Geographical Settlement Planning-Alaska— Stone 137 



In detail, Russian settlement is divisible chronologically and 

 areally into three periods. 1 Only the last two periods were of 

 permanent occupance. The earlier was 1784 to 1830, a period 

 of entirely Russian occupation. The latter was 1830 to 1867, of 

 English as well as Russian settlement. Then, in 1867, Russian 

 America was sold to the United States. 



Russian Settlement: 1784-1830 



Known permanent settlement in Alaska began with the start 

 of organized Russian fur purchasing. The first village was es- 

 tablished in 1784 off the southern coast of Alaska on Kodiak 

 Island (fig. 1). Founding of the village, at Three Saints Bay, 

 may be said to be the fourth step in more than a century and a 

 half of Russian expansion eastward. 



First of the preceding three steps was the conquest of Siberia. 

 This expansion began at the western edge in 1580 and went 

 rapidly eastward, reaching the Pacific shore by 1700. Increase 

 of the Czar's fur trade was the motive. The second step was the 

 discovery of Alaska, credited to Bering as of the year 1741 and 

 based upon the Czar's desire to learn what was to the east of 

 Siberia. 



Then, after 1741, followed the third step, 43 years of unorgan- 

 ized fur hunting by individuals called "promyshleniki." This 

 period was one of ruthless exploitation of the Aleutian Island 

 resources and people. Probably there were a few thousand 

 promyshleniki; they sailed from island to island and stayed on 

 the larger ones only as long as necessary to force the natives to 

 bring in large quantities of furs. Between 1741 and 1784 there 

 were 80,000 sea otter and 280,000 fur seal pelts taken. Little, if 

 any, settlement was undertaken (other than a temporary occu- 

 pation of Iliuliuk, on Unalaska Island in the eastern Aleutians) 



1 The periods were defined by plotting the location and date of establishment 

 of each settlement founded during the period of Russian ownership of Alaska. 

 Determination of the dates and locations required a survey of a number of gen- 

 eral and specific sources, documentary and cartographic, in English and Russian, 

 a number too great for practical listing herein. Several of the dates may be 

 interpreted from or found in references number 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, io, 14, and 15. 

 See particularly the many sources noted in reference number 12. 



