During the Pleistocene age there was a great migration of people. These travelers left the continent of Asia and walk across a land bridge that had formed in the Bering Sea. This bridge lead them into the mountains and seas of North America. Some of these travelers decided to stay in the region and set up places to live. Here they learned how to get fish from the sea and meat from the forests. They were the people who began the first stories of what was to become Alaskan History.
Many early settlers passed through the exterior of this region as they searched for better areas to live. Some of the settlers stayed and made their living by living off the seas. There were the Aleuts who inhabited many of the islands that were formed when the water rose and covered over the land bridge. Many others moved down the coastline towards British Columbia.
Europeans start to claim this territory for their own long before any arrived from these countries. Spain stated they had the right to explore this region in 1497. They did not defend this claim until merchants from Russia and England started to harvest fur and game for commercial purposes several hundred years later.
The Russians who came to take advantage of the pelts of animals at first lived peacefully with the natives of the area. This changed as more aggressive traders arrived and felt the natives were a threat to their livelihood. Battles ensued that raged for many years. However, the biggest thing that hurt the Aleuts were the foreign diseases that arrived with the traders. These diseases almost wiped out the entire population of Aleuts.
In 1799 the Russian American company was formed to monopolize the fur trade. This was done with the approval of the Russian Czar. Part of this agreement that the company made with the Czar included attempts to establish settlements in order to firmly control the area. They did this by displacing natives who had been living there for thousands of years and lead to many battles taking place. Eventually, the company lost control of the area to the Imperial Russian Navy. A few years later, Russia agreed to let other people come to fish and hunt the area commercially.
The agreement to let the British sail into these waters happened during the Anglo Russian Convention of 1825. This was when the borders were set between Russia and Canada in upper North America. They gave permission to set up trading posts to conduct business. This agreement changed a lot of the influence that Russia was holding over Alaska at that time.
The United States of America agreed to purchase the land in 1867 for a little over seven million dollars. At the time, this was considered little more than a frozen outposts ignored by most people in warmer climates. Then the gold rush happened and oil was discovered that changed the importance of this state.
There is a lot of Alaskan History to be discovered up North. People have lived there for over ten thousand years. There have been battles and struggles that have defined the dreams of people and their cultures. Their stories will be told for many, many years about how a great land came to be.
Many early settlers passed through the exterior of this region as they searched for better areas to live. Some of the settlers stayed and made their living by living off the seas. There were the Aleuts who inhabited many of the islands that were formed when the water rose and covered over the land bridge. Many others moved down the coastline towards British Columbia.
Europeans start to claim this territory for their own long before any arrived from these countries. Spain stated they had the right to explore this region in 1497. They did not defend this claim until merchants from Russia and England started to harvest fur and game for commercial purposes several hundred years later.
The Russians who came to take advantage of the pelts of animals at first lived peacefully with the natives of the area. This changed as more aggressive traders arrived and felt the natives were a threat to their livelihood. Battles ensued that raged for many years. However, the biggest thing that hurt the Aleuts were the foreign diseases that arrived with the traders. These diseases almost wiped out the entire population of Aleuts.
In 1799 the Russian American company was formed to monopolize the fur trade. This was done with the approval of the Russian Czar. Part of this agreement that the company made with the Czar included attempts to establish settlements in order to firmly control the area. They did this by displacing natives who had been living there for thousands of years and lead to many battles taking place. Eventually, the company lost control of the area to the Imperial Russian Navy. A few years later, Russia agreed to let other people come to fish and hunt the area commercially.
The agreement to let the British sail into these waters happened during the Anglo Russian Convention of 1825. This was when the borders were set between Russia and Canada in upper North America. They gave permission to set up trading posts to conduct business. This agreement changed a lot of the influence that Russia was holding over Alaska at that time.
The United States of America agreed to purchase the land in 1867 for a little over seven million dollars. At the time, this was considered little more than a frozen outposts ignored by most people in warmer climates. Then the gold rush happened and oil was discovered that changed the importance of this state.
There is a lot of Alaskan History to be discovered up North. People have lived there for over ten thousand years. There have been battles and struggles that have defined the dreams of people and their cultures. Their stories will be told for many, many years about how a great land came to be.
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