War for Alaska: Why else did Alexander II decide to get rid of these lands

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Once Alaska, and at the same time the Aleutian Islands belonged to the Russian Empire. True, it is very conditional, formal. The fact is that the local Indian tribes - the Tlingits - were not eager to become anyone's subjects. Bloody clashes between aborigines and Russian colonists have become commonplace. In that protracted war, the Russian-American company had few chances. The remoteness of Alaska, as well as the small number of colonists, played a major role. But the war for distant lands went on to the last.

Alaska: first blood

When exactly Russia lost Alaska is an unpopular fact. Some may remember the song of the Lube group “Don't play the fool, America”. So in it for some reason a certain Catherine is mentioned, who "was wrong." In fact, the decision to sell Alaska (and at the same time the Aleutian Islands) was made by Alexander II. It happened in 1867. But before that, for more than sixty years, the Russian-American Company (RAC) tried with all its might to stay on the territory.

And this tragic story began at the end of the eighteenth century. Russian colonists, moving further and further east, reached Alaska. And here for the first time we met with local residents - the Tlingits.

The Tlingits were an ordinary Indian people who did not live as a single tribe, but in numerous clan associations, which were called "Kuans". Naturally, according to the good old Indian tradition, bloody clashes constantly took place between them.

Busy with internecine squabbles, the Tlingits at first perceived the Russian colonists neutrally. They did not touch them, being engaged in the hunting of wild animals. But when the Indians settled their internal problems, they remembered about the strangers. The same ones, calmly hunted and did not think about tomorrow. The Indians did not like this much. The number of the beast was decreasing, which could lead to sad consequences for the aborigines. And the Tlingits began to hint to the colonists about their displeasure. Those hints were ignored.

In 1792, the Tlingits dug up the ax of war and attacked the colonists on the island of Hinchinbrook. The defense was headed by Alexander Andreevich Baranov. The battle lasted all night and only at dawn did the Indians retreat. The losses of the colonists were insignificant (two Russians and about a dozen allies of the Kodiak Indians), but the prospects were the most depressing. The RAC could not wage a full-fledged war against a strong and cunning enemy. She had neither the means nor the human resources.

Then Baranov, together with his people, retreated to Kodiak. And here he began to develop a plan for further actions taking into account the martial law.

On the scales

Having weighed all the pros and cons, Baranov decided that it was impossible to retreat. The RAC leadership did not interfere, shifting all responsibility to Alexander Andreyevich.

Several months passed. Russian colonists were still hunting the beast, from time to time being attacked by the Indians. But during this time they learned to fight. In addition, the tactics of the Tlingit were not varied. In general, somehow, but Baranov managed to achieve his goal - the industrial production of animals went on without interruption.

But in 1794 the situation began to change. The Tlingits acquired firearms and began to present themselves as a much more formidable adversary than before. At the same time, Baranov strictly ensured that his wards did not sell guns to the natives for any treasures. But the Indians found other suppliers - the British and the Americans. They also hunted animals in Alaska and did not like the presence of the Russians at all. Therefore, they decided to strengthen the Tlingits in order to deliver as many problems as possible to the CANCER.

Baranov, meanwhile, managed to enlist the support of the Tlingit clan that inhabited the island of Sitka. The headquarters of the colonists also moved there. Relations between the Russians and the Indians developed friendly, the leader adopted the Orthodox faith and promised to always and in everything to help his godfather, Alexander Andreevich. And in the summer of 1799, the fort of St. Archangel Michael appeared on the island.

But the friendship did not last long. The Indians solved their problems and the neighborhood with the colonists became a burden to them. And soon a full-fledged war began. This is not to say that the RAC was a victim. Quite the opposite, the short-sighted policy of the leadership led to the conflict. Sea otters, or rather their fur, became a stumbling block. Russian colonists independently hunted animals in huge numbers, leaving, in fact, the Tlingits with nothing. And in their lives, sea otters played a very important role, since they exchanged the skins of these animals for various goods from the Americans and the British. The Russians ignored the exchange, thereby destroying the entire simple economy of the Indians.

The second reason was that Russian colonists periodically raided the Tlingit stockpiles. Baranov categorically forbade doing this, but there were many detachments under his command, which means that he could not keep track of everyone. The third reason was quite commonplace. Some of the colonists considered the Indians to be stupid savages and purposefully went to conflict with them. All this led to a brutal war, which officially began in 1802.

The Indians made several attacks on the hunting detachments of the Russian colonists, then took up the settlements. There was also a blow to the fortress located on Sitka. She was captured, and all the inhabitants were killed. In a short time, Baranov lost several hundred colonists and Sitka.

It took RAC two years to level things off. The fighting continued with varying success, although Baranov still managed to return Sitka and build the Novo-Arkhangelsk fortress there. She, by the way, became the capital of all Russian America.

But then the Russian-American company lost the important fortress of Yakutat. The leadership was waiting for a signal from St. Petersburg, but Alexander I was silent. He looked anxiously at the West, where Napoleon Bonaparte had already begun to gain strength and the Russian sovereign had no time for Alaska.

RAC and Baranov demanded help. They needed soldiers and money to continue the war. Yes, Alexander Andreevich had allies among the Aleuts and Kodiaks, but it was impossible to defeat the formidable Tlingits with them.

Until 1818, Baranov, as governor of Alaska, held back the onslaught of the Tlingits. And then he left his post. I ran out of strength, and health over the years was thoroughly undermined. And a year later, Alexander Andreevich was gone.

Due to the indistinct policy of St. Petersburg, clashes between the colonists and the Indians continued until 1867. And then Alexander II made a fateful decision - to get rid of Alaska. It was too unprofitable, and there were no prospects there. Of course, later gold was found in Alaska and huge streams of industrialists from all over the world flowed there, which rather quickly pacified the Indians. But that later, and then the Russian Empire simply physically could not afford to maintain a problem colony.