It is not customary to study the Russian page in the history of Alaska in detail. Only the fact that it once belonged to the Russian Empire became widespread. And then it was either given away or sold. In general, they have lost. But they got rid of Alaska, contrary to popular belief, not out of stupidity and shortsightedness, but for a number of good reasons.
In 2004, a curious event took place in the history of Russia, which reminded of the little-studied pages of the military glory of our ancestors. The elders of the North American Indian Tlingit tribe agreed to make peace with the Russian Federation, officially ending one of the strangest and longest wars in Russian history.
This event, which did not cause much public outcry, took place in a modest atmosphere near the tribal totem of the Indians in Alaska: at the conclusion of the peace treaty, the leaders of the indigenous communities were present, the small Russian diaspora and the Muscovite Afrosina, a direct descendant of the head of Alaska in tsarist times. However, everything in order.
The Tlingits: who are they?
The Tlingits are one of the North American tribes, from ancient times to the present day living in the northwestern coastal regions of Alaska. At the moment, their number is small - only about 15 thousand people.
Traditionally, they specialize in marine fisheries, with special emphasis on the sea otter - sea otter. Amazingly, even before meeting the first Europeans, these Indians knew how to make simple objects from iron (mostly harpoons). In general, they were at a relatively high level of socio-economic development, significantly ahead of most of their neighbors.
Historically, they are distinguished by a fairly high level of hostility and distrust towards outsiders, they often entered wars with neighboring peoples and, remarkably, did not always look for easy victories. The few, but desperately brave warriors of the Indian tribe were not afraid to engage in battle with an enemy superior to them.
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In battle, the Indian warriors were terrible: they wore armor made of wood, animal skins, and put the skulls of large animals on their heads, thereby trying to intimidate their opponent.
Tlingit warriors.
It seems that many could see the combat suits of these Indians in the Kunstkamera, where a fairly extensive exposition is devoted to them. And, in principle, this is not surprising, since the fierce and bloodthirsty Tlingit warriors for a long time and surprisingly effectively resisted the Russian inhabitants of Alaska.
Towards the end of the 18th century, the RAC began the systematic development of a new territory for itself - Alaska. Russian colonists, moving along the Pacific coast, reached the lands of the Tlingits. Those, like many other Indian tribes, were not united. Large villages inhabited by different clans were united into kuan. And between representatives of different “houses” conflicts flared up every now and then. Since the Russian colonists came to the land of the Tlingits in peace, at first the relationship between hosts and guests remained neutral. But then armed clashes became commonplace. The Indians did not like the fact that the strangers were hunting animals, and in every possible way they "hinted" about it.
Baranov's first battle with the Tlingits
Thunder struck in 1792. Russian industrialists led by Alexander Andreevich Baranov (head of the RCA and the first Chief Ruler of Russian America) were attacked by the Tlingits on the island of Khinchinbruk. The Indians were able to get to the camp unnoticed by the guard. Suddenly, warriors leaped out of the darkness, clad in woven wooden kuyaks, elk cloaks and helmets made from animal skulls. The guards were dumbfounded.
A. A. Baranov
The Tlingits began to pierce the tents with their spears, expelling the sleepy industrialists from them. Amid the screams of the attackers and the groans of the wounded, gunshots rang out. But they did not stop the Tlingits, since the bullets could not penetrate any kuyaks or helmets. The Kodiak people (they are also Alutiiks, coastal Eskimos of South Alaska. - Ed.), Who were part of Baranov's group, in panic threw down their weapons and began to run away. They jumped into kayaks and rowed as hard as they could. Those who could not get to the vessels simply waited for death.
Baranov, who was wounded in the arm, led the resistance. But it turned out badly, since the industrialists were shackled with horror at the sight of the primitive warriors of the enemy. Only a few more experienced colonists, who had already met the Indians, tried to resist them. They fired at the Tlingits with rifles and a one-pound cannon, hitting them on the heads, but … It seemed that the number of people in helmets made from the skulls of wild beasts was growing.
But then dawn broke … And the Tlingits, taking the wounded, retreated. Sunlight illuminated the recent battle scene.
Baranov found that things were not as bad as they might have been. Two Russians and about a dozen Kodiakians were killed. Several more people were slightly injured. The attackers lost 12 soldiers. Alexander Andreevich did not take risks. He decided to return to Kodiak, fearing another attack. After that night battle, Baranov never took off his chain mail, hiding it under his outer clothing.
The beginning of the confrontation
The Russian colonists were not going to retreat. They moved forward, looking for new hunting grounds. Clashes with the Tlingits became commonplace, and no one experienced that primal horror.
Two years have passed. The Tlingits have become more experienced. Their arsenal of primitive weapons diluted firearms and ammunition. How did it happen? After all, the colonists were strictly forbidden to exchange goods for guns and gunpowder.
The answer is simple: American and British intelligence did their best. Representatives of the United States and Britain, helping the Tlingits, killed two birds with one stone: they profited from trade and made the Russians stronger than their only enemy.
Tlingits, late 19th century.
Russian colonists, meanwhile, settled on the island of Sitka (now - the island of Baranov). A peace treaty was concluded with the local Kiksadi family. The leader was even baptized, proving that he is a devoted friend of the Russians. Alexander Andreevich became the godfather. The alliance was beneficial: the Indians received protection from the enemy, the RAC - the confidence that it would not receive a blow from the rear. Soon the fort of the Holy Archangel Michael was erected on Sitka. It happened in mid-July 1799.
But, unfortunately for Baranov, "advice and love" quickly crashed on the stones of everyday life. First, the Kiksadi, by some miracle, managed to convince the enemy - a clan of Deshitan - to hand over the tomahawks to the "thrift store". Then they suddenly decided that friendship with the Russians was harmful. Moreover, the neighbors laughed, saying that they were hiding under a Russian skirt. The clouds were gathering. Finally, the Tlingits decided it was time to get the ax of war.
For a long time it was believed that the Russian-Tlingit wars were unleashed by the Indians for no reason. Like, savages, what is the demand from them? In fact, this is not the case. They were forced to unleash an armed conflict by economic problems, for which the short-sighted leadership of the Russian-American Company was to blame.
That the Russian colonists, that the Americans and other "British" in Alaskan waters had a specific goal - the fur of sea otters. But this goal was achieved in different ways. The Anglo-Americans exchanged the goods they needed for weapons, gunpowder, ammunition and other things the Indians needed. And the representatives of the RAC mined fur themselves, using either Kodiak or other natives as a labor force. And most often the Aleuts are the historical enemies of the Tlingits. Which in itself is already surprising. At the same time, the RAC also founded fortified settlements, making it clear that it would remain here for a long time. In principle, this approach can be understood: the Russian colonists simply had nothing of value to the Tlingits.
Meanwhile, trade between Indians and English-speaking whites increased. More sea otters were required, and the Russians only interfered and reduced the number of animals. There were two more reasons. Firstly, industrialists often plundered Indian burials, as well as their reserves for the winter. Baranov stopped it as best he could, but he could not physically control each detachment. Secondly, some colonists behaved very arrogantly and even brutally with the Tlingits, which was a direct provocation.
On May 23, 1802, the Tlingits officially declared war on the RAC. First, they tried to crack down on the party of Ivan Kuskov. But the Russians and Aleuts managed to fight back. Then about 600 Tlingits, led by the leader Katlian, attacked the Mikhailovskaya fortress on Sitka. They chose the perfect moment for the attack, when almost all the men went fishing. Only a few dozen people held the defense, including women and children. Soon the fortress was captured and destroyed.
Then the Tlingits cut out Vasily Kochesov's party, which was returning from the field. After that, the Indians found industrialists from the Mikhailovskaya Fortress and attacked them. The English ship "Unicorn" accidentally found itself nearby and picked up about two dozen survivors. But the picture was depressing. Cancer lost Sitka and more than 200 people.
With varied success
This is how the further hostilities between the Russians and the Tlingits can be characterized.
The development of Alaska.
In 1804, Baranov decided that he had enough resources to return Sitka. In the summer, four ships headed for the island: "Ermak", "Ekaterina", "Rostislav" and "Alexander". The Aleuts supported them in kayaks. In September, the flotilla reached its goal. At Sitka Baranov was met by the sloop "Neva" under the command of Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky, who was sailing around the world.
Russian military sloop "Neva", which took part in the Battle of Sitka.
Together they decided to attack the main Indian fortress on the island. In total, Baranov put forward one and a half hundred Russian industrialists, who were supported by 500 Aleuts. The alignment of forces was completely on the side of Alexander Andreevich, since there were only about 100 Tlingits in the fortress.
We must pay tribute to Baranov: at first he tried to negotiate with the Indians, so as not to shed excess blood. The negotiations dragged on for a month, but did not bring any results.
Then the assault began. The Tlingits fought back bravely, but their small numbers affected. Soon they left the fortress, and the Russian flag was raised over Sitka again. Instead of the destroyed fortress, a new one was built - Novo-Arkhangelskaya (modern Sitka), which was destined to become the capital of Russian America.
The Tlingit reply came quickly. In the summer of 1805, an army consisting of several clans attacked the Yakutat fortress. 14 Russian colonists and several dozen Aleuts were killed. But the main population of Yakutat did not fall at the hands of the Tlingits. About 250 people decided to escape from the Indians by water, but the flotilla got into a violent storm. The survivors were either captured by the Tlingit or died in the forests.
The loss of Yakutat was a crushing blow to the RAC.
Petersburg was silent. Alexander I, who was then emperor, had no time to engage in distant lands - the shadow of Napoleon hung over Europe. In addition, the financial prospects for the development of Alaska began to be questioned. Since, apart from losses of hundreds of millions of rubles, it did not bring anything.
In fact, even then the RAC was cornered. There was no reason to count on victory using only Kodiak and Aleuts.
The Tlingits, taking advantage of the situation, kept the Russian colonists in suspense, squeezing them out of the land. Moreover, soon after the destruction of Yakutat, the Indians by cunning were able to destroy the Constantine fortress in the Chugatsky Bay.
Tlingit woman in European clothes. Sitka, 1880.
Totems on the graves, 1880.
House of the leader, 1883.
In the fall of 1805, Baranov still managed to conclude an armistice. But it was of a formal nature, since the Russians could not fully engage in fishing.
Alexander Andreevich left the post of governor of Alaska in 1818 due to a serious illness. “Pizarro of Russia” (as he called himself) dreamed of dying in his native land. Did not work out. He died near Java at the end of April 1819.
And the skirmishes continued until, in 1867, Alaska was sold to an American. Alexander II had several reasons for such an act. Alaska brought huge losses and was absolutely unpromising. One could, of course, continue to suffer with it, but there was a threat of interference from British Canada.
In 2004, at the totem pole of the leader Catlian, two peoples nevertheless buried the ax of war.