Who gave Alaska and when. Why did the Americans need Alaska? Secret meeting that decided the fate of Alaska

In the 8th century, before Alaska passed to America, the peninsula was part of Russia. The land was discovered in 1732, but only in the 80s did the first Russians begin to settle in the new place, which was a large peninsula with many separate islands washed by the Pacific and Arctic oceans.

For Russia, the peninsula turned out to be a real gold mine. Deposits of gold and precious metals were discovered here. And fur-bearing animals, such as sea otters, minks, and foxes, brought good income. Fur's price was equal to that of precious metals. In addition, the Russian government signed a decree allowing foreign citizens to conduct entrepreneurial activity on Russian soil for a period of 20 years.

The capital of Alaska within Russia at that time was called Novoarkhengelsk. It was a small town with wooden and stone buildings, shops and churches. In the center of the settlement stood the ruler's house, there was a theater, a nautical school, hospitals, industrial enterprises. The city grew very quickly and as a result became the central port of the west coast.

After few years active life In Alaska, fur production declined sharply, and foreigners engaged in the oil and gold mining business provided great competition to Russian industrialists. At the end of the 30s, the Russian government considered Alaska an unprofitable region and refused to invest money in its development.

Who sold Alaska to the USA?

The sale of the peninsula has become overgrown with a considerable number of myths. For a long time, the question of who sold Alaska to the United States remained open. In the history of Russia, there is a misconception that the mainland was sold to the Americans by Catherine II. There is also a version about leasing Alaska for 99 years, after which Russia never claimed rights to the peninsula. But these facts do not have scientific confirmation, since at the time of the sale of the territory more than 100 years had passed since the death of Catherine II.

The Russian side was the first to talk about selling Alaska during the reign of Alexander II.

There were enough reasons to get rid of the peninsula:

1. Stream of poachers destroyed the main state income, which came from the sale of furs.
2. A lack of money in the treasury after the defeat in the Crimean War hindered economic recovery Russian state, and the development of new lands in Alaska was not possible, since the costs of its maintenance and research exceeded income.
3. General N.N. Muravyov-Amursky back in 1853 proposed transferring the peninsula to the United States with the aim of strengthening its position on the Pacific coast. The vast territory of the peninsula and the gold found in its depths attracted the attention of Russia’s main enemy, England. The Emperor understood that Russian army unable to resist a foreign state. If Alaska is captured by England, then Russia will be left with nothing. By selling the mainland to the United States, Russia will benefit and strengthen relations with the Americans.

In 1866, a representative Russian government E. Steckl came to Washington for secret negotiations on the transfer of northern lands to the United States.

How much did they sell Alaska to America for?

On March 30, 1867, the purchase and sale agreement for the transfer of Alaska to the United States was signed by both parties. The transaction price was more than $7 million in gold. This was a lot of money for Russia, as well as for America. But based on the huge area (1,519,000 km2), the deal turned out to be very profitable for the United States: 1 square kilometer of land was valued at $4.73.

Thus, Alaska was sold, not leased. This is confirmed by the agreement with the exact amount, drawn up in English and French, since they were recognized as diplomatic at that time. The agreement stated that the territory of the mainland and the coastline extending 10 miles to the south became the property of the United States. Everything was transmitted with the earth real estate, archives and historical documents. Surprisingly, there is no agreement in Russian. It is known that Russia received a check for the specified amount, but no one still knows whether it was cashed.

Many Russians did not even know about the existence of northern lands in the state, so information about how much Alaska was sold to America is for a long time remained a secret. 2 months after the agreement, the information was published on the back pages of newspapers. Due to illiteracy, people did not attach much importance to this fact. It is known that after Alaska passed to America, the peninsula came into force Gregorian calendar.

When did Alaska become an American state?

Alaska is the largest and richest natural resources 49th US state. On its territory there are a large number of volcanoes, lakes and rivers.

For 30 years after the purchase, Alaska was not a state due to economic weakness, sparse population, and remoteness. Thanks to World War II, the importance of the peninsula increased. Not long before Alaska became American state, a huge amount of oil and minerals were discovered in its depths. In 1959, the peninsula received statehood.

Since 1968, Alaska has been in full swing:

• development of mineral resources;
• extraction of crude oil, natural gas, gold, copper, iron, coal;
• fishing;
• rearing reindeer;
• logging;
• military air bases were built.

In the 1970s, an oil pipeline was built in Alaska, which can be compared in scale to pipelines in the Arabian Peninsula and Western Siberia.

Despite huge developments, the state's population density is the lowest: about 800 people per square meter. Blame it all - harsh climate peninsula with big amount swamps and permafrost.

After Alaska passed to America, the capital of the peninsula was renamed from Novo-Arkhangelsk to Sitka, which existed until 1906. Currently, the city of Juneau has the status of capital. Sitka is a small provincial town with a population of 9 thousand people, which has retained all historical monuments about the Russian past.

1863 The capital of Russian America is Novo-Arkhangelsk, now the city of Sitka in Alaska.

Merchants' initiative - RAC

Catherine I, the widow of Peter the Great, hardly even heard of the existence of such a land during the two years of her reign. Russian explorers and industrialists had not yet reached there yet. And during the reign of the second Catherine, the development of Alaska by the Russians began.

Then Russia acquired Alaska thanks to a private merchant initiative. The first Russian settlements in North America were founded by merchant Grigory Shelikhov on Kodiak Island in 1784 for mining and purchase from local residents furs. Novoarkhangelsk became the center.

In July 1799, by decree of Paul I, the Russian-American Company (RAC) was created to develop Russian lands in America. The company organized 25 expeditions, 15 of which were around the world. The activities of the RAC today are assessed differently. On the one hand, the company conducted a predatory fur trade, on the other hand, it actually developed the territory, introduced arable farming, cattle breeding, and gardening. But already with early XIX century, the activities of the RAC were complicated by the struggle for furs with American and British competitors, who armed the Indians for attacks on the Russians. The sale of Alaska took place under the great-grandson of Catherine II, Alexander II, on March 30, 1867. For some reason, this deal is considered extremely unprofitable for Russia.

Most of all, of course, they regret the lost gold and oil (though it was discovered only in the middle of the 20th century). Indeed, almost thirty years after the sale, by the mid-1990s, large-scale gold mining began in Alaska. Few people in their youth did not read Jack London’s brilliant prose about that era of the northern “gold rush”. But at the same time, the same London emphasized that after 10 years, gold mining had practically disappeared. It didn't last long. The gold miners' happiness turned out to be deceptive. Lucky were mainly those few who managed to stake out their plots on time and managed to sell their mines just as quickly. So what is still unknown - was more gold obtained from the bowels of Alaska or spent on its development?

It must be said that for Russia, Alaska quickly ceased to be profitable. The period when Russian America brought serious dividends to shareholders did not last too long. The economic situation of the territory was fragile and deteriorating. The fur trade continued to be the economic base of the colony, but sea otters with their precious fur were almost completely killed. The number of seals, however, was still in the millions, but their skins were not highly valued at that time, and minks, foxes and beavers had to be bought from Indians who hunted on land.

The vast territory was practically undeveloped. Very rare settlements, trading posts, and hunting bases were located only along the coast and at several points along the Yukon. Penetration into the continent, in order to avoid clashes with the Indians, was prohibited for the colonists.

English and American traders supplied the Indians with weapons and incited them to rebel. In a part of Alaska remote from the coast, on the Upper Yukon, having penetrated from Canada, the British established a trading post in 1847. And the Russians were forced to put up with this invasion. The coastal waters of Alaska were teeming with whaling ships from various powers. And the colony could not cope with them either.

International law recognized only a strip of water “at a cannon shot’s distance from the shore” as its property.

And the whalers behaved like bandits, depriving the Alaskan Eskimos of their main means of livelihood. Complaints to Washington - “quiet your filibusters” - did not achieve their goal. In order to somehow stay on its feet, RAC was forced to sell coal, fish and Alaskan ice (the buyer was San Francisco; refrigerators were not yet produced at that time). The company's ends meet no longer meet. State subsidies were needed to maintain the territory. Which was extremely difficult for the treasury.

In addition, the territorial distance makes it incredibly difficult to defend unprofitable overseas territory in the event of war. And the idea of ​​selling Alaska arose at court.

Dangerous neighbors

The first time they tried to sell Alaska to the Americans fictitiously, retroactively, out of fear that in the outbreak of the Crimean War, the British, who had a powerful fleet, would tear away the distant, unprotected colony. The fictitious sale did not take place. But Washington became interested in the idea.

The United States was energetically, as Grand Duke Constantine put it in a note to Alexander II, rounding out its territory. Napoleon, when he was bogged down in European military affairs, was offered to sell Louisiana. He immediately understood: “if you don’t sell it, they’ll take it for nothing” - and agreed, receiving 15 million dollars for the vast territory (twelve current central states). In the same way, Mexico (after Texas was taken from it by force) ceded California for $15 million.

The United States was intoxicated by the continuous expansion of its territory. “America is for the Americans” - this was the meaning of the proclaimed Monroe Doctrine. Publications and speeches contained thoughts about the “predestination” of owning the entire continent in the northern part of America.

It was obvious that further “rounding” would inevitably affect the Russian colony. There was no visible threat to Alaska at that time. Relations between Russia and the United States at this time were emphatically friendly. During Crimean War The US has openly stated this. But there remained a potential threat.

Alexander II understood everything, but hesitated - it was difficult to part with the territory discovered by the Russians, which was revered as the “tsar’s pride.” Finally the emperor made up his mind. But one problem remained. And as paradoxical as it sounds, the problem was to persuade American statesmen to make a deal. The Russian envoy Eduard Stekl, who arrived in Washington, was supposed to turn things around so that the initiative for the purchase would come from the United States. The Russian emperor agreed to sell Alaska for no less than $5 million. As a result, they agreed on 7 million 200 thousand dollars (that is, 5 cents per hectare). On March 30, 1867, the treaty for the sale of Alaska was signed.

Ice box

The US Senate reacted to the ratification of the treaty without enthusiasm: “we’re paying money for an ice chest.” Then it took a long time to figure out who the Russians were giving bribes to?

And I really had to give them. Newspaper editors received their bribes for relevant articles, and politicians received their bribes for inspired speeches in Congress. St. Petersburg “on matters known to the emperor” spent over one hundred thousand dollars (serious money at that time). The original version was put forward by American researcher Ralph Epperson, arguing that US Secretary of State William Seward (one of the main participants in the deal) simply paid the Russian Tsar for help against England’s likely intervention in the civil war on the side of the southerners.

We are talking about the appearance of Russian warships off the coast of North America at the end of the summer of 1863. Two military squadrons - the Atlantic under the command of Rear Admiral Lesovsky and the Pacific under the command of Admiral Popov - completely unexpectedly for England and France, entered the ports of New York and San Francisco. Russian warships sailed off the coast of the United States for almost a year. And the expenses to the Russian treasury cost almost 7.2 million dollars (exactly the amount for which the deal was concluded).

The version is, of course, original, but controversial. One of Seward’s speeches a few years before the deal has been preserved: “Standing here (in Minnesota - A.P.) and turning my gaze to the North-West, I see a Russian who is preoccupied with the construction of harbors, settlements and fortifications at the tip of this continent, as outposts Petersburg, and I can say: "Go ahead and build your outposts along the entire coast, even to the Arctic Ocean - they will nevertheless become outposts of my own country - monuments of the civilization of the United States in the Northwest." No comments needed. As a result, the States were satisfied, although they had not yet appreciated the enormous “add-on” to their territory. Russia's enemies gloated - the sale of Alaska was an admission of weakness. The official transfer of the colony to the Americans took place on October 18, 1867. The square in front of the residence of the Russian governor in Novoarkhangelsk was filled with colonists, Russian and American soldiers. The Russian flag was lowered from the mast and the American flag was raised. In total, there were 823 people in the Russian colony at that moment. 90 of them wished to stay. The capital of the Russian colony, Novoarkhangelsk, was renamed Sitka. Twenty families remained to live here... At first, the former Russian territory had the status of a district, then - a territory. It was only in 1959 that Alaska became a separate US state.

Then it became clear that the real wealth of this region is not furs or gold, but oil. Alaska's oil reserves are estimated to range from 4.7 to 16 billion barrels. But know this Russian Emperor Alexander II could not (and it is unlikely that this would have solved anything)...

From this article you will learn who sold Alaska to America, under what conditions and when it happened. This interesting event over the years it has become overgrown with myths and speculation. Let's try to figure out what's what.

The sale of Alaska to the Russian Empire took place in 1867. The sale amounted to just over seven million US dollars. Alaska was sold to the North American United States. The area of ​​the territory sold was just over 1,500,000 square kilometers.

The reason Alaska was sold

Naturally, such a sale has its own purpose and reason. The thing is that at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Alaska generated significant income through the fur trade. However, by the middle of this century it turned out that the costs in the future would be much greater than the potential profits. The costs were the banal maintenance and protection of this territory, which, moreover, was very remote.

The very first time, the initiative to sell Alaska was made by N. Muravyov-Amursky, in 1853. This man was the governor-general of Eastern Siberia. In his opinion, such a deal was inevitable. Just four years later, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, who was the brother of Alexander II, initiated the sale of Alaska. Formally, the proposal came from Eduard Stekl, a famous Russian diplomat.

Negotiations on the sale took place precisely at a time when Great Britain was making claims to this territory. Here is another reason why it was beneficial for the Russian Empire to get rid of Alaska.

The issue of selling Alaska was postponed several times. First they waited for the expiration of the RAC (Russian-American Company) privileges, then the end civil war in USA. However, on March 18, 1867, President Johnson of the United States of America signed special powers to William Seward. Literally immediately after this, negotiations took place, during which an agreement was agreed upon to purchase Alaska from the Russian Empire for 7 million US dollars.

Direct sale and transfer of Alaska

The signing of the contract itself took place in 1867 on March 30, in the city of Washington. The purchase and sale agreement was signed in the so-called diplomatic languages ​​- French and English. Interestingly, the official text of the agreement simply does not exist in Russian. Under the terms of the treaty, the entire Alaska Peninsula was transferred to the United States, as well as coastal strip 10 miles wide south of Alaska.

Although the Senate of the United States of America doubted the advisability of such a purchase, the majority of members nevertheless supported the deal.

On October 18, 1967, Alaska was officially transferred to America. On the Russian side, the protocol on the transfer of territory was signed by A. A. Peschurov. This man was a special government commissioner, a captain of the second rank. Interestingly, the Gregorian calendar was introduced right on the same day. Thanks to this, Alaskans woke up on October 18th, although they went to bed on October 5th.

So who exactly sold Alaska?

Alaska was sold Alexander II. That's who sold Alaska to America. The agreement was signed by Eduard Stekl. By the way, as a sign of gratitude, Alexander II awarded the Russian diplomat Stekl the Order of the White Eagle, as well as a one-time reward of twenty-five thousand rubles and a pension of six thousand rubles every year.

There are a number popular myths on the issue of the sale of Alaska, which are not true:

• “Alaska was sold by Catherine the Second.” This could not have happened, if only because the agreement was signed in 1867, and Catherine the Second died in 1796;
• “Alaska was leased, not sold.” Myth clean water. After all, there are documents confirming the opposite;
• “In Alaska, after some time, a gold deposit was discovered in the Klondike. Thanks to this gold, all expenses of the Americans were reimbursed many times over.” There is no need to even comment on this, since the Klondike is located in Canada.

Why did Russia sell Alaska? The geopolitical reason was outlined by Muravyov-Amursky. It was important for Russia to maintain and strengthen its positions in Far East. Britain's ambitions for hegemony in Pacific Ocean. Back in 1854, the RAC, fearing an attack by the Anglo-French fleet on Novo-Arkhangelsk, entered into a fictitious agreement with the American-Russian Trading Company in San Francisco for the sale of all its property for 7 million 600 thousand dollars for three years, including land holdings in North America. Later, a formal agreement between the RAC and the Hudson's Bay Company was concluded on the mutual neutralization of their territorial possessions in America.

Historians call one of the reasons for the sale of Alaska the lack of finances in the treasury of the Russian Empire. A year before the sale of Alaska, Finance Minister Mikhail Reitern sent a note to Alexander II, in which he pointed out the need for strict savings, emphasizing that for the normal functioning of Russia a three-year foreign loan of 15 million rubles was required. in year. Even the lower limit of the transaction amount for the sale of Alaska, set by Reutern at 5 million rubles, could only cover a third of the annual loan. Also, the state annually paid subsidies to the RAC; the sale of Alaska saved Russia from these expenses.

The logistical reason for the sale of Alaska was also outlined in Muravyov-Amursky’s note. “Now,” wrote the Governor-General, “with the invention and development railways“, more than before, we must be convinced of the idea that the North American States will inevitably spread throughout North America, and we cannot help but keep in mind that sooner or later we will have to cede our North American possessions to them.”

Railways to the East of Russia had not yet been built and Russian empire was definitely inferior to the states in the speed of logistics to the North American region.

Oddly enough, one of the reasons for selling Alaska was its resources. On the one hand, their disadvantage is that valuable sea otters were destroyed by 1840; on the other hand, paradoxically, their presence is that oil and gold were discovered in Alaska. Oil at that time was used for medicinal purposes, and the “hunting season” for Alaskan gold was beginning on the part of American prospectors. The Russian government quite rightly feared that American troops would follow the prospectors there. Russia was not ready for war.

In 1857, ten years before the sale of Alaska, Russian diplomat Eduard Stekl sent a dispatch to St. Petersburg in which he outlined a rumor about the possible emigration of representatives of the Mormon religious sect from the United States to Russian America. American President J. Buchanan himself hinted at this to him in a joking manner.

Joking aside, Stekl was seriously afraid of the mass migration of sectarians, since they would have to offer military resistance. The “creeping colonization” of Russian America really took place. Already in the early 1860s, British smugglers, despite the prohibitions of the colonial administration, began to settle on Russian territory in the southern part of the Alexandra Archipelago. Sooner or later this could lead to tension and military conflicts.

On October 18, 1867, the frigate Osipi, carrying commissioners of the United States and the Russian Empire, entered the harbor of Novoarkhangelsk (today the American city of Sitka). At 12:00 the official handover of Russian America took place, the imperial flag was lowered and the American flag was raised. So Alaska ceased to be Russian territory.

The idea of ​​Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky

The first person to talk about selling Alaska was Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky, Governor General of Eastern Siberia. Back in 1853, he provided Nicholas I with a note, in which he outlined his views on strengthening positions in the Far East and establishing close relations with the United States. Regarding Alaska, Muravyov-Amursky had the following opinion: the area is huge - 1.5 million square kilometers, and there are so few of the emperor’s subjects on it that they will not even be able to protect these lands.

Difficulty in managing territories

The actual discovery of Alaska by Russian navigators Fedorov and Gvozdev occurred in 1732. Alaska was officially discovered in 1841 by Captain Chirikov, who recorded the discovery of a new land. The new territory was developed by Russian merchants, who founded the Russian-American Company (RAC) there. They actively bought furs from local Eskimos, Aleuts and Indians, sold ice to America, and traded tea and Chinese fabrics. Russian settlements were also created, where merchant ships moored during the winter months.

For 125 years, the vast territory of Alaska has not been developed. Settlements were rare and were located only along the coast; in order to avoid clashes with Indians, it was forbidden to penetrate deep into the continent. In 1867, only 812 people lived in Alaska, employees of the Russian-American Company.

The Russian Empire believed that Alaska was a subsidized region that required investment and did not generate income for which it could continue to be developed. It was believed that Russian people would not want to travel so far to explore the “ice desert.”

Russia leased America for 99 years

A persistent myth regarding the sale of Alaska is that it was not sold, but leased for 99 years. But according to the treaty of 1867, Alaska was definitely sold for $7 million 200 and is the property of the United States. Why was this myth born? Perhaps it appeared in connection with the declaration of the Soviet government of 1917. According to this declaration, the Soviet government does not recognize agreements concluded by Tsarist Russia.

The Romanovs' debt to the Rothschilds

There is another version why Alexander II agreed to the sale of Alaska. To abolish serfdom in 1861, the government borrowed £15 million, at 5% interest, from the Rothschilds to compensate the landlords for their losses. But the amount for which Alaska was sold would still not be enough to cover the debt. At that time, the British pound was worth $4.87, and the loan amount, converted into dollars, was $73 million. Alaska was sold for $7.2 million, less than a tenth of the debt.

Personal initiative of Konstantin Nikolaevich

The initiator of the Russian-American deal is Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. He supervised the work to discredit the RAC in order to convince his brother to agree to the deal. He considered Alaska to be “extra territory,” because if a gold deposit was discovered, it would attract the attention of the British - and there was no one to defend the territory. According to Konstantin Nikolaevich, if England captures Alaska, then the Russian Empire will lose its territory and receive nothing. And when selling, it will be possible to earn money, save reputation and strengthen friendly relations with the United States.

Alexander II feared that England would seize Alaska

One of the main reasons for the sale of Alaska was its vulnerability as a colony. The Aleuts collaborated with Russian settlers and adopted the Russian way of life. But the Indian tribes did not submit, did not recognize the dominance of the Russians and lived with them in a state of “ cold war" The British entered Alaska and sold weapons to the Indians and incited rebellion. The British founded a trading post in 1847 in a part remote from the coast. The colony could not do anything about it, just like with the whaling ships different countries on the coast of Alaska. Alexander II feared that after the Crimean War, England might attack the territory of Alaska, and it would be impossible to defend the territory. If Alaska had not been sold, a few years later it would have become part of the Canadian Confederation, which was established in the summer of 1867.

Selling Alaska as inevitable

Back in the early 19th century, Secretary of State John Adams stated: “Since we became an independent people, it has been as much a law of nature that this has become our claim, as that the Mississippi flows into the sea. Spain has possessions of south, and England north of our borders, it would be incredible if centuries passed without them being annexed by us." Regarding the Russian colonies in Alaska, John Adams adhered to exactly the same point of view, believing that in order to reconquer this part of the American continent, the Russians would have patience and time as their best weapons.

In the USA, society was divided into two camps - some believed that buying “a box of ice, a circus and bears” was a huge mistake, and this was the majority. Secretary of State William Seward was in favor and lobbied Congress with all his might for his decision. This purchase was called “Seward’s stupidity”, and Alaska was called a “squeezed orange” that would bring nothing but losses. Horace Greeley, the publicist, asked: “Why should we invest in the kingdom of ice, rocks and snow?”

Charles Sumner played a big role in pushing the deal forward. He was one of Lincoln's associates, enjoyed authority, and therefore decided the fate of more than one important bill. He studied in detail everything he found regarding Alaska in the Library of Congress. Sumner was impressed by the wealth of the region and came to the conclusion that the purchase was necessary! His speech had the desired effect: 37 people voted “for”, only 2 “against”. Later, America recouped its expenses and made huge profits.