SOME GEOGRAPHIC BASES FOR PLANNING 



NEW ALASKAN SETTLEMENT* 



Kirk H. Stone 



Department of Geography 



University of Wisconsin 



Additional settlement in Alaska appears certain. Whether 

 spontaneous or induced, by individuals or groups, in disorgan- 

 ized or orderly manner, it is the permanence of this future 

 population that commands our interest. The cheapest insur- 

 ance of permanence is sound planning. This must be based on 

 facts, not only about physical features but, also, cultural topics. 

 Of the latter, one is the determination of the total experience 

 of Alaskan settlement. Geographically, the subject amounts to 

 the questions: who settled where, when, why, upon what bases, 

 and how permanently? However, the main question is: how 

 much knowledge about means of insuring the permanence of 

 settlement may we carry to Alaska's future from its past? The 

 answer at the present time is too little. The concern here is 

 to summarize data about the areas of Russian and English 

 settlement, where specific research is likely to yield useful data. 



In general, Russian occupance of Alaska was exploitive and 

 relatively brief. Permanent settlement took place during the 83 

 years prior to 1867, certainly for fur purchasing and perhaps as 

 a part of Russian encirclement of the northern Pacific Ocean. 

 No matter the motive, nearly 800 Russians lived in the Terri- 

 tory at one time. These people located on or near the southern 

 and western coasts. In Southeastern Alaska Russian fur pur- 

 chasing activities were overlapped by those of the English and 

 the two were combined in that area for nearly half a century. 

 In all, about 45 sites were settled by Russians and three by 

 English, of which about two-thirds of the total have been occu- 

 pied continuously to the present time. 



* Based upon research supported by the College of Letters and Science and 

 the University Research Committee at the University of Wisconsin. 



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