Geographical Settlement Planning-Alaska— Stone 147 



Alaska although the English had to leave two years after the 

 sale of Alaska when the post was found to be within United 

 States' territory. 



Fort Yukon was the last center of Russian or English settle- 

 ment to be established in Alaska. After 1840 Southeastern 

 Alaska was blocked to the Russians by the leasing arrangement. 

 Shortly the Russians sold Fort Ross to John Sutter and focused 

 attention on western Alaska. Then, in 1867, the circumstances 

 of the isolated and distant position of Alaska from St. Peters- 

 burg, recurring losses of the Russian American Fur Company, 

 the aftermath of the Crimean War, and declaration of the Mon- 

 roe Doctrine by the United States combined to bring about the 

 sale of the Territory. 



Conclusions 



Five conclusions may be recognized from analysis of Russian 

 and English settlement in Alaska. Some require further re- 

 search for completeness. They are: 



1) The total occupance by Russians may be interpreted areally 

 in terms of influence, as shown in figure 6 (based on Refs. 3, 

 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, and 15, passim). The term influence is used 

 because much of the effect of Russian occupance was in terms 

 of cultural contacts with the natives rather than in permanent 

 change of the landscape. Thus, the solid black areas of the 

 Kodiak-Cook Inlet, lower Yukon-Kuskokwim, and Southeastern 

 regions are the best places for the concentration of research on 

 details of Russian and English occupance to learn experiences 

 of possible use in planning for future settlement. These three 

 areas are the ones of most numerous contacts between Russians 

 and natives or of longest Russian occupance. 



2) Villages established by the Russians form the nucleus of the 

 present pattern of coastal population in Southern, Western, 

 and part of Southeastern Alaska although fur purchasing is no 

 longer the major occupation in those areas. 



3) English occupance of Alaska was significant, though short, 

 because it helped bring about the establishment of part of the 



