The Russian colonies in Alaska, an area with a harsh climate, suffered from food shortages. To improve the situation, expeditions to California were organized in 1808-1812 to search for land on which an agricultural colony could be organized. Finally, in the spring of 1812, a suitable location was found. On August 30 (September 11), 25 Russian colonists and 90 Aleuts founded a fortified settlement named Ross.
At that time, California was owned by the Spaniards, but the territories were practically not colonized by them, since the time of the former power of Spain had already come to an end. So, San Francisco, located 80 km south of the Russian colony, was just a small Catholic mission. The real masters of the territory in which the Russians settled were the Indians. It was from them that the land was bought.
Thus, Fort Ross became the southernmost Russian settlement in North America. Russian names began to appear in the vicinity: Slavyanka River (modern Russian river), Rumyantsev Bay (modern Bodega Bay). Throughout its existence, the fortress has never been attacked: the Spaniards, and since 1821 there were practically no Mexicans nearby, and more or less peaceful relations were maintained with the Indians.
The emergence of Russians in California
The penetration of the Russians into California began with fishing expeditions. In the waters of California, the sea otter (sea otter, "sea beaver") was found in abundance. Moreover, the coast to the north of California, due to geographical conditions, was poor in sea otters, which turned California into a distant southern oasis, a new "Eldorado" for dealers in precious fur.
The beginning of the fur trade here was laid by the Spaniards, but already in the early 1790s, this trade, monopolized by the colonial authorities, fell into decay. The skins of the sea otters were smuggled up by the British, and then by the Americans. The opposition from the Spanish authorities and the small volume of production by the local residents pushed one of the American captains, Joseph O'Kane, to the idea of independent fishing by the Aboriginal forces provided by the Russian-American company, but transported on an American ship. The booty was supposed to be divided equally. In October 1803, at Kodiak, O'Kane signed such a contract with A. A. Baranov. O'Kane was provided with kayaks with "Aleuts" (usually the Kodiaks figured under this name) under the command of the Russians Afanasy Shvetsov and Timofey Tarakanov.
Baranov ordered the servant Shvetsov sent with the expedition to study all "countries" where they would act to notice all countries, collecting information not only about the habitat of sea otters, but about the inhabitants of California, the products of this area, the trade of Americans with Californian Spaniards and natives. Thus, it is obvious that Baranov was interested not only in fishing. It was not only a fishing, but also a reconnaissance mission associated with the plans for the expansion of the RAC in the southern direction.
One of the main reasons for the RAC's interest in the southern regions was the problem of food supplies. The scattered settlement of the natives, which provided a relatively even load on natural resources, was disrupted after the arrival of the Russians. The concentration of industrialists and natives in the places of permanent Russian settlements led to the impoverishment of natural resources in the vicinity. Hunting and fishing could not feed the colonies. This often caused famine and exacerbated the already intractable problem of food supply for the Russian colonies in America. “We do not need gold here as much as provisions,” Baranov wrote to the owners of his company.
The use of foreign ships for expeditions to the south was due to the lack of its own ships and people at the RAC, as well as the desire to reduce the risk of long voyages to a little-known region. Under the cover of the "Bostonians" (Americans), it was possible to avoid a direct conflict with the Spaniards, since formally these lands belonged to Spain. At the same time, Baranov limited the commercial expansion of the “Bostonians, taking them out of Russian America. The contract system made it possible to temporarily replace competition with mutually beneficial cooperation. Also, thanks to the smuggling mediation of the "Bostonians" during joint expeditions, a channel was provided for the supply of food to the Russian colonies from California. The American captain O'Kane promised Baranov, "if it happens to pile on him in such places where there will be supplies (in fact, in California), he will allow the clerk to buy them for the benefit of the company, without participating in them." As a result, several barrels of flour, vital for the Russian colonies, were brought. Thus, Shvetsov was the first to enter into contacts with the Californian Spaniards, laying the foundation for Russian-Californian trade relations, and the first joint expedition showed the importance of such enterprises for the supply of Russian Alaska.
Leaving Kodiak on October 26, 1804, O'Kane on the ship "O'Kane" with kayaks and Aleuts on board under the command of Shvetsov and Tarakanov arrived in the San Diego area on December 4, 1803, and then proceeded further south to the Bay of San -Kintin in Baja California. There he, in accordance with the usual practice of American captains, pretended to need help, received permission to stay for several days. In fact, the American ship stayed in the San Quintin Bay for 4 months and, despite the impotent protests of the Spaniards, successfully engaged in the sea otter fishery. Thus, Shvetsov and Tarakanov became the first Russians to visit California, albeit aboard a foreign ship.
Rezanov's mission
The first Russian ship to reach the Californian shores in June 1806 was the Juno with N. P. Rezanov, who for the first time established diplomatic contacts with the Spanish authorities.
All the prerequisites for making a round-the-world voyage by a Russian ship existed back in the 18th century. However, none of the projects was implemented. This was facilitated by the fact that after the death of Tsar Peter I, a period of palace coups began, and the new rulers were more engaged in personal affairs, at this time the fleet fell into decay, and it was possible to overcome it only during the reign of Catherine II. It was under Catherine II that the idea of sending an expedition from Kronstadt to the northwestern shores of America received approval. On December 22, 1786, the decrees of Catherine II of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, the Admiralty Collegiums, as well as the Irkutsk Governor I. V. Jacobi, who were called upon to ensure the protection of the lands and islands discovered by Russia in the Pacific North. Accordingly, the Admiralty Collegium appointed Captain I Rank G. I. Mulovsky as the commander of the circumnavigation of the world and allocated four ships at his disposal, as well as a transport ship loaded with guns, rigging and other things necessary for equipping ports. Mulovsky's expedition was supposed to round the Cape of Good Hope, pass through the Sunda Strait and along Japan, reach Kamchatka, and then the shores of America up to Nootka. The purpose of the voyage was, first of all, to preserve "the right to the lands discovered by Russian seafarers in the Eastern Sea, to approve and protect the bargaining by sea, between Kamchatka and the western American shores."On the newly discovered lands, "which have not yet been conquered by any European power," Mulovsky was authorized to "solemnly raise the Russian flag in all the orderly." Thus, under Catherine the Great, the importance of lands in the Pacific Ocean was well understood.
By the autumn of 1787, the preparation of the expedition was completely completed, but it was not possible to carry it out due to the complicated international situation (war with Turkey). In the future, the project of the round-the-world expedition was promoted by I. F. Kruzenshtern. Kruzenshtern served under the command of G. I. Mulovsky and was well aware of the preparation of the 1787 round-the-world expedition. Later he received extensive experience in long-distance voyages on British ships off the coast of North America, went to South America and the East Indies. It is not surprising, therefore, that it was Kruzenshtern who actively came out with notes on the organization of round-the-world expeditions from Kronstadt to the shores of Kamchatka and North America. Considering that Okhotsk, Kamchatka and Russian America suffered a great shortage of the most necessary goods and supplies, Kruzenshtern, instead of a long and expensive delivery of the necessary goods by land, suggested sending them from Kronstadt by sea. In turn, using their ports in the Far East and North America, the Russians could occupy an important place in trade with China and Japan, in particular, supply fur goods to Canton. Like his predecessors, Kruzenshtern believed that one sea voyage to Kamchatka would benefit sailors more than “a ten-year cruise in the Baltic Sea,” and foresaw significant benefits from shipping goods to the Far East by sea and from opening trade with East India and China.
It is clear that the idea of sending a sea expedition from Kronstadt to the Russian colonies in America received support from the Russian-American Company as well. Regular communication with the Baltic made it possible to solve a lot of problems: the supply of food, clothing, weapons, sea supplies, etc. (the path through the roadless and sparsely populated Siberia, Okhotsk and Kamchatka was difficult and complicated, demanded colossal costs); development of trade with neighboring countries; development of a productive, shipbuilding base in Kamchatka and Alaska; strengthening the security of the eastern possessions of the Russian Empire, etc.
Trade with China, Japan and other Asian countries was of interest at that time not only to the leadership of the RAC, but also to the government. The new Minister of Commerce, N. P. Rumyantsev, who later became (from September 1807) also the head of the Foreign Office, became an active propagandist of this idea. Rumyantsev saw significant benefits from the opening of bargaining with Japan "not only for American villages, but also for the entire northern edge of Siberia" and proposed using a round-the-world expedition to send the embassy to the Japanese court. The embassy was to be headed by Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov, it was envisaged that the envoy, after the end of the Japanese mission, was to survey the Russian possessions in America.
July 26, 1803 "Nadezhda" and "Neva" left Kronstadt. Through Copenhagen, Falmouth, Tenerife to the shores of Brazil, and then around Cape Horn, the expedition reached the Marquesas and by June 1804 - the Hawaiian Islands. Here the ships split up: "Nadezhda" set off for Petropavlovsk-on-Kamchatka, and "Neva" went to Kodiak Island, where it arrived on 13 July. At this time, A. A. Baranov had already gone to Sitkha to restore his power on the island, found a new fortress and punish the Tlingits for the destruction of the Russian settlement. Therefore, "Neva" in August went to his aid. Attempts to resolve the conflict peacefully ended in failure, and on October 1, A. A. Baranov, with the support of a detachment of sailors led by Lieutenant P. P. Arbuzov, stormed the enemy fortress. The Tlingits soon fled. The commander of the Neva, Captain Lisyansky, was almost the first who appreciated all the benefits of the location of the new fortress, based on an impregnable mountain on the shore of a vast bay. According to Lisyansky, Novo-Arkhangelsk "should be the main port of the Russian-American company because it, excluding all the aforementioned benefits, is in the center of the most important industries …".
Nikolay Petrovich Rezanov
Rezanov, apparently because of the conflict with Kruzenshtern, could not go to study the Russian possessions in America on the "Nadezhda". The brig of the RAC "Maria" was in the Peter and Paul harbor at that time, which allowed Rezanov to go to America. Kruzenshtern went to Sakhalin Island "to explore and describe its shores." On June 14, 1805, the ship "Maria" left the Peter and Paul harbor. Rezanov reached the Captain's harbor on Unalashka, then he visited the Kodiak island and Novo-Arkhangelsk on the Baranov (Sitkha) island and carefully studied the state of affairs.
In Russian America, Rezanov noted a number of reasonable orders. While on Kodiak, he instructed Father Gideon, together with company employees, to compile a census of the population of the colonies, including the indigenous people of America, to take care of teaching children to read and write. The activity of Rezanov and Gedeon on the dissemination of education in the colonies was very active. Taking into account the urgent need of Russian America for military vessels, Rezanov ordered the construction of a 16-gun brig in Novo-Arkhangelsk, with a carrying capacity of up to 200 tons, headed by Lieutenant N. A. Khvostov, and a tender under the command of warrant officer G. I. Davydov. Rezanov ordered to start equipping the shipyard, "so that every year it would be possible to launch two vessels from elengs."
However, the most acute problem was the supply of Russian America with food. In the autumn of 1805, the colonies faced the threat of a real famine. To solve this problem, Rezanov signed a contract with the American merchant John D'Wolfe for the purchase of the ship "Juno" with weapons and cargo for 68 thousand Spanish piastres. So, informing Emperor Alexander I of his stay on Sitkha, Rezanov wrote that “he found here up to 200 Russians and more than 300 Kodiak Americans without any food or supplies … supplies, which … with our moderate food until spring made it easier for everyone … but as the same prospect of starvation lies ahead, I must go to California and ask the Gishpan government for help in buying life supplies."
On February 25, 1806, on the ship "Juno" under the command of Lieutenant N. A. Khvostov, Rezanov set off from Novo-Arkhangelsk to California "at the risk of either - to save the Oblast, or - to perish" and a month later reached the Gulf of San Francisco … Calling himself the "chief chief" of the Russian colonies in America, Rezanov entered into negotiations with the local authorities. In April, Governor of Upper California, Jose Arliaga, came to San Francisco to meet with him. “I will sincerely tell you,” NP Rezanov said to the governor, “that we need bread that we can get from Canton, but as California is closer to us and has surpluses in it that cannot be sold anywhere, I came to talk with you, as the head of these places, assuring that we can preliminarily decide on measures and send them for consideration and approval of our courts."
It should be noted that the task facing Rezanov was extremely difficult. Madrid carefully protected its colonies from all external relations and strictly prohibited any contact with foreigners, while maintaining a monopoly on trade. The local Spanish authorities in the colonies, although they experienced great difficulty from this prohibition, did not dare to openly violate it. However, during his stay in California, Rezanov managed to show outstanding diplomatic skills and won the favor of the local Spanish leadership. The Russian envoy and the proud Spaniards quickly found a common language. Rezanov sympathetically reacted to the complaints of the Spaniards about the insolence of the "Bostonians", who practically openly engaged in poaching in the Spanish possessions. For his part, the Californian governor "with great pleasure" listened to the reasoning of his Russian dignitary about the development of "mutual trade" between the American regions of both powers, as a result of which "the colonies will prosper", and "our shores, constituting a mutual connection, are always both powers will be equally protected and no one will dare to settle between them."
In addition, Rezanov actually became "theirs" for the Spaniards. He met fifteen-year-old Concepcion Arguello (Conchita), the daughter of San Francisco commandant Jose Dario Arguello (Arguello). She was reputed to be "the beauty of California." After a while, he made her a marriage proposal. This story became the basis for the plot of the poem "Perhaps" by the poet A. A. Voznesensky.
At the same time, friendship with the Spaniards helped Russian America to survive one of the most difficult periods in its history. Various food products, and above all bread, after Rezanov's engagement, flowed in such abundance into the holds of the Juno that they had to ask to suspend the supply, since the ship could not take more than 4300 poods. Thus, the first experience of trading with California turned out to be very successful. As Rezanov noted, “every year” this trade can be carried out “for at least a million rubles. Our American regions will have no shortage; Kamchatka and Okhotsk can be supplied with bread and other supplies; the Yakuts, now weighed down with a cart of bread, will receive peace of mind; the treasury will reduce the costs for food of military ranks used …, customs will give new income to the crown, the domestic industry in Russia will receive a sensitive encouragement ….
Before leaving San Francisco, Nikolai Rezanov sent a special letter to the Viceroy of New Spain Jose Iturrigarai, in which he substantiated in detail the mutual benefits of the development of trade: “New California, which produces all kinds of grain and cattle in abundance, can only sell its products to our settlements, - Rezanov wrote to the Viceroy in Mexico City, - she can most quickly find help, getting everything she needs through trade with our regions; the best way to achieve the prosperity of the missions and bring the country to prosperity is to exchange surplus products for goods for which you do not need to pay in cash and the import of which is not associated with difficulties … what they are denied by the severity of the climate. " These ties, according to NP Rezanov, are predetermined "by nature itself" and are called upon "to forever preserve friendship between the two powers that own such vast territories."
Thus, Rezanov turned out to be a real Russian statesman who, following Peter I, saw great prospects for Russia in the Far East, North America and the entire Pacific North. Like G. I. Shelikhov, N. P. Rezanov was a real empire builder, one of the last (along with the main ruler of Russian America A. A. Baranov) who tried to implement his program in this region in practice. Unfortunately, his untimely death ruined many plans for the development of the Russian colonies in the Pacific Ocean.
On June 11, 1806, Rezanov left California, taking a large cargo of food for the Russian colony in Alaska. A month later the ships arrived at Novo-Arkhangelsk. Before leaving for St. Petersburg, Rezanov, anticipating his possible death, left instructions to the Chief Ruler of the Russian colonies in America A. A. Baranov, in which he touched on “many things so that our successors could see the death of both of us, what was thought about improvement, and when they got the means, they did not let go of putting into effect those proposals, to which this time we have sufficient strength we do not have.
Rezanov was distinguished by his strategic vision and noted very important steps for the development of Russian America. First of all, he drew attention to the importance of creating a permanent population in the colonies and recommended encouraging contracted persons to agree to permanent residence. To encourage the construction of houses, the establishment of vegetable gardens, etc., it was proposed to transfer the land to them "in eternal and hereditary possession." Thus, the growth of the Russian population in America should have forever secured these lands for the Russian Empire. For the same purpose, Rezanov proposed to form a permanent military garrison in the colonies. To this end, the envoy planned to send “57 guns and 4 martyrs with a decent number of military shells for the first time,” and then every year, with every transport coming from St. Petersburg, weapons and ammunition. The RAC leadership was supposed to develop production and infrastructure. In particular, Rezanov proposed to establish a sawmill, hospital, church, etc. in the colonies. Rezanov also suggested establishing contacts with California, Japan, the Philippine Islands and other places. He considered the "most reliable means" to ensure the supply of Russian settlements in America with bread "settling" the Russians on the "shores of New Albion, that is, on the territory on the Pacific coast of North America north of Mexico.
At the beginning of 1808, the main director of the RAC, M. M. Buldakov, turned to Emperor Alexander I with a request to "seek … the consent of the Madrid court" to open the company's trade with Spanish possessions in America and permission to send two ships every year to California ports: San Francisco, Monterey and San Diego. On April 20, 1808, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Commerce N. P. Rumyantsev instructed the Russian envoy in Madrid G. A. Stroganov to seek permission from the Spanish government to send two, and if possible, more, Russian ships annually to Californian ports. It was proposed to conclude an appropriate convention. For its part, Petersburg was ready to give permission to Spanish ships to enter the Russian colonies and Kamchatka in order to develop mutually beneficial trade. However, violent events in Spain in the spring of 1808 (the Spanish-French war began) prevented Stroganov from following Rumyantsev's instructions. Thus, hopes of establishing trade with Spain did not materialize.
