settlements, most notably Redoubt Saint Michael (Old Sitka), leaving New Russia as the only remaining outpost on mainland Alaska.

This fails to expel the Russians, who reestablish their presence two years later following the Battle of Sitka.

(Peace negotiations between the Russians and Indians will later establish a modus vivendi, a situation that, with few interruptions, lasts for the duration of Russian presence in Alaska.)

In 1808, Redoubt Saint Michael is rebuilt as New Archangel and beomes the capital of Russian America after the previous colonial headquarters are moved from Kodiak.

A year later, the RAC begins expanding its operations to more abundant sea otter grounds in Northern California, where Fort Ross is built in 1812.By the middle of the 19th century, profits from Russia's American colonies are in steep decline.

Competition with the British Hudson's Bay Company has brought the sea otter to near extinction, while the population of bears, wolves, and foxes on land is also nearing depletion.

Faced with the reality of periodic Indian revolts, the political ramifications of the Crimean War, and unable to fully colonize the Americas to their satisfaction, the Russians conclude that their American colonies are too expensive to retain.

Eager to release themselves of the burden, the Russians sell Fort Ross in 1842, and in 1867, after less than a month of negotiations, the United States accepts Emperor Alexander II's offer to sell Alaska.

The purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million ends Imperial Russia's colonial presence in the Americas.

Many indigenous peoples protest the sale, arguing that they are the rightful owners of the land and that Russia has no right to sell Alaska.

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