History History

Peoples coming from Siberia colonize the Alaskan territory. The "Great Land" was inhabited for thousands of years by nomadic Inuit hunters who managed to acclimatize to the harsh climate. The North American continent and Asia were then connected by a land bridge, Beringia (at the location of the Bering Strait). Over the centuries, they spread throughout the territory of present-day Alaska. Several distinct ethnic groups by their physical appearance, their language, their way of life are differentiated.

The Russians have never been great sailors. Tsar Peter the Great asked a Danish officer, Vitus Bering, to check if the Asian and American coasts touch each other. In 1725, he undertook a first voyage of 5 years, over 6 000 km and with 50 men. On the shores of the North Pacific, he built a ship, the Fortuna, which led him to the Kamchatka Peninsula. Not imagining that he could bypass it, he crossed it on foot by climbing mountains and volcanoes and then, once on the seashore, he built a second ship, the Saint-Gabriel. In 1728, he finally discovered the current Diomede Islands and then St Lawrence Island. With the winter, the expedition had to turn back without having seen the North American continent. Three years later, he left with 600 men, 36 horses, scientists including a French astronomer, Delisle de la Croyère, and a German naturalist, Georg Steller.

On June 4, the Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul set sail with Vitus Béring and his lieutenant Chirikoff. With the bad weather, frequent in these latitudes, the two ships lost sight of each other. On July 15, 1741, Chirikoff approached Prince of Wales Island and a few days later Sitka. Men went ashore, but never returned. Chirikoff decided to leave. Meanwhile, Bering thought he saw Mount St. Elias on July 16. He landed on Kayak Island and stayed there for 10 hours, the time for Georg Steller to give his name to a blue jay before leaving for fear of winter and scurvy. Unfortunately these fears caught up with him and he died of this disease on December 8.

On his ship, he brought back 800 sea otter skins. An exceptional fur that aroused a lot of envy, especially among the Promychlenniki, a people of mixed race between the Cossacks and the Siberian populations living from the hunting of fur-bearing animals. Thus, in 1746, they landed in the Aleutian Islands. They slaughtered millions of otters for 40 years. The local population, the Aleuts, was enslaved, tortured and also massacred by Stepan Glotov, especially between 1762 and 1766, on the islands of Umnak and Unalaska. Their population of about 25,000 men and women is reduced by 90% in a little over a century. A real genocide.

Upon arrival, Russian settlers encountered three distinct groups of Native Americans: the Tlingit (about 15,000 men and women), the Haida (about 2,000 people living on Prince of Wales Island), and the Tsimshian in extreme southern Alaska. The Athabascans lived between the Brooks Range to the north and the Alaska Range to the south, between the Copper and Susitna River basins. They consisted of nine ethnolinguistic groups and numbered about 10,000 at the time of the arrival of Russian invaders. Eskimo or Eskimo - a pejorative and colonialist term popularized by 20th century explorers - refers to the various tribes of the Great North, on the northern and western coasts of Alaska: the Yup'ik, the Cup'ik and the Inupiak. Their population was then estimated at 50 000 people. Finally, there are the Aleuts, who live on the Aleutian Peninsula, and whose number was close to 25 000.

The idea is to go along the east coast of the Pacific to discover a passage by the north. Thus, the Spaniard Juan Pérez went to Sitka in 1775 and to Kodiak Island in 1779, the Englishman James Cook also went to Sitka in 1778, while the Frenchman Jean-François de la Pérouse only saw Mount St. Elias in 1786. The Russian government did not care at all about its invaders, Alaska was so far away. But the Russian fur traders did not hear it the same way

With the extermination of the otters on the Aleutian Islands, new hunting grounds had to be found. The first colony was established in Kodiak by Shelekov. Czarina Catherine II granted him a monopoly on hunting and trade in the entire territory. From then on, the Russian-American Company (Russian on the American continent) was created. The conquest of new trading posts involved the enslavement of the natives and the taking of their lands.

Baranov took the head of the Russian-American Company, but the Three Saint, his ship, was wrecked in Unalaska in August and he remained stuck there all winter. He took the opportunity to establish friendly ties with the Aleuts by learning their language and their way of building their houses and sea kayaks. Finally, the following spring, he disembarked in Kodiak. His human qualities towards the natives earned him the title of Nanuk (the great white chief). The violence of the Promychlenniki seems far away. His functions push him to find new sites which can welcome a company. In 1792, he left for Prince William Sound, but it was a failure. He made up for it in 1794 with the opening of a third trading post in Yakutat where 50 Cossacks and 30 Russian serfs settled. In 1795, he opened another trading post in Sitka and then one in Unalaska in 1798

Baranov was appointed governor and built the fort Saint-Michaël. In spite of his numerous successes, Cossacks mistreated the Amerindians, and Orthodox missionaries pushed the latter to revolt. In 1802, Baranov was forced to leave Sitka after a revolt in which very few Russians survived. He succeeded in taking it back two years later and set up schools, a library, an Orthodox church and a shipyard. For more than ten years and despite a strong penchant for alcohol, he developed the Russian-American Company by signing commercial alliances. In 1818, at the age of 72, he was relieved of his duties and died on his way back home.

The Russian government undertook to explore the interior by going up the innumerable rivers of the country. Detailed maps of the coasts and rivers discovered were made. Colonization had to be intensified, but unfortunately this promised land did not necessarily please the Russians, even if schools and Orthodox churches flourished everywhere: only 69 of them settled in Kodiak in 1844 and 482 in New Archangel (the new name of Sitka). The government also decided that "hairy gold" should be exclusive to Russia. This was a catastrophe for the Allaudian companies used to trade with foreign countries.

First whale fishing in the Arctic Ocean by the Americans.

The hairy gold is running out, neither the coal of the Kenai Peninsula nor the few nuggets found here and there can replace it. The United States bought Alaska from the Russians after negotiations led by William Seward, Secretary of State for External Relations. Some 7.2 million dollars were requested, or 5 cents per hectare. The Senate considered this purchase "stupid, expensive and useless", especially since the Civil War had just ravaged the country. But, to everyone's surprise, it voted in favour of the purchase of Alaska. We will learn later that the Russians had paid 200 000 dollars in bribes to the senators! On October 18, 1867, General Lowell Rousseau replaced the Russian flag with the American flag in New Archangel (Sitka). In less than a century, this purchase will bring them 1 billion dollars in ore, 2 billion in commercial fishing and 200 million in fur, that is to say 457 times its value, a great deal!

The American Alaska sees the arrival in Sitka of some settlers who came to settle and work. But the disillusionment is great when they learn that the government forbids any exploitation of the land and any occupation of it. From then on, the army was sent to control the territory. The actions of some Americans are cruelly reminiscent of the early days of the Russian occupation. Thus, brutality against the Indians multiplied, alcohol and syphilis decimated the population. Faced with these exactions, the government recalled its troops and Sitka became a ghost town with only 50 families remaining

The immigration of outlaws and adventurers was the talk of the town and these years were called "hootch klootch smocks", meaning "bad whiskey, bad spoliations and bad loves". These men were mainly attracted by gold, as on the Stikine River in 1876 or near Juneau on the Gold Creek in 1880

First salmon fishery in Klawock and Sitka. Ten years later, 37 similar establishments will produce 2.8 million dollars and, in 1900, Alaska produces half of the canned salmon sold in the world.

It has no financial means, nor political rights, and the governor is not elected but appointed by the president. John Henry Kinkead was the first governor of the District of Alaska.

The excesses of this hunt lead to the conclusion of an international arbitration convention regulating this type of activity for the first time.

Alaska, which became the country's last land to be conquered once the conquest of the West was completed in 1890, would receive the nickname "The Last Frontier", the last frontier to be explored and colonized. The engine of this colonization will be the Klondike gold rush, then two years later that of Nome.

The Alaskan soil contains copper. Two bankers, Morgan and Guggenheim, bought the mining rights in 1905 and created the Kennecot Copper Company. In 25 years of exploitation, 4.5 million tons of copper representing 200 million dollars were extracted.

Gold production reaches its peak. The government leaves Sitka for Juneau.

Creation of Denali National Park.

The Spanish flu decimated the Indian population, adding to the dramatic living conditions of the indigenous populations.

Matanuska Valley Project: pioneers settle to cultivate the land. First flight between Juneau and Fairbanks.

The precious ore brought in more than a billion dollars to bankers Morgan and Guggenheim, who became billionaires. They invested in a dozen salmon canneries, controlled shipping between the United States and Alaska and built a 400 km railroad between Cordova and Chitina along the Copper River

After the Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), on December 7, 1941, the American general staff decided to protect the Aleutian Peninsula. It built military bases in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Sitka and Kodiak.

The islands of Attu and Kiska are occupied by the Japanese. Construction of the Alaska Highway. On June 3 and 4, 1942, the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor (Unalaska) and tried to land there.

The Americans established a base in the Andreanof Islands and increased the number of bombings against the Japanese. On May 11, they retook the island of Attu: 2,350 Japanese were killed against 549 Americans. The 140,000 soldiers present then built roads, including the famous ALCAN linking Alaska to Canada, ports and airfields. This will generate thousands of well-paid jobs and thus a demographic explosion.

Barbara Washburn was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Mac Kinley (Mount Denali) with her husband.

The black gold era begins. Onshore and offshore production begins on the Kenai Peninsula and in Cook Inlet.

Alaska becomes the 49th state of the United States of America.

The Amerindians launch the first aboriginal newspaper: the Tundra Times. Following the demographic boom caused by the gold rushes in the region and fearing dispossession of their lands, the natives begin to mobilize.

The Prince William Sound region was the epicenter of the^second largest earthquake in the world. The ports and cities of Seward, Valdez and Kodiak were wiped off the map, and Anchorage was hit hard by the ensuing tsunami, which killed 110 people and devastated many homes. The 15 m wave even reached 67 m in Valdez Bay.

Creation of the Alaska Native Federation (AFN). The Native Americans demand the return of their ancestral lands that the whites and the federal government had appropriated.

On March 13, in the North Slope oil fields in the far north of Alaska, one of the world's largest deposits was discovered. Alaska then auctioned off the drilling rights. It was the beginning of a fortune for this state, which would become the richest in the United States. But the work necessary for its exploitation was very hard because of the climatic conditions. In order to build the pipeline, many technical problems had to be solved and the Indians and environmentalists had to be confronted.

The federal government returned 17.6 million hectares, or 11 per cent of Alaska's land, to the natives and paid them $963 million in exchange for relinquishing traditional hunting and fishing rights to the rest of their traditional lands. The 23 reservations created since 1936 were dissolved, except for the Metlakalta reservation, and the management of the money and the choice of lands were entrusted to 12 regional corporations, 4 urban corporations and 200 village corporations. Each member receives a hundred shares, which must be put on the public market after 20 years... The trap: these shares can be bought by multinationals, which would ruin the economy of the Amerindians. In 1987, they obtained an amendment of the text in order to be better protected.

Construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline linking Prudhoe Bay, in the heart of the oil extraction zone in the far north of Alaska, to Valdez in the south, with a major export port. Some 72,000 workers and 1,288 km of 1.20 m diameter steel pipe were required.

Watches throughout Alaska are set to the same time (except for the western tip of the Aleutian Peninsula) despite the four time zones the state crosses.

Libby Riddles is the first woman to win the Iditarod, the dog sled race.

Eruption of the Augustine volcano.

Nearly 870,000 hectares go up in smoke. Forest fires are very destructive. The vegetation, after having spent many months under the snow, is completely dried out. When thunderstorms break out and lightning strikes, it quickly ignites. In 1990, 127 000 hectares were destroyed, and even worse: 667 000 in 1991

Nearly 41,000 liters of crude oil spilled on the Alaskan coast, causing the largest oil spill the state has ever seen, due to a drunken ship captain. What a mess: 2,500 km of coastline were affected and between 350,000 and 400,000 birds and 3,500 to 5,500 sea otters and other marine animals were killed. Some 12,000 people, 1,400 boats and 85 planes are working to clean up the beaches and rocky coasts. Unfortunately, only 14% of the oil was recovered. Exxon paid $2 billion in the first year and continued the cleanup for two years, employing anyone who could do the job at a premium. Exxon ended up paying 20 million dollars to the Indians who were forbidden to hunt, 287 million to the industrial fishing companies and in June 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States asked for 500 million dollars in damages.

Susan Butcher won the Iditarod for the fourth time after 1986, 1987 and 1988. She is also the first and only person in the world to climb the summit of Mount Mac Kinley (Mount Denali) with a dog team.

Alaska is experiencing its most terrible fire with 8.8 million dollars of material damage, as nearly 240,000 hectares are burning 100 km from Anchorage, destroying many homes.

Canadian sailors block a ferry to protest salmon fishing practices.

The Republican Sarah Palin became the first female governor

That same year, a defective pipeline of the British firm BP causes considerable pollution following an impressive leak that will let escape in the tundra of Prudhoe Bay and in the Arctic between 700 000 and 1 000 000 liters of oil (about 5 000 barrels)! In May 2011, BP was sentenced to a heavy fine of 25 million dollars and an investment obligation of 60 million dollars to secure its 2,500 km of pipelines. This is in addition to the 200 million dollars already spent by the company to replace the broken pipelines.

Lance Mackey was the first musher to win the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in the same year, two of the most prestigious sled dog races.

John McCain chose Sarah Palin to be the Republican Party's vice president during the election campaign. She resigned as governor the following year.

During themid-term elections, the new ultra-conservative Tea Party movement, of which Sarah Palin has become one of the museuses, creates the surprise. She even became a presenter on a cable channel.

Alaska's government declares the state's 20 indigenous languages official. President Obama bans oil drilling in Bristol Bay, southwestern Alaska Peninsula. A victory for American environmentalists.

Republican senators are seeking to circumvent the ban on drilling oil wells in Alaska with the support of Donald Trump, who has been inaugurated as President since January 2017.

Trump allows new drilling in Alaska in August 2020.

Joe Biden is elected President of the United States. In Alaska, Trump received two-thirds of the votes, which were cast by pro-gun conservatives. Six months after his inauguration as President, in June 2021, Biden suspends the drilling authorizations in Alaska granted by Trump.