Alaska russia how much

The purchase of Alaska in marked the end of Russian efforts to expand trade and settlements to the Pacific coast of North America, and became an important step in the United States rise as a great power in the Asia-Pacific region. Beginning in , when Russian Czar Peter the Great dispatched Vitus Bering to explore the Alaskan coast, Russia had a keen interest in this region, which was rich in natural resources and lightly inhabited.

As the United States expanded westward in the early s, Americans soon found themselves in competition with Russian explorers and traders. Petersburg, however, lacked the financial resources to support major settlements or a military presence along the Pacific coast of North America and permanent Russian settlers in Alaska never numbered more than four hundred.

Defeat in the Crimean War further reduced Russian interest in this region. The American and Russian soldiers lined up next to the flagpole, from which the Russian flag started its descent to the accompaniment of a canon salute.

However, the flag got tangled at the top of the pole. The sailor who climbed up for it threw it down, and it accidentally landed on Russian bayonets. It was a bad omen! Afterward, the Americans started requisitioning the buildings of the town, which was renamed Sitka. Several hundred Russians who decided not to take American citizenship had to evacuate on merchant ships, and they did not reach home until the following year. Of course it was insulting. This website uses cookies. Click here to find out more.

Why did Russia sell Alaska to the United States? Apr 21 Georgy Manaev. In , Russia sold the territory of Alaska to the U. A mere 50 years later, the Americans had earned that amount back times over. How could the imperial officials have given up such a choice parcel?

RBTH sorts out the muddled story of the sale of Alaska. Alaska before the sale In the 19th century, Russian Alaska was a center of international trade. Pilots retrace Alaska-to-Siberia Lend-Lease route. The cartographic fall-out over Crimea. Subscribe to our newsletter!

Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox. They sent ships to what is now California, established trade relations with the Spaniards there and eventually set up their own settlement at Fort Ross in Not long after, the Russians began to seriously question whether they could continue their Alaskan colony as well.

The colony was no longer profitable after the sea otter population was decimated, Alaska was difficult to defend and Russia was short on cash due to the costs of the war in Crimea. In Alaska, the Americans foresaw a potential for gold, fur, and fisheries, as well as more trade with China and Japan.

The Americans worried that England might try to establish a presence in the territory, and the acquisition of Alaska—it was believed—would help the US become a Pacific power. The US gained about million acres of mostly pristine wilderness—almost a third the size of the European Union—including million acres of what are now federal parks and wildlife refuges.

Hundreds of billions of dollars in whale oil, fur, copper, gold, timber, fish, platinum, zinc, lead, and petroleum have been produced in Alaska over the years—allowing the state to do without a sales or income tax and give every resident an annual stipend. Alaska still likely has billions of barrels of oil reserves. Alaska finally became a state in , when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act. This is an updated and shortened version of an article originally published on March 29, This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

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