In childhood and adolescence, we read the novels of F. Cooper, T. Mayne-Read, G. Emard. In Russia, there were no writers who would romantically describe the development of new lands. The wonderful novels of N. Zadornov, I. Krap and others are still more historical than adventure-romantic. However, the development of new territories of Russian America was no less romantic than in F. Cooper's novels.
"Those merchants who will be naughty about the islands should be prohibited from traveling there and not allowed to any bargaining."
However, “romantic” is not very accurate. This word contains a kind of flair of "beautiful" experiences. Fort, which is besieged by "bad" Indians, young women in the fort, waiting to be saved. There were also forts and dwelling houses in the Russian settlements of America. There was a need to walk through the forests - to hunt. There were also women who also expected salvation from the Indians. There were also bloody clashes with these Indians.
Let's look at the map of Shelekhov's Wanderings, included in the book about the travels of the Russian merchant Grigory Shelekhov, published in 1793. It marks many of the Russian settlements that had appeared on the American continent by that time. What was such a settlement in a distant foreign country like?
This is what James Cook recorded during one of his travels in his diary (entry dated October 23, 1778): “The village consists of one residential building and two warehouses; besides Russians, Kamchadals and natives live there as servants or slaves of the Russian people. Other natives, apparently independent of the Russians, also live in the same place. All those natives who belong to the Russians are men, the Russians took them or bought them from their parents, must have been in childhood. There were about 20 natives there. All people lived in the same house: Russians in the upper part, Kamchadals in the middle, natives in the lower, where a large kettle was installed for cooking food, consisting mainly of what the sea gives, with the addition of wild roots and berries.
It should be said that at the time in question there was serfdom in Russia, and slavery flourished in the English-speaking North American states. Therefore, James Cook described everything he saw from the standpoint of his ideas about the relationship with the natives. There was no concept of "human rights" in these views.
When did this settlement arise? If the Indians were “bought from their parents as children,” and by the time they were described by James Cook, they were all already adult men, then the deal with their parents took place 20 years ago. That is, a village on this American coast appeared in the 50s of the 18th century. Indeed, Cook has another remark: “All these furriers change from time to time. Those with whom we met came here from Okhotsk in 1776 and should return there in 1781”. It looks like a modern rotational method. Only stretched out in time. Each "shift" is approximately five years. It turns out that the above estimates are fair: the settlement of the American coasts took place in ancient times. Let us turn again to the testimony of J. Cook.
“Russians live on all the main islands between Unalashka and Kamchatka,” the great navigator writes. “I didn’t ask them when they first settled on Unalaska and the neighboring islands, but judging by the way the Indians are dependent on them, we can assume that this happened a long time ago.”
Promotional video:
We refer to J. Cook all the time as it is an independent source. Descriptions of Russian settlements in America are also available in Russian sources, for example, in the already mentioned book by Grigory Shelekhov. But the English navigator, of course, was not a patriot of Russia, so his opinion can be considered quite objective. What kind of relationship did the Russian settlers have with the Indians? How exactly were they determined? There is an interesting document here, which is believed to belong to Catherine II. It was written around April - August 1778 and resembled a parting word to Russian commercial and industrial people in North America:
"Those merchants who go around the islands (that is, of course, play naughty, but that's exactly how it is in the document - AB) will be banned from going there and not allowed to any bargaining." It turns out that on the part of the Russian state, the view of relations with the Indians was very strict. And the instructions were still followed.
Here, apparently, the readers should be reminded of little-known information. Children of Indians who somehow ended up in Russian settlements learned to read and write. The most capable went to study further, to the metropolis. The Indian boy, who was brought up by Baranov - “the ruler of all Russian America” (as he was called), later graduated from the navigation school in St. Petersburg, and this, at that time, was a very high level of education.
Was the relationship between the indigenous population and the newcomers Russians developing so cloudlessly? Of course not. Indian tribes were very different from one another. And some didn't like white aliens at all. As you know, the first capital of Russian America was almost completely destroyed by the Indians. And the final capital - Novo-Arkhangelsk (now the American city of Sitka) - was then built as a well-fortified fortress. And all the settlements were built with defensive structures.
But let us again turn to the testimony of James Cook: “It is appropriate to tell something about the natives here: they are, by all indications, the most peaceful and calm people I know, and their honesty can serve as a model for the more civilized peoples of the world. But judging by what I have seen among other peoples who are not in relations with the Russians, I am inclined to think that these qualities are by no means natural, and I believe that they possess them due to communication with the Russians."
That is, the Russian settlers realized in time that it was better to be on good terms with the local population than to be at enmity with them. The settlers, having arrived in America, were engaged in hunting, mainly sea, for the sake of valuable furs, and provided themselves with food, at least to a minimum (forest roots and berries). Of course, such food was inadequate. But later, thanks to the energy and perseverance of the ruler Baranov, in agreement with the Spaniards, the Russian colony "Fort Ross" was organized in California, which was able to provide more and more northern settlements with bread. Yes, and outlandish tropical fruits appeared in these settlements, since Baranov was able to establish trade relations with some island states of the Pacific Ocean.
But, as they say, if you want peace, get ready for war. Russian settlers were ready to "take on their kosht" armed soldiers from the metropolis. During the years in question, they asked through the Commission for Commerce in St. Petersburg "for the supply of a military command, artillerymen and gunsmiths" for protection from the enemy.
"It is appropriate here to tell something about the natives: they are, by all indications, the most peaceful and calm people I know, and their honesty can serve as a model for the more civilized peoples of the world …"
In the report of this commission, which was subsequently presented to the Empress, there is one very interesting phrase about other powers interested in American territories already occupied by Russia. It was about the powers "making various assassination attempts to the appropriation of these countries since the travels of the English Captain Cook." It turns out that the Russian analysts of that time perfectly understood everything. Unfortunately, times do not change much - the opinion of analysts, both now and then, was little heeded.
The result of this inattention to the opinion of reasonable experts is well known. The Motherland sold its subjects in Russian America for $ 7.2 million - both the people themselves and their settlements, and dreams of a future in a new country.