We once discussed such an interesting question for a long time, about that, and now let’s get acquainted with the material, how it all began...
The development of Alaskan lands by Russian colonists began at the end of the 18th century. Moving south along the mainland coast of Alaska in search of richer fishing grounds, Russian parties of sea animal hunters gradually approached the territory inhabited by the Tlingit, one of the most powerful and formidable tribes of the Northwest Coast. The Russians called them Kolosha (Kolyuzha). This name comes from the custom of Tlingit women to insert a wooden strip - kaluzhka - into the cut on the lower lip, causing the lip to stretch out and sag. “Angrier than the most ravenous beasts,” “a murderous and evil people,” “bloodthirsty barbarians”—these were the expressions used by Russian pioneers to describe the Tlingit people.
And they had their reasons for that.
By the end of the 18th century. The Tlingit occupied the coast of southeastern Alaska from Portland Channel in the south to Yakutat Bay in the north, as well as the adjacent islands of the Alexander Archipelago.
The Tlingit country was divided into territorial divisions - kuans (Sitka, Yakutat, Huna, Khutsnuwu, Akoy, Stikine, Chilkat, etc.). In each of them there could be several large winter villages, where representatives of various clans (clans, sibs) lived, belonging to two large motries of the tribe - Wolf/Eagle and Raven. These clans - Kiksadi, Kagwantan, Deshitan, Tluknahadi, Tekuedi, Nanyaayi, etc. - were often at enmity with each other. It was the tribal and clan ties that were the most significant and lasting in Tlingit society.
The first clashes between Russians and Tlingits date back to 1741, and later there were also small clashes with the use of weapons.
In 1792, an armed conflict took place on Hinchinbrook Island with an uncertain result: the head of the party of industrialists and the future ruler of Alaska, Alexander Baranov, almost died, the Indians retreated, but the Russians did not dare to gain a foothold on the island and also sailed to Kodiak Island. Tlingit warriors were dressed in woven wooden kuyak, elk cloaks and beast-like helmets (apparently made from animal skulls). The Indians were armed mainly with bladed and throwing weapons.
If, when attacking the party of A. A. Baranov in 1792, the Tlingits had not yet used firearms, then already in 1794 they had many guns, as well as decent supplies of ammunition and gunpowder.
Peace Treaty with the Sitka Indians
In 1795, Russians appeared on the island of Sitka, which was owned by the Tlingit Kixadi clan. Closer contacts began in 1798.
After several minor skirmishes with small Kixadi detachments led by the young military leader Katlean, Alexander Andreevich Baranov enters into an agreement with the leader of the Kixadi tribe, Skautlelt, to acquire land for the construction of a trading post.
Scoutlet was baptized and his name became Michael. Baranov was his godfather. Skautlelt and Baranov agreed to cede part of the lands on the coast to the Kiksadi Russians and build a small trading post at the mouth of the Starrigavan River.
The alliance between the Russians and the Kixadi was beneficial to both sides. The Russians patronized the Indians and helped them protect themselves from other warring tribes.
On July 15, 1799, the Russians began construction of the fort “St. Archangel Michael”, now this place is called Old Sitka.
Meanwhile, the Kixadi and Deshitan tribes concluded a truce - the hostility between the Indian clans ceased.
The danger to the Kiksadi has disappeared. Too close a connection with the Russians is now becoming too burdensome. Both the Kixadi and the Russians felt this very quickly.
Tlingits from other clans who visited Sitka after the cessation of hostilities there mocked its inhabitants and “boasted of their freedom.” The biggest disagreement occurred on Easter, however, thanks to the decisive actions of A.A. Baranov, bloodshed was avoided. However, on April 22, 1800 A.A. Baranov left for Kodiak, leaving V.G. in charge of the new fortress. Medvednikova.
Despite the fact that the Tlingits had a wealth of experience communicating with Europeans, relations between Russian settlers and aborigines became increasingly strained, which ultimately led to a protracted, bloody war. However, such a result was by no means just an absurd accident or a consequence of the machinations of insidious foreigners, just as these events were not generated solely by the natural bloodthirstiness of the “fierce ears.” The Tlingit Kuans were put on the warpath by other, deeper reasons.
Prerequisites for the war
Russian and Anglo-American traders had one goal in these waters, one main source of profit - furs, sea otter fur. But the means to achieve this goal were different. The Russians themselves extracted precious furs, sending parties of Aleuts for them and establishing permanent fortified settlements in the fishing areas. Buying skins from the Indians played a secondary role.
Due to the specifics of their position, British and American (Boston) traders did exactly the opposite. They periodically came on their ships to the shores of the Tlingit country, conducted active trade, bought furs and left, leaving the Indians in return with fabrics, weapons, ammunition, and alcohol.
The Russian-American company could not offer the Tlingits practically any of these goods, so valued by them. The current ban on the trade in firearms among Russians pushed the Tlingits to even closer ties with the Bostonians. For this trade, the volume of which was constantly increasing, the Indians needed more and more furs. However, the Russians, through their activities, prevented the Tlingits from trading with the Anglo-Saxons.
Active sea otter fishing, which was carried out by Russian parties, was the reason for the depletion of the natural resources of the region, depriving the Indians of their main commodity in relations with the Anglo-Americans. All this could not but affect the relations of the Indians towards the Russian colonists. The Anglo-Saxons actively fueled their hostility.
Every year, about fifteen foreign ships exported 10-15 thousand sea otters from the possessions of the RAC, which was equal to four years of Russian fishing. The strengthening of the Russian presence threatened them with deprivation of profits.
Thus, the predatory fishing of sea animals, which was launched by the Russian-American company, undermined the basis of the economic well-being of the Tlingit people, depriving them of the main product in profitable trade with Anglo-American maritime traders, whose inflammatory actions served as a kind of catalyst that accelerated the outbreak of the brewing military conflict. The rash and rude actions of Russian industrialists served as an impetus for the unification of the Tlingits in the struggle to expel the RAC from their territories.
In the winter of 1802, a great council of leaders took place in Khutsnukuan (Admiralty Island), at which it was decided to start a war against the Russians. The council developed a plan of military action. With the onset of spring, it was planned to gather soldiers in Khutsnuva and, after waiting for the fishing party to leave Sitka, attack the fort. The party was planned to be waylaid in the Lost Strait.
Military operations began in May 1802 with an attack at the mouth of the Alsek River on the Yakutat fishing party of I.A. Kuskova. The party consisted of 900 native hunters and more than a dozen Russian industrialists. The Indian attack was successfully repulsed after several days of gunfire. The Tlingits, seeing the complete failure of their warlike plans, negotiated and concluded a truce.
Tlingit uprising - destruction of Fort Mikhailovsky and Russian fishing parties
After Ivan Urbanov’s fishing party (about 190 Aleuts) left the Mikhailovsky Fort, 26 Russians, six “Englishmen” (American sailors in the service of the Russians), 20-30 Kodiaks and about 50 women and children remained on Sitka. On June 10, a small artel under the command of Alexey Evglevsky and Alexey Baturin went hunting to the “distant Sioux Stone.” The other inhabitants of the settlement continued to blithely go about their daily affairs.
The Indians attacked simultaneously from two sides - from the forest and from the bay, arriving in war canoes. This campaign was led by the military leader Kiksadi, Skautlelt's nephew, the young leader Katlian. An armed crowd of Tlingit, numbering about 600 people under the command of Sitka chief Skautlelt, surrounded the barracks and opened heavy rifle fire on the windows. In response to Skautlelt's calling cry, a huge flotilla of war canoes came out from behind the head of the bay, carrying at least 1,000 Indian warriors, who immediately joined the Sitka men. Soon the roof of the barracks was on fire. The Russians tried to fire back, but could not withstand the overwhelming superiority of the attackers: the doors of the barracks were knocked down and, despite direct fire from the cannon located inside, the Tlingits managed to get inside, kill all the defenders and plunder the furs stored in the barracks
There are different versions of the participation of the Anglo-Saxons in starting the war.
The East Indian captain Barber landed six sailors on the island of Sitka in 1802, allegedly for mutiny on the ship. They were hired to work in a Russian city.
By bribing the Indian chiefs with weapons, rum and trinkets during a long winter stay in the Tlingit villages, promising them gifts if they drove the Russians from their island and threatening not to sell guns and whiskey, Barber played on the ambition of the young military leader Catlean. The gates of the fort were opened from the inside by American sailors. So, naturally, without warning or explanation, the Indians attacked the fortress. All defenders, including women and children, were killed.
According to another version, the real instigator of the Indians should be considered not the Englishman Barber, but the American Cunningham. He, unlike Barber and the sailors, ended up in Sitka clearly not by accident. There is a version that he was privy to the plans of the Tlingit people, or even participated directly in their development.
It was predetermined from the beginning that foreigners would be declared the culprits of the Sitka disaster. But the reasons that the Englishman Barber was then recognized as the main culprit probably lie in the uncertainty in which Russian foreign policy was in those years.
The fortress was completely destroyed and the entire population exterminated. Nothing is being built there yet. The losses for Russian America were significant; for two years Baranov gathered forces to return to Sitka.
The news of the defeat of the fortress was brought to Baranov by the English captain Barber. Near Kodiak Island, he deployed 20 cannons from his ship, the Unicorn. But, afraid to contact Baranov, he went to the Sandwich Islands to trade with the Hawaiians in goods looted in Sitka.
A day later, the Indians almost completely destroyed the small party of Vasily Kochesov, who were returning to the fortress from sea lion hunting.
The Tlingits had a special hatred for Vasily Kochesov, the famous hunter, known among the Indians and Russians as an unsurpassed marksman. The Tlingits called him Gidak, which probably comes from the Tlingit name of the Aleuts, whose blood flowed in Kochesov's veins - giyak-kwaan (the hunter's mother was from the Fox Ridge Islands). Having finally got the hated archer into their hands, the Indians tried to make his death, like the death of his comrade, as painful as possible. According to K.T. Khlebnikov, “the barbarians did not suddenly, but gradually cut off their nose, ears and other members of their body, stuffed their mouths with them, and viciously mocked the torments of the sufferers. Kochesov...could not endure the pain for long and was happy at the end of his life, but the unfortunate Eglevsky languished in terrible agony for more than a day.”
In the same 1802: the Sitka fishing party of Ivan Urbanov (90 kayaks) was tracked down by the Indians in the Frederick Strait and attacked on the night of June 19-20. Hidden in ambush, the warriors of Kuan Keik-Kuyu did not betray their presence in any way and, as K.T. Khlebnikov wrote, “the party leaders did not notice any trouble or reason for displeasure... But this silence and silence were the harbingers of a cruel thunderstorm.” The Indians attacked the party members while they were spending the night and “almost completely destroyed them with bullets and daggers.” 165 Kodiaks died in the massacre, and this was no less a heavy blow to Russian colonization than the destruction of the Mikhailovsky Fortress.
Return of the Russians to Sitka
Then came 1804 - the year the Russians returned to Sitka. Baranov learned that the first Russian round-the-world expedition had set sail from Kronstadt, and eagerly awaited the arrival of the Neva in Russian America, while at the same time building an entire flotilla of ships.
In the summer of 1804, the ruler of the Russian possessions in America A.A. Baranov went to the island with 150 industrialists and 500 Aleuts in their kayaks and with the ships “Ermak”, “Alexander”, “Ekaterina” and “Rostislav”.
A.A. Baranov ordered the Russian ships to position themselves opposite the village. For a whole month he negotiated with the leaders about the extradition of several prisoners and the renewal of the treaty, but everything was unsuccessful. The Indians moved from their old village to a new settlement at the mouth of the Indian River.
Military operations began. At the beginning of October, the brig Neva, commanded by Lisyansky, joined Baranov’s flotilla.
After stubborn and prolonged resistance, the envoys appeared from the ears. After negotiations, the entire tribe left.
On October 8, 1804, the Russian flag was raised over the Indian settlement.
Novoarkhangelsk - the capital of Russian America
Baranov occupied the deserted village and destroyed it. A new fortress was founded here - the future capital of Russian America - Novo-Arkhangelsk. On the shore of the bay, where the old Indian village stood, on a hill, a fortification was built, and then the house of the Ruler, which the Indians called Baranov’s Castle.
Only in the fall of 1805, an agreement was again concluded between Baranov and Skautlelt. Gifts included a bronze double-headed eagle, a Peace Cap modeled on Tlingit ceremonial hats by the Russians, and a blue robe with ermine. But for a long time, the Russians and Aleuts were afraid to go deeper into the impenetrable rain forests of Sitka; it could cost them their lives.
Novoarkhangelsk (most likely early 1830s)
From August 1808, Novoarkhangelsk became the main city of the Russian-American Company and the administrative center of Russian possessions in Alaska and remained so until 1867, when Alaska was sold to the United States.
In Novoarkhangelsk there was a wooden fortress, a shipyard, warehouses, barracks, and residential buildings. 222 Russians and over 1 thousand natives lived here.
Fall of the Russian Fort Yakutat
On August 20, 1805, Eyaki warriors of the Tlahaik-Tekuedi (Tluhedi) clan, led by Tanukh and Lushwak, and their allies from among the Tlingit Kuashkquan clan burned Yakutat and killed the Russians who remained there. Of the entire population of the Russian colony in Yakutat in 1805, according to official data, 14 Russians died “and with them many more islanders,” that is, allied Aleuts. The main part of the party, together with Demyanenkov, was sunk into the sea by a storm. About 250 people died then. The fall of Yakutat and the death of Demyanenkov's party were another heavy blow for the Russian colonies. An important economic and strategic base on the American coast was lost.
Thus, the armed actions of the Tlingit and Eyak people in 1802-1805. significantly weakened the potential of the RAC. Direct financial damage apparently reached at least half a million rubles. All this stopped the Russian advance southward along the northwestern coast of America for several years. The Indian threat further constrained the RAC forces in the area of the arch. Alexandra did not allow the systematic colonization of Southeast Alaska to begin.
Relapses of confrontation
So, on February 4, 1851, an Indian military detachment from the river. Koyukuk attacked a village of Indians living near the Russian single (factory) Nulato in the Yukon. The loner herself was also attacked. However, the attackers were repulsed with damage. The Russians also had losses: the head of the trading post, Vasily Deryabin, was killed and a company employee (Aleut) and the English lieutenant Bernard, who arrived in Nulato from the British sloop of war Enterprise to search for the missing members of Franklin's third polar expedition, were mortally wounded. That same winter, the Tlingits (Sitka Koloshes) started several quarrels and fights with the Russians in the market and in the forest near Novoarkhangelsk. In response to these provocations, the main ruler N.Ya. Rosenberg announced to the Indians that if the unrest continued, he would order the “Koloshensky market” to be closed altogether and would interrupt all trade with them. The reaction of the Sitka people to this ultimatum was unprecedented: the next morning they attempted to capture Novoarkhangelsk. Some of them, armed with guns, hid in the bushes near the fortress wall; the other, placing pre-prepared ladders up to a wooden tower with cannons, the so-called “Koloshenskaya Battery,” almost took possession of it. Fortunately for the Russians, the sentries were alert and raised the alarm in time. An armed detachment that arrived to help threw down three Indians who had already climbed onto the battery, and stopped the rest.
In November 1855, another incident occurred when several natives captured St. Andrew's Alone in the lower Yukon. At that time, its manager, a Kharkov tradesman Alexander Shcherbakov, and two Finnish workers who served in the RAC were here. As a result of a sudden attack, the kayaker Shcherbakov and one worker were killed, and the loner was plundered. The surviving RAC employee Lavrentiy Keryanin managed to escape and safely reach the Mikhailovsky redoubt. A punitive expedition was immediately sent out, which found the natives hiding in the tundra who had ravaged Andreevskaya alone. They holed up in a barabor (Eskimo semi-dugout) and refused to give up. The Russians were forced to open fire. As a result of the skirmish, five natives were killed and one managed to escape.
Let's remember this story: how they tried and again. Here's another story and just recently there was such news on the Internet that The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -
The settlement of Alaska by Russians began at the end of the 18th century. Despite the fact that they tried to live peacefully with the local population, there were also conflicts. So, at the beginning of the 19th century there was a war between Russian settlers and Indians from the Koloshi tribe. This episode from the history of Russian America will be discussed in this article. The material is taken from the article "The connection of times through the ocean of sadness..." (newspaper "Severyanka", 02.25.06), written by Irina Afrosina - the great-great-great-granddaughter of Alexander Baranov - the first manager of the Russian-American Company, in fact the main ruler Russian settlements in Russian America.
The inhabitants of the island of Sitka, belonging to the Koloshe (Tlingit) Indian tribe, were distinguished by extreme savagery and ferocity, and had a warlike disposition. They were in a primitive state, under the great influence of shamans and old women.
In his “Notes on Koloshes,” Father John characterizes them as follows:
The peoples inhabiting the northwestern coast of America from the Columbia River to Mount St. are known under the name Koloshe. Elijah and those living on the islands of the archipelago of the Prince of Wales and King George III. The Koloshi are of a different origin than the Aleuts and other peoples of Russian America; even their appearance speaks of this: large black open eyes, a regular face, not high cheekbones, average height, important posture and gait with the chest forward. All this shows that they are not of Mongolian origin, but of a special one - American. According to their legends, they came not from the west, like the Aleuts, but from the east - from the shores of America. They call themselves Tlingit. The British simply call them “Indians,” and the Russians call them “Koloshi” or “Kalyuzhi.” Where does this name come from? Maybe from Kaluzhki - women's Koloshensky jewelry on the lower lip? The exact etymology of the word is not clear. The number of koloshi in Russian America from Kaigan to Yakutat is no more than 6000.Before the arrival of the Russians, even before they knew about firearms, the Koloshes had a cruel custom of flagellation. In this way they demonstrated courage and strengthened their body and spirit. Flagellation usually took place in winter, during severe frosts, while swimming in the sea. The koloshi tortured themselves with bare rods as long as they had enough strength, then they inflicted wounds on their beaten bodies with sharp objects and knives, after which they sat in the sea until they became numb, until they were taken out and laid by the fire. Even more terrible was the evening scourging that took place in the barabor (hut). It has almost disappeared.
The Koloshi are no strangers to hospitality, judging by the way they receive and treat.
They have no punishments for crimes. Murder pays with murder. Theft is not considered a great vice - only stolen goods are taken away. If someone seduces another man's wife and escapes the knife of the offended husband, he pays him something for the insult. Kalgi (slaves) have no rights. But they are usually killed only in three cases: 1) at a wake; 2) on major holidays; 3) for a housewarming party. If Kalga manages to escape in time, he can calmly return home after the holiday, and nothing will happen to him. Sometimes masters deliberately give slaves the opportunity to escape in advance.
The Koloshi are quite capable, superior to the Aleuts in intelligence and dexterity in trade. Among them there are many skilled artisans: it is worth looking at their products - bats (small ships), blankets, cloaks, spears, sculptures of figures made of asp and wood. They can successfully do carpentry, gardening, etc. They are capable of science (although there was no mass training for them before Father John).
If you compare the abilities of the Aleuts and the Koloshes, you will notice that the intelligence of the Koloshes is higher, but the so-called natural mind is higher among the Aleuts. And this is perhaps because the latter met the Russians earlier and accepted Christianity.
Almost all Aleuts are “free of money”, and the Koloshes know how to stock up on food in abundance, be thrifty and prudent, and are prone to hoarding.
Koloshi are patient, even to the point of insensibility (physically), but it is difficult for them to bear insult and insult, even an unkind look. They are vengeful, but more likely from ambition rather than from irritability.
They are brave when they attack by surprise or when they are not dealing with the brave. But they run away from the brave. They have a desire for independence and freedom. They extol their dignity before the Aleuts, considering them kalgas (slaves) of the Russians.
The "A" symbol marks the island of Sitka, also known as Baranova Island.
In 1795, Russians appeared on the island of Sitka, which was owned by the Tlingit Kixadi clan. Closer contacts began in 1798. After several minor skirmishes with small Kixadi detachments led by the young military leader Katlean, Alexander Andreevich Baranov enters into an agreement with the leader of the Kixadi tribe, Skautlelt, to acquire land for the construction of a trading post. Scoutlet was baptized and his name became Michael. Baranov was his godfather. Skautlelt and Baranov agreed to cede part of the lands on the coast to the Kiksadi Russians and build a small trading post at the mouth of the Starrigavan River. In 1799, construction began on the fort of the Archangel Michael, now this place is called Old Sitka. For three years there was a settlement on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. In general, nothing foreshadowed the tragedy that occurred unexpectedly for Alexander Andreevich Baranov and all of Russian America. To this day, no one can figure out what really happened in 1802, what the Indians were dissatisfied with and why they decided to break the treaty. It is possible that the Russians and Aleuts violated some restrictions or taboos of the local residents, or perhaps not all clans supported Skautlelt and were just waiting for the opportunity to show their strength. The Indian leader Sitka Scoutlet himself sold Baranov land for the construction of a city, and the sailors of the East India Company sounded the alarm. Baranov's indomitable energy aroused envy and anger in them.
Baranov strengthened Kodiak and installed guns on it. And now he is building a fortification on the island of Sitka. The East Indian captain Barber, known for his piratical antics, landed six sailors on the island of Sitka in 1802, allegedly for mutiny on the ship. They were hired to work in a Russian city.
There is also a version from the Indians that they did not intend to build a fortress, and its construction was perceived as a land grab, or maybe everything was much simpler. The Russians did not sell firearms and vodka to the Indians, unlike the Americans. And, dissatisfied with this and supported by the Americans, who dreamed that Russia would get out of these territories, in their discontent, in 1802 they destroyed the fortress of the Archangel Michael and killed all its inhabitants. This campaign was led by the military leader Kiksadi, Skautlelt's nephew, the young leader Katlian. And if the Kiksadi oral tradition is silent about Skautlelt, they remember well about Katlian as a “fighter” against the Russian invaders. By bribing the Indian chiefs with weapons, rum and trinkets during a long winter stay in the Tlingit villages, promising them gifts if they drove the Russians from their island and threatening not to sell guns and whiskey, Barber played on the ambition of the young military leader Catlean. The gates of the fort were opened from the inside by American sailors. So, naturally, without warning or explanation, the Indians attacked the fortress. The fortress would probably have stood, but there were traitors in it. These were six American sailors who allegedly escaped from the ship and asked for work. They opened the fortress gates from the inside. All defenders, including women and children, were killed. Katlian's helmet, which he wore during the attack on the fortress, and the blacksmith's hammer, which he snatched from the man killed in the forge on the shore, with which he killed all the unarmed, are considered relics - the regalia of the Kiksadi Tlingit.
The fortress was completely destroyed, and nothing is being built there to this day. The losses for Russian America were significant; for two years Baranov gathered forces in order to come to Sitka.
Barber himself brought the news of the defeat of the fortress to Baranov. Near Kodiak Island, he deployed 20 cannons from his ship, the Unicorn. But, afraid to contact Baranov, he went to the Sandwich Islands to trade with the Hawaiians in goods looted in Sitka. And at the fire in Sitka at that time, the bodies of Russian settlers were lying around.
Then came the year the Russians returned to Sitka. Baranov learned that the first Russian round-the-world expedition had set sail from Kronstadt, and eagerly awaited the arrival of the Neva in Russian America, while at the same time building an entire flotilla of ships.
In the summer of 1804, the ruler of the Russian possessions in America A.A. Baranov went to the island with 150 industrialists and 500 Aleuts in their kayaks and with the ships "Ermak", "Alexander", "Ekaterina" and "Rostislav". When they reached Sitka, they found here Captain Lisyansky, who was sailing around the world on the ship Neva.
A.A. Baranov ordered the Russian ships to position themselves opposite the village. For a whole month he negotiated with the leaders about the extradition of several prisoners and the renewal of the treaty, but everything was unsuccessful. The Indians moved from their old village to a new settlement at the mouth of the Indian River.
Its mouth was shallow, so the kayaks could not swim close to the shore, and Catlean felt like the master of the situation. By this time, all the other Tlingit clans and American sailors had already left the Kixadi, and they were alone with the Russians and Eskimos. Military operations began. The first Russian attack on the Kiksady was successfully repulsed by them. During it, Baranov was seriously wounded in the arm. However, the siege continued. At the beginning of October, the brig Neva, commanded by Lisyansky, joined Baranov’s flotilla. It was one of the ships of the first Russian round-the-world expedition, which was equipped by the Russian-American Company to communicate with its territories in Alaska. Supported by the Neva's guns, Baranov invited Catlean to surrender, promising to save everyone's life.
After a meeting, Baranov and Lisyansky agreed on action steps and on July 17, all ships and a detachment of Aleuts left Krestovskaya harbor, and by evening they were at anchor near the Sitka village, opposite the kekur; where, however, they found empty huts.
The inhabitants all retired to the fortress they had built on a cape near the river, further in the bay. On the 18th (September 30, New Style) of the Kotleyan toyon, a certain number of people came to the fortress for negotiations, and when they offered him to give amanats, then he demanded the same number of Russians and Aleuts. Seeing no inclination towards peace, he was ordered to leave.
To clear the surrounding shore, the ships fired several cannon shots with cannonballs to find out if anyone was hiding in ambush to prevent the ships from disembarking. After which Baranov, having moved ashore, occupied a high, rocky, rather extensive stone (kekur) and raised a flag on it as a sign of taking this place under the Russian State, still calling it the New Arkhangelsk Fortress.
Cannons were placed on the kekura and guards were assigned; and the Aleut party occupied all the surrounding areas. At that time, a kolosh kayak was spotted traveling from the sea to the fortress, which Lieutenant Arbuzov was sent to pursue from Captain Lisyansky.
When attacking her, the Koloshes defended themselves desperately, shooting from their guns; but the canoe was soon blown up by the gunpowder on it, and most of the ears sank; Only six were saved: two of them, severely wounded, soon died, and the others were taken and taken to the Neva. Soon about 60 Koloshe people appeared on the shore; half of them remained on the way, and the others in military armor, armed with guns and spears, came under the fortress on the kekur, among them were the Toyons.
Baranov suggested to them that, forgetting everything that had happened, he now demands the return of all the captive Aleuts who remained with them; and so that to ensure the stay of the Russians here, they would give amanats, while they themselves, leaving their fortress, would move further away from the place we occupied. Negotiations continued for about two hours, but the Koloshes did not accept these moderate proposals and, shouting loudly three times, “y!” y! y!, left.
On the 20th (October 2, New Style), all the ships approached the enemy fortress, as far as the depth allowed, and, stopping at anchors, opened fire on it. The Koloshis, for their part, responded with several cannon shots. The Koloshin fortress consisted, as Baranov put it, of a thick, gnarled forest of two or more girths; and their huts were in a certain deepened hollow; why, even over a long distance, our cannonballs and grapeshots did not cause any harm to the enemy.
This made ours decide to take the fortifications by storm. The Koloshes, having gathered all their strength, opened strong fire from the fortress. At the very time when they were about to break down and set fire to the fortress, Baranov was wounded in the right hand by a bullet right through.
New to the military, some industrialists and Aleuts showed the rear; then it was decided: to retreat in order, return to the ship. On the 21st (October 3, new style), Baranov, feeling pain from his wound, was not able to engage in military operations and therefore asked Captain Lisyansky to take all the people at his disposal and assist as he saw fit. Lisyansky ordered strong cannon fire from the ships at the fortress.
This finally achieved what was desired: envoys appeared from the ears, with whom they had negotiations about sending amanates and returning former prisoners. On the site occupied by the fortress on the kekur, nearby, for the first time, the buildings needed for storing cargo were built; For the barracks, up to 1000 logs were cut down, and for the Ruler they built a small house from boards and laid a palisade of standing pointed logs with booths in the corners. This constituted a fortress, safe from enemy attacks by kolosh.
At dawn on October 4, 1804, the fortress at the mouth of the Indian River was abandoned... The entire tribe left. They did not believe Baranov’s assurances, simply because they themselves would never let anyone go alive in such a situation. After treacherously breaking the treaty and attacking the people who trusted them. After some resistance, the natives proposed negotiations, and on October 8, 1804, the Russian flag was raised over the native settlement. Construction of a fort and a new settlement began. Soon the city of Novoarkhangelsk grew here.
From August 1808, Novoarkhangelsk became the main city of the Russian-American Company and the administrative center of Russian possessions in Alaska and remained so until 1867, when Alaska was sold to America. Baranov occupied the deserted village and destroyed it. He founded a new fortress - the future capital of Russian America - Novo-Arkhangelsk in a completely different place. On the shore of the bay, where the old Indian village stood, on a hill, a fortification was built, and then the house of the Ruler, which the Indians called Baranov’s Castle.
That ill-fated night escape from the fortress claimed the lives of many weak children, old people and women. The Indians did not forget this. To this day, this battle and pictures of flight are stored in their memory. Baranov more than once sent envoys to Katlean, but the shamans were against concluding peace with the Russians. Only in the fall of 1805, an agreement was again concluded between Baranov and Skautlelt. The gifts included a bronze double-headed eagle, a Peace Cap made by the Russians based on Tlingit ceremonial hats, and a blue robe with grnostai. But for a long time, the Russians and Aleuts were afraid to go deeper into the impenetrable rain forests of Sitka; it could cost them their lives.
Gradually, a city was built - Novoarkhangelsk. In the Novoarkhangelsk port there was a wooden fortress, a shipyard, warehouses, barracks, and residential buildings. 222 Russians and over 1 thousand natives lived here. It seemed that the conflict was a thing of the past, the confrontation ended peacefully.
However, the shamans and leaders did not conduct the necessary ceremonies in the tribe, and for the Indians the war still continued... The curses of the shamans still rushed from the depths of time, and sounded in the minds and hearts of the Indians as if alive.
---
But this story did not end there. This is what the website alaska-heritage.clan.su writes:
After the sale, Alaska was first considered a territory and then a state of the United States, but for the Tlingit these were external events. They did not address their main problem - their only military defeat in their entire history, the loss of life and the enormous sense of guilt and loss that they retained and preserved. But in the minds and hearts of the Tlingit, the war with the Russians still continued.
Many years later. Alaska now belongs to the United States. Circumstances and the world have changed so much that there is no likelihood of resolving this internal conflict in the form familiar to the Indians. External pressure on tribe members and young Indians is increasing, and contacts between white Americans and Indians are becoming closer. And the Russian diaspora in Sitka is gradually increasing its numbers.
The Kiksadi leaders - Ray Wilson, Mark Jacobs, Ellen Hope-Hayes, Harald Jacobs, Tom Gamble, George Bennett and others, made a decision unprecedented in their history. They took steps to resolve this conflict, which had existed for over 200 years, to resolve a complex relationship of grief, guilt and hostility between the Russians and the Tlingit that had affected several generations of people. For this ceremony, the participation of the descendants of the direct characters of that ancient history was especially important. In October 2004, a ceremony of remembrance and reconciliation was held. Descendants of Aleuts and Indians who fought on both sides took part in it.
At the request of the Kiksadi clan, and thanks to the cooperation of the National Park Service, the Library of Congress, Russian historians, and the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center, Irina Afrosina, a direct descendant of Alexander Baranov, the first governor of the Russian Empire, was found and invited to Moscow for mandatory participation in the ceremony. America, who led the combined forces of Russians and Aleuts in the Battle of 1804.
The Kiksadi have been preparing for this event for a year. Not all elders and tribal members supported the idea. The first commemorative ceremony, the potlatch, was already held a hundred years ago in 1904. However, then it was aimed precisely at maintaining the memory of the tragedy in the minds and hearts of the people of the tribe. The main idea that emerged from the 2004 ceremony was that it should not focus only on the past and the facts of the conflict. For this purpose, two separate parts were planned in the form of traditional ceremonies. The first ceremony - mourning and forgiveness - released all the negative emotions of people whose ancestors fought in battles and who suffered loss as a result of battle and allowed people to be freed from grief. The next koo.ex ceremony or potlatch would be about the spirit of peace and cooperation. It was very important that the Russian side of the conflict was also represented by the direct descendants of the participants in the battle.
Potlatch of reconciliation on the island of Sitka
The first meeting between Russian representatives of the RAC and the tribal leaders took place at the park's Visitor Center on October 1st, the eve of the ceremony to commemorate the fallen. The leaders greeted the guests, and each of them spoke about the history of their clan. On the same day, the third peace agreement was established and adopted, and now it will mean eternal peace for our peoples: the Russians and all the indigenous tribes of Alaska. Contrary to the usual Sitka weather, the sun was shining at the moment of the conclusion of this meeting, and this was also noted by the leaders as an auspicious sign.
Public commemorations began at the battle site on Saturday, October 2, with a mourning ceremony to mourn the ancestors killed in the conflict. The official ceremony was held in a clearing next to the totem of the Qixadi war chief, Katlian, carved by Tlingit carver Tommy Joseph, and installed in 1999 in a clearing directly in the battle zone. During the ceremony, the Kiksadi were joined and supported in their grief by members of other Tlingit clans whose ancestors had participated in the battle.
Finally, on October 3, 2004, these 200 years of war ended.
It is not customary to study the Russian page in the history of Alaska in detail. Only the fact that it once belonged to the Russian Empire became widespread. And then it was either given away or sold. In general, they lost it. But they got rid of Alaska, contrary to popular belief, not due to stupidity and short-sightedness, but for a number of compelling reasons.
The decision to sell Alaska (and at the same time the Aleutian Islands) was made by Alexander II. This happened in 1867. But before that, for more than 60 years, the Russian-American Company (RAC) tried with all its might to stay in the region.
Towards the end of the 18th century, the RAC began the systematic development of a new territory for itself - Alaska. Russian colonists, moving along the Pacific coast, reached the lands of the Tlingit. Those, like many other Indian tribes, were not united. Large villages inhabited by different clans were united into kuans. And conflicts broke out every now and then between representatives of different “houses”. Since Russian colonists came to the lands of the Tlingit in peace, at first the relationship between hosts and guests remained neutral. But then armed clashes became commonplace. The Indians did not like the fact that strangers were hunting animals, and they “hinted” them about it in every possible way.
Thunder struck in 1792. Russian industrialists led by Alexander Andreevich Baranov were attacked by the Tlingit on Hinchinbrook Island. The Indians were able to get to the camp without the guards noticing. Suddenly, warriors dressed in wicker wooden kuyak, elk cloaks and helmets made from animal skulls jumped out of the darkness. The guards were dumbfounded. The Tlingits began to pierce the tents with spears, driving the sleepy industrialists out of them. Gun shots rang out amid the screams of the attackers and the groans of the wounded. But they did not stop the Tlingits, since the bullets could not penetrate either the kuyak or the helmet. The Kodiaks (aka Alutiiks, coastal Eskimos of Southern Alaska), who were part of Baranov’s group, dropped their weapons in panic and began to run away. They jumped into kayaks and rowed as hard as they could. Those who could not reach the vessels simply waited for death.
Baranov A. A. Baranov, who was wounded in the arm, led the resistance. But it turned out badly, because the industrialists were horrified at the sight of the primitive warriors of the enemy. Only a few more experienced colonists, who had already met the Indians, tried to resist them. They shot at the Tlingits with rifles and a one-pound cannon, hitting them on the heads, but... It seemed that there were more and more people wearing helmets made from the skulls of wild animals. But then dawn broke... And the Tlingits, taking the wounded, retreated. Sunlight illuminated the recent battlefield.
Baranov discovered that everything was not as bad as it might have turned out to be. Two Russians and about a dozen Kodiaks were killed. Several other people were slightly injured. The attackers lost 12 soldiers. Alexander Andreevich did not take risks. He decided to return to Kodiak, fearing another attack. After that night battle, Baranov never took off his chain mail, hiding it under his outer clothing.
Tlingit The Russian colonists had no intention of retreating. They moved forward, looking for new hunting grounds. Clashes with the Tlingits became commonplace, and no one experienced that primitive horror.
Tlingit Two years have passed. The Tlingits have become more experienced. The arsenal of their primitive weapons was diluted by “firearms” and ammunition. How did this happen? After all, the colonists were strictly forbidden to exchange goods for guns and gunpowder. The answer is simple: American and British intelligence tried. Representatives of the United States and Britain, helping the Tlingits, killed two birds with one stone: they profited from trade and made the only enemy of the Russians stronger.
Russian sloop of war "Neva", which took part in the Battle of Sitka Russian colonists, meanwhile, settled on the island of Sitka (now Baranova Island). It was possible to conclude a peace treaty with the local Kiksadi clan. The leader even crossed himself, proving that he was a devoted friend of the Russians. Alexander Andreevich became the godfather. The alliance was beneficial: the Indians received protection from the enemy, and the RAC received confidence that they would not receive a blow from the rear. Soon the fort of St. Archangel Michael was erected on Sitka. This happened in mid-July 1799.
Both the Russian colonists, the Americans and other “English” had a specific goal in Alaskan waters - sea otter fur. But this goal was achieved in different ways
But, to Baranov’s misfortune, “advice and love” quickly crashed against the rocks of everyday life. First, the Kixadi, by some miracle, managed to convince the enemy - the Deshitan clan - to hand over the tomahawks to the "thrift shop". Then they suddenly decided that friendship with the Russians was harmful. Moreover, the neighbors laughed, saying that they were hiding under a Russian skirt. The clouds were gathering. Finally, the Tlingit decided that it was time to take out the hatchet.
For a long time it was believed that the Russian-Tlingit wars were started by the Indians without reason. Like, savages, what is the demand from them? In fact, everything is not like that. They were forced to start an armed conflict by economic problems, for which the short-sighted leadership of the Russian-American Company was to blame.
Both the Russian colonists, the Americans and other “English” had a specific goal in Alaskan waters - sea otter fur. But this goal was achieved in different ways. The Anglo-Americans exchanged the goods they needed for weapons, gunpowder, ammunition and other things the Indians needed. And representatives of the RAC mined fur themselves, using either Kodiaks or other natives as labor. And most often the Aleuts are the historical enemies of the Tlingits. Which in itself is already surprising. At the same time, the RAC also founded fortified settlements, making it clear that it was staying here for a long time. In principle, this approach can be understood: the Russian colonists simply had nothing valuable for the Tlingits.
Tlingit, late 19th century Meanwhile, trade between the Indians and English-speaking whites increased. More sea otters were needed, and the Russians only got in the way and reduced the number of animals. There were two more reasons. Firstly, industrialists often plundered Indian burial grounds, as well as their winter supplies. Baranov stopped this as best he could, but he could not physically control each detachment. Secondly, some colonists behaved very arrogantly and even cruelly towards the Tlingits, which was a direct provocation.
On May 23, 1802, the Tlingit officially declared war on the RAC. First they tried to deal with Ivan Kuskov's party. But the Russians and Aleuts managed to fight back. Then about 600 Tlingits, led by the leader Katlian, attacked St. Michael's Fortress on Sitka. They chose the perfect moment for the attack, when almost all the men had gone fishing. Only a few dozen people, including women and children, held the defense. Soon the fortress was captured and destroyed. Then the Tlingits massacred Vasily Kochesov’s party, which was returning from fishing. After this, the Indians found industrialists from the Mikhailovsky Fortress and attacked them. The English ship Unicorn, which happened to be nearby, picked up about two dozen survivors. But the picture that emerged was depressing. RAC lost Sitka and more than 200 people.
Development of Alaska This is how we can characterize further hostilities between the Russians and the Tlingits. In 1804, Baranov decided that he had enough resources to return Sitka. In the summer, four ships headed to the island: “Ermak”, “Ekaterina”, “Rostislav” and “Alexander”. They were supported by Aleuts in kayaks. In September the flotilla reached its goal. At Sitka, Baranov met the sloop "Neva" under the command of Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky, who was circumnavigating the world. Together they decided to attack the main Indian fortress on the island. In total, Baranov fielded one and a half hundred Russian industrialists, who were supported by 500 Aleuts. The balance of power was completely on the side of Alexander Andreevich, since there were only about 100 Tlingits in the fortress. We must give Baranov his due: at first he tried to come to an agreement with the Indians so as not to shed unnecessary blood. Negotiations dragged on for a month, but did not bring any results. Then the assault began. The Tlingits fought back bravely, but their small numbers took their toll. Soon they left the fortress, and the Russian flag was again raised over Sitka. Instead of the destroyed fortress, a new one was built - Novo-Arkhangelskaya (modern Sitka), which was destined to become the capital of Russian America.
Leader's House, 1883 The loss of Yakutat was a crushing blow for RAC. Petersburg was silent. Alexander I, who was then emperor, had no time to deal with distant lands - the shadow of Napoleon hung over Europe
The Tlingit response came quickly. In the summer of 1805, an army consisting of several clans attacked the Yakutat fortress. 14 Russian colonists and several dozen Aleuts died. But the main population of Yakutat did not fall at the hands of the Tlingit. About 250 people decided to escape from the Indians by water, but the flotilla ran into a severe storm. The survivors were either captured by the Tlingit or died in the forests. The loss of Yakutat was a crushing blow for RAC. Petersburg was silent. Alexander I, who was then emperor, had no time to deal with distant lands - the shadow of Napoleon hung over Europe. In addition, the financial prospects for the development of Alaska began to be called into question. Because apart from losses of hundreds of millions of rubles, it brought nothing. In fact, even then RAC found itself driven into a corner. There was no reason to count on victory using only the Kodiaks and Aleuts.
The Tlingits, taking advantage of the situation, kept the Russian colonists in suspense, squeezing them out of their lands. Moreover, soon after the destruction of Yakutat, the Indians, by cunning, were able to destroy the Constantine fortress in Chugatsky Bay.
Tlingit woman in European clothes. Sitka, 1880 In the fall of 1805, Baranov still managed to conclude a truce. But it was of a formal nature, since the Russians were never able to fully engage in fishing.
Totems on graves, 1880 ***
Alexander Andreevich resigned as governor of Alaska in 1818 due to a serious illness. “Russian Pizarro” (as he called himself) dreamed of dying on his native land. Did not work out. He died near Java at the end of April 1819. And the skirmishes continued until Alaska was sold to the Americans in 1867. Alexander II had several reasons for such an act. Alaska brought huge losses and was absolutely unpromising. It was possible, of course, to continue to suffer with it, but there was a threat of intervention from British Canada.
Peace between Russia and the Tlingit Kixadi clan was officially concluded only in 2004. The ceremony was attended by many high-ranking officials, including a direct descendant of Baranov. At the totem pole of the leader Catlian, the two peoples still buried the hatchet of war.
Officially, this war lasted 200 years and ended only in 2004.
When they tell me that the Americans killed Indians and seized their lands, I ask a counter question: “How many Indians did the Russians kill?” After this, as a rule, the dialogues are interrupted, because few people have heard, for example, about the Russian-Indian War of 1802-1805. Few people have heard about the punitive operation of Ivan Solovyov, who killed more than 5 thousand Aleuts (indigenous inhabitants of the Aleutian archipelago) on the island of Unalaska. Few people in Russia have heard about the expedition of Grigory Shelikhov, who (I quote the source) “carried out a massacre of the local population, killing from 500 to 2500 Eskimos.” Few people have heard about the expedition of Ivan Kuskov (1808-1809), who, before the founding of Fort Ross, killed many Indians and then concluded a truce with them. Few people have heard about how industrialist Larion Belyaev “cleared” Attu Island of all the Aleuts who lived there...
In the 200 years before the sale of Alaska, the Russians killed many thousands of indigenous people along America's Pacific coast. Now historians are trying to restore the picture of the past, but they cannot even approximately name the number of killed Indians of the 49th US state. The victims were not even counted. And the Russians were considered only “their nobility,” noble merchants and industrialists. Ordinary people didn't count.
But when you read Russian historical documents, letters, notes, reports, ship logs, etc., you get the impression that it was the Indians who attacked Russia and mocked people near Moscow. They were reluctant to talk about their “exploits”; they were often kept silent and not mentioned at all. For example, the captain of the ship “St. Evdokim" Mikhail Vasilyevich Nevodchikov, in his logbook, upon arrival on Agatta Island, wrote that "due to an unfortunate misunderstanding, an Aleut was wounded by a gun shot." The fact that after this “unfortunate” shot a fight broke out can only be learned in the context of the recordings. How many people were injured during this incident is not reported at all.
So almost every expedition. If anyone landed on the shores of America or Kamchatka, blood was sure to be shed. And the fault was, of course, the local residents, who were described as: “more evil than the most predatory animals,” “a murderous and evil people,” “bloodthirsty barbarians,” etc.
But let's take one of the episodes of Russian expansion in Alaska. The founder of the North-Eastern Company, Grigory Shelikhov (1747 - 1795), was subordinate to a certain industrialist Alexander Andreevich Baranov (1746 - 1819), who insisted on promoting the Russian company deeper into the mainland. Shelikhov liked this idea and appointed Baranov in his place. And he himself went to Irkutsk for a promotion, dreaming of taking the post of governor, but unexpectedly died of scurvy at the age of 48.
Baranov assembled an expedition of 30 military sailors and set off on two canoe boats (each with a capacity of up to 30 people) east of Kodiak Island, which was already firmly entrenched in the hands of the Russians. Baranov was also accompanied by Aleuts who were enslaved by the Russians. Having sailed to Montague Island, then called Sukli Island, Baranov met there the Tlingit Indians, who differed from the rest of the inhabitants of Alaska in that they were skilled hunters. That’s why they were armed with spears, axes, bows, arrows and knives. Before this, the Russians had never encountered armed Aleuts and killed them boldly, without fear of resistance. And then they came across armed Indians and retreated.
In detail, it was like this: on the night of June 20-21, 1792, when the Russians stopped for the night, Baranov and his comrades set up their camp separately, and the Aleuts - separately. Suddenly at night there was suddenly a scream, a stomp, a strong rustling sound, the cracking of broken bushes... Everyone was raised to their feet, but for some reason the Tlingits did not touch the Slavs. They attacked the Kodiaks (i.e., the Aleuts who sailed with the expedition, the inhabitants of Kodiak Island) and slaughtered them exclusively, settling long-standing scores.
However, the Russians considered this a danger to themselves and opened fire on the Tlingits with rifles. As a result of the night clash, 2 Russians were killed and 15 wounded. Baranov himself was “almost killed.” Although in the same letter, in which he described spending the night on Sukli, he admitted that he was dressed in chain mail, which “the bullet did not take.” It was thanks to her that he remained alive. That is, the bullet didn’t kill, but the Indian arrow almost killed...
Baranov did not say how many Indians died on both sides. Just think, some Eskimos. The Americans killed the Indians - yes, this was genocide at a minimum. The Russians were only defending themselves...
But I will continue my story about the Russian-Indian War. The thought of moving deeper into the mainland never left Baranov. The next year, Alexander Andreevich sent an armed detachment of Lebedev-Lastochkin, which (I quote the notes) “devastated two Chugach villages, taking everyone, young and old, with them to Grekovsky (Green Island).” And a year later (in 1794), the head of the so-called “North-Eastern Company” A.A. Baranov assembled a fleet of 500 kayaks and went to Shi Island (full name "Shi Attica" or "Sitka"), which was later renamed Baranov Island. Approaching the shore, the Russians saw Indians armed with guns and falconets. Therefore, they were afraid to go ashore and sailed away.
It was not difficult for Baranov to guess where they got their guns from. The Indians successfully traded furs with British and American (Boston) traders. These conscientiously paid for each skin, giving in return fabrics, hunting knives, household utensils and even “fire water” (alcohol). But this time, by order, the British delivered firearms to the Indians. Baranov was disappointed with this trade and reported this to Shelikhov.
Shelikhov was extremely angry at Baranov’s report and personally, a year before his death, went on an armed campaign from Okhotsk to the island of Unalaska. There he gathered reinforcements and sailed further to the island of Atha, which he completely cleared of Aleuts. Historians do not explain why the island of Atha was chosen as a scapegoat and try to avoid this point. But after the defeat of the island, Shelikhov wrote an angry letter to Baranov, where, almost as an order, he demanded advancement deeper into the mainland. Baranov was greatly frightened by Grigory Ivanovich’s raid and understood perfectly well that he would have to face powerful resistance from local residents, and therefore decided to carefully consider the plan for the “development” of the eastern lands of Alaska.
As a result, an unexpected decision was made - to make peace with the Indians! The Indians, of course, outnumbered Baranov’s people, so they could easily sweep them out of Kodiak Island, and indeed from Alaska in general, but peace for them is sacred. And in this regard, the Indians are ready for anything. Sailing to the island of Hinchinbrook ("Thalha" in Eskimo), Baranov invited the Chilhat leader, nicknamed Skautlelt, to make peace. He readily agreed. In honor of this, a small feast was held with fire water :) The Indians were presented with gifts in the form of unnecessary trinkets, and in response, the leader of the Tlingit tribe married Baranov to a woman named Aleut, who bore him a son, Antipater, and two daughters, Irina and Catherine ( By the way, the Russian wife, who remained in St. Petersburg, and daughter never found out about this).
Since 1795, after peace was concluded with the Indians, the Russians settled on Shea Island and built the Mikhailovsky Fortress there. The fortress was named in honor of the Tlingit leader Skautlelt, whom Baranov baptized into Orthodoxy, giving him the name Mikhail. The Russians managed to occupy the island without a fight and settled in the Sitka Sound, into which merchant ships from Britain, France, the USA and Sweden often sailed. By that time, Baranov’s patron, Shelikhov, had passed into another world and thereby gave complete freedom to Alexander Andreevich to act at his own discretion.
For almost five years, Russians and Indians lived side by side, maintaining a shaky, but still peace among themselves. Although the local residents, who lived here, according to historians, for about 10 thousand years, were terribly unhappy with the behavior of the Russians. After all, the Tlingit Indians literally idolized their women and perceived any attack on them as a personal insult and insult. And every now and then, after drinking strong drinks purchased from Scottish and Irish merchants, Russian sailors raped the turkeys as best they could. And it was only thanks to Baranov-Skautlet that serious skirmishes were avoided.
But in 1800, Baranov was called to Kodiak Island and had to leave Sitka for a while. About 120 Russians remained in the Mikhailovsky Fortress under the leadership of V.G. Medvednikov and approximately 900 Aleuts who served them. The Indians took this as a sign. But the leader of the Kiksadi tribe (the largest among the Tlingits), Skautlelt (aka Mikhail), refused to speak out against the Russians. Because he was faithful to the truce that was concluded with Baranov. On such occasions the Indians express extraordinary devotion to their promise.
Then his nephew, the leader of the Chilkhat tribe Katlian, became the leader of the uprising. The Russians repulsed the first attack in the summer of 1800 without any problems, and Medvednikov did not report this to Baranov. After 2 years, Katlian joined forces with the Eyaks and finally besieged the fortress of St. Archangel Michael, destroying everyone in it.
However, American sources say that only 12 Russians were killed, while the rest were simply wounded. The capture of the fortress occurred at the moment when several ships under the command of captains Alexei Evglevsky and Alexei Baturin set off for the “distant Sioux Stone” to hunt. Therefore, the Russian losses were not so great. Perhaps the Indian leader knew full well that the Russians were hunting, and simply took advantage of the moment.
Returning from the hunt, the Russians discovered that the fortress was occupied by Indians and quickly turned their ships towards Kodiak Island, where Baranov was located at that time. And he simply flew into a rage when he learned about the Tlingit uprising. The head of the North-Eastern Russian company announced general mobilization and proclaimed the beginning of the Russian-Indian War.
Baranov collected everything he had at his disposal, plus he grabbed Captain Lisyansky, who accidentally ended up there on his brig “Neva” while traveling around the world, and together they moved to Sitka. The fortress was taken in 4 days - from October 1st to October 4th, 1804, despite the fact that the Indians released all the Russians and their servants who were there. On November 10, Lisyansky had already sailed from Sitka Sound as unnecessary, since the Russians by that time completely controlled the southern coast of Shea Island. However, several thousand Tlingit were still hiding in the mountains.
In 1805, Baranov ordered to surround the island and destroy all Indians who came into sight. Thus, the eighth largest island of Alaska was “cleared”, which was quickly renamed “Baranov Island”. The war ended quietly, without the signing of capitulations or peace agreements. Yes, because there was no one to sign contracts with. Those Indians who were lucky enough to escape from the island fled. And the rest were all killed.
Moreover, having heard that 2 fortresses in Yakutat Bay were occupied by Indians (although sources do not confirm this and Baranov himself went to Sitka from one of them), the commander-in-chief of the Russian army in Alaska sent Demyanenkov’s detachment there, which indiscriminately burned both fortresses . Whether there were Indians there or not is not known. But everyone died, which Demyanenkov reported to Baranov.
The number of Indians killed in this war is still unknown. Although it is assumed that there could be several thousand of them - no less. In Russia they don’t know anything about this and don’t want to know. In their correct opinion, if Indians were killed, only Americans could do it.
In 2004, 200 years later, a delegation from Russia led by a descendant of A.A. was invited to Alaska. Baranova - I. O. Afrosina. In the vicinity of the city of Sitka, a truce was concluded between the Russians and American Indians from the Kiksadi tribe (descendants of the leader Katlian), which put an end to the war between the Indians and the Russians. The Russian-Tlingit war (as it is called in Russia, so that no one would guess who fought with whom) was officially declared over.
| Comments: 0 |
The conquistadors became famous for their cruelty to the local population, but the Indians themselves were not at all pacifists. Archaeologists managed to restore the chronology of the bloody events that occurred almost 500 years ago.
The anachronistic term "genocide of the American Indians" is one of the cornerstones of the black legend transmitted by the enemies of the Spanish Empire to undermine its prestige. A 17th-century Dutch engraving depicts the hero of the Battle of Lepanto, Don Juan of Austria, enjoying the torment of a group of American Indians. This lie is shockingly stupid: the illegitimate son of Charles I of Spain never participated in the conquest of America. Thus, among lies, inflated figures and fictitious events, the myth that the Spaniards committed planned massacres of American Indians matured and has survived to this day. The truth of this historical debate is that while the Spanish were brutal in pursuing their goals, it was diseases introduced by Europeans that caused the true genocide.
There is a very common myth that the sharp decline in the number of Indians after the arrival of Europeans in America was a consequence of planned genocide. At the same time, the US government is also accused of genocide. The most interesting thing is that it is American authors who accuse the US government loudest of all, which is not surprising. Now in politically correct America, self-flagellation has become the norm, and justifying government policies is considered bad form. Nevertheless, there is an opposite point of view about what happened to the Indians. For example, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, Guenter Lewy, wrote an article back in 2007 entitled “Were the American Indians Victims of Genocide?” (Were American Indians the Victims of Genocide?), the translation of which I would like to bring to your attention.
For most of our citizens, an unknown fact remains the assistance of the American people within the framework of the American Relief Administration (ARA) program to Soviet Russia in 1921-1922 during an unprecedented famine. There are two reasons for the tragedy: the robbery of the peasants by the Bolsheviks, when even the seeds for sowing were confiscated, and drought.
Historians have different assessments of this man’s contribution to the history of our country. On the one hand, his name is associated with mass repression. On the other hand, during his reign, the Soviet Union became an industrialized country, which allowed us to win the Second World War. But how did the USSR turn from a backward agricultural country into an industrial giant in just a few years? Remember the famous phrase “He took the country with a plow and left it with an atomic bomb”? Let's open the pages of history not described in school textbooks.
In neo-Soviet society, the idea has long been ingrained that the United States is a relatively young country that does not have a serious background compared to “thousand-year-old” Russia. Meanwhile, the first higher education institutions in the United States appeared earlier than in Russia.
Famine in world history; ARA (American Relief Administration) assistance to starving Russia in 1922; Famine in the Netherlands in 1944-1945; The Politics of Famine in Post-War Germany; Food production technologies.
During the crop failure of 1921-23, the Soviet government could not cope with the famine and was forced to ask for support from international organizations. Thus, the American Relief Administration spent about $78 million over two years to provide assistance to Russia, providing food and medicine to the hungry. However, its activities still remain poorly understood. We are publishing previously unpublished documents from the South Ural archives about the cooperation of the Russian and American sides during the famine of the 1920s and the activities of the American Relief Administration in the Southern Urals.
For most of our citizens, the help of the American people to Soviet Russia in 1921-1922 during an unprecedented famine remains an unknown fact. There are two reasons for the tragedy: the robbery of the peasants by the Bolsheviks, when even the seeds for sowing were confiscated, and drought.
Protocols of interrogations of village residents have been preserved, who en masse first began to eat the corpses of fellow villagers dumped near cemeteries, and then reached those who were still alive, but defenseless. Here is an excerpt from the “Protocol of the inquiry of the village of Aleksandrovka on the investigation of boiled human meat” (the spelling of the document is preserved) on February 27, 1922: “A few days later, two boys of wanderers came to us ... and asked to warm up, one left, and we detained the other and that night we stabbed him and ate him, my husband stabbed him on February 23... (inaudible) who screamed and fought for a very long time and before that we also stabbed Vera Shibilina, a girl who came to spend the night with us, and we took off her felt boots and took her to her aunt Tatyana Akishkina and she were told that we got sick and died and we buried her.”
The development of Alaskan lands by Russian colonists began at the end of the 18th century. Moving south along the mainland coast of Alaska in search of richer fishing grounds, Russian parties of sea animal hunters gradually approached the territory inhabited by the Tlingit, one of the most powerful and formidable tribes of the Northwest Coast. The Russians called them Kolosha (Kolyuzha). This name comes from the custom of Tlingit women to insert a wooden strip - kaluzhka - into the cut on the lower lip, causing the lip to stretch out and sag. “Angrier than the most ravenous beasts,” “a murderous and evil people,” “bloodthirsty barbarians”—these were the expressions used by Russian pioneers to speak of the Tlingit people.
And they had their reasons for that.
By the end of the 18th century. The Tlingit occupied the coast of southeastern Alaska from Portland Channel in the south to Yakutat Bay in the north, as well as the adjacent islands of the Alexander Archipelago.
The Tlingit country was divided into territorial divisions - kuans (Sitka, Yakutat, Huna, Khutsnuwu, Akoy, Stikine, Chilkat, etc.). In each of them there could be several large winter villages, where representatives of various clans (clans, sibs) lived, belonging to two large motries of the tribe - Wolf/Eagle and Raven. These clans - Kiksadi, Kagwantan, Deshitan, Tluknahadi, Tekuedi, Nanyaayi, etc. - were often at enmity with each other. It was the tribal and clan ties that were the most significant and lasting in Tlingit society.
The first clashes between Russians and Tlingits date back to 1741, and later there were also small clashes with the use of weapons.
In 1792, an armed conflict took place on Hinchinbrook Island with an uncertain result: the head of the party of industrialists and the future ruler of Alaska, Alexander Baranov, almost died, the Indians retreated, but the Russians did not dare to gain a foothold on the island and also sailed to Kodiak Island. Tlingit warriors were dressed in woven wooden kuyak, elk cloaks and beast-like helmets (apparently made from animal skulls). The Indians were armed mainly with bladed and throwing weapons.
If, when attacking the party of A. A. Baranov in 1792, the Tlingits had not yet used firearms, then already in 1794 they had many guns, as well as decent supplies of ammunition and gunpowder.
Peace Treaty with the Sitka Indians
In 1795, Russians appeared on the island of Sitka, which was owned by the Tlingit Kixadi clan. Closer contacts began in 1798.
After several minor skirmishes with small Kixadi detachments led by the young military leader Katlean, Alexander Andreevich Baranov enters into an agreement with the leader of the Kixadi tribe, Skautlelt, to acquire land for the construction of a trading post.
Scoutlet was baptized and his name became Michael. Baranov was his godfather. Skautlelt and Baranov agreed to cede part of the lands on the coast to the Kiksadi Russians and build a small trading post at the mouth of the Starrigavan River.
The alliance between the Russians and the Kixadi was beneficial to both sides. The Russians patronized the Indians and helped them protect themselves from other warring tribes.
On July 15, 1799, the Russians began construction of the fort “St. Archangel Michael”, now this place is called Old Sitka.
Meanwhile, the Kiksadi and Deshitan tribes concluded a truce - the hostility between the Indian clans ceased.
The danger to the Kiksadi has disappeared. Too close a connection with the Russians is now becoming too burdensome. Both the Kixadi and the Russians felt this very quickly.
Tlingits from other clans who visited Sitka after the cessation of hostilities there mocked its inhabitants and “boasted of their freedom.” The biggest disagreement occurred on Easter, however, thanks to the decisive actions of A.A. Baranov, bloodshed was avoided. However, on April 22, 1800 A.A. Baranov left for Kodiak, leaving V.G. in charge of the new fortress. Medvednikova.
Despite the fact that the Tlingits had a wealth of experience communicating with Europeans, relations between Russian settlers and aborigines became increasingly strained, which ultimately led to a protracted, bloody war. However, such a result was by no means just an absurd accident or a consequence of the machinations of insidious foreigners, just as these events were not generated solely by the natural bloodthirstiness of the “fierce ears.” The Tlingit Kuans were put on the warpath by other, deeper reasons.
Prerequisites for the war
Russian and Anglo-American traders had one goal in these waters, one main source of profit - furs, sea otter fur. But the means to achieve this goal were different. The Russians themselves extracted precious furs, sending parties of Aleuts for them and establishing permanent fortified settlements in the fishing areas. Buying skins from the Indians played a secondary role.
Due to the specifics of their position, British and American (Boston) traders did exactly the opposite. They periodically came on their ships to the shores of the Tlingit country, conducted active trade, bought furs and left, leaving the Indians in return with fabrics, weapons, ammunition, and alcohol.
The Russian-American company could not offer the Tlingits practically any of these goods, so valued by them. The current ban on the trade in firearms among Russians pushed the Tlingits to even closer ties with the Bostonians. For this trade, the volume of which was constantly increasing, the Indians needed more and more furs. However, the Russians, through their activities, prevented the Tlingits from trading with the Anglo-Saxons.
Active sea otter fishing, which was carried out by Russian parties, was the reason for the depletion of the natural resources of the region, depriving the Indians of their main commodity in relations with the Anglo-Americans. All this could not but affect the relations of the Indians towards the Russian colonists. The Anglo-Saxons actively fueled their hostility.
Every year, about fifteen foreign ships exported 10-15 thousand sea otters from the possessions of the RAC, which was equal to four years of Russian fishing. The strengthening of the Russian presence threatened them with deprivation of profits.
Thus, the predatory fishing of sea animals, which was launched by the Russian-American company, undermined the basis of the economic well-being of the Tlingit people, depriving them of the main product in profitable trade with Anglo-American maritime traders, whose inflammatory actions served as a kind of catalyst that accelerated the outbreak of the brewing military conflict. The rash and rude actions of Russian industrialists served as an impetus for the unification of the Tlingits in the struggle to expel the RAC from their territories.
In the winter of 1802, a great council of leaders took place in Khutsnukuan (Admiralty Island), at which it was decided to start a war against the Russians. The council developed a plan of military action. With the onset of spring, it was planned to gather soldiers in Khutsnuva and, after waiting for the fishing party to leave Sitka, attack the fort. The party was planned to be waylaid in the Lost Strait.
Military operations began in May 1802 with an attack at the mouth of the Alsek River on the Yakutat fishing party of I.A. Kuskova. The party consisted of 900 native hunters and more than a dozen Russian industrialists. The Indian attack was successfully repulsed after several days of gunfire. The Tlingits, seeing the complete failure of their warlike plans, negotiated and concluded a truce.
Tlingit uprising - destruction of Fort Mikhailovsky and Russian fishing parties
After Ivan Urbanov’s fishing party (about 190 Aleuts) left the Mikhailovsky Fort, 26 Russians, six “Englishmen” (American sailors in the service of the Russians), 20-30 Kodiaks and about 50 women and children remained on Sitka. On June 10, a small artel under the command of Alexey Evglevsky and Alexey Baturin went hunting to the “distant Sioux Stone.” The other inhabitants of the settlement continued to blithely go about their daily affairs.
The Indians attacked simultaneously from two sides - from the forest and from the bay, arriving in war canoes. This campaign was led by the military leader Kiksadi, the nephew of Skautlelt, the young leader Katlian. An armed crowd of Tlingit, numbering about 600 people under the command of Sitka chief Skautlelt, surrounded the barracks and opened heavy rifle fire on the windows. In response to Skautlelt's calling cry, a huge flotilla of war canoes came out from behind the head of the bay, carrying at least 1,000 Indian warriors, who immediately joined the Sitka men. Soon the roof of the barracks was on fire. The Russians tried to fire back, but could not withstand the overwhelming superiority of the attackers: the doors of the barracks were knocked down and, despite direct fire from the cannon located inside, the Tlingits managed to get inside, kill all the defenders and plunder the furs stored in the barracks
There are different versions of the participation of the Anglo-Saxons in starting the war.
The East Indian captain Barber landed six sailors on the island of Sitka in 1802, allegedly for mutiny on the ship. They were hired to work in a Russian city.
By bribing the Indian chiefs with weapons, rum and trinkets during a long winter stay in the Tlingit villages, promising them gifts if they drove the Russians from their island and threatening not to sell guns and whiskey, Barber played on the ambition of the young military leader Catlean. The gates of the fort were opened from the inside by American sailors. So, naturally, without warning or explanation, the Indians attacked the fortress. All defenders, including women and children, were killed.
According to another version, the real instigator of the Indians should be considered not the Englishman Barber, but the American Cunningham. He, unlike Barber and the sailors, ended up in Sitka clearly not by accident. There is a version that he was privy to the plans of the Tlingit people, or even participated directly in their development.
It was predetermined from the beginning that foreigners would be declared the culprits of the Sitka disaster. But the reasons that the Englishman Barber was then recognized as the main culprit probably lie in the uncertainty in which Russian foreign policy was in those years.
The fortress was completely destroyed and the entire population exterminated. Nothing is being built there yet. The losses for Russian America were significant; for two years Baranov gathered forces to return to Sitka.
The news of the defeat of the fortress was brought to Baranov by the English captain Barber. Near Kodiak Island, he deployed 20 cannons from his ship, the Unicorn. But, afraid to contact Baranov, he went to the Sandwich Islands to trade with the Hawaiians in goods looted in Sitka.
A day later, the Indians almost completely destroyed the small party of Vasily Kochesov, who were returning to the fortress from sea lion hunting.
The Tlingits had a special hatred for Vasily Kochesov, the famous hunter, known among the Indians and Russians as an unsurpassed marksman. The Tlingits called him Gidak, which probably comes from the Tlingit name of the Aleuts, whose blood flowed in Kochesov's veins - giyak-kwaan (the hunter's mother was from the Fox Ridge Islands). Having finally got the hated archer into their hands, the Indians tried to make his death, like the death of his comrade, as painful as possible. According to K.T. Khlebnikov, “the barbarians did not suddenly, but gradually cut off their nose, ears and other members of their body, stuffed their mouths with them, and viciously mocked the torments of the sufferers. Kochesov...could not endure the pain for long and was happy at the end of his life, but the unfortunate Eglevsky languished in terrible agony for more than a day.”
In the same 1802: the Sitka fishing party of Ivan Urbanov (90 kayaks) was tracked down by the Indians in the Frederick Strait and attacked on the night of June 19-20. Hidden in ambush, the warriors of Kuan Keik-Kuyu did not betray their presence in any way and, as K.T. Khlebnikov wrote, “the party leaders did not notice any trouble or reason for displeasure... But this silence and silence were the harbingers of a cruel thunderstorm.” The Indians attacked the party members while they were spending the night and “almost completely destroyed them with bullets and daggers.” 165 Kodiaks died in the massacre, and this was no less a heavy blow to Russian colonization than the destruction of the Mikhailovsky Fortress.
Return of the Russians to Sitka
Then came 1804 - the year the Russians returned to Sitka. Baranov learned that the first Russian round-the-world expedition had set sail from Kronstadt, and eagerly awaited the arrival of the Neva in Russian America, while at the same time building an entire flotilla of ships.
In the summer of 1804, the ruler of the Russian possessions in America A.A. Baranov went to the island with 150 industrialists and 500 Aleuts in their kayaks and with the ships “Ermak”, “Alexander”, “Ekaterina” and “Rostislav”.
A.A. Baranov ordered the Russian ships to position themselves opposite the village. For a whole month he negotiated with the leaders about the extradition of several prisoners and the renewal of the treaty, but everything was unsuccessful. The Indians moved from their old village to a new settlement at the mouth of the Indian River.
Military operations began. At the beginning of October, the brig Neva, commanded by Lisyansky, joined Baranov’s flotilla.
After stubborn and prolonged resistance, the envoys appeared from the ears. After negotiations, the entire tribe left.
Novoarkhangelsk - the capital of Russian America
Baranov occupied the deserted village and destroyed it. A new fortress was founded here - the future capital of Russian America - Novo-Arkhangelsk. On the shore of the bay, where the old Indian village stood, on a hill, a fortification was built, and then the house of the Ruler, which the Indians called Baranov’s Castle.
Only in the fall of 1805, an agreement was again concluded between Baranov and Skautlelt. Gifts included a bronze double-headed eagle, a Peace Cap modeled on Tlingit ceremonial hats by the Russians, and a blue robe with ermine. But for a long time, the Russians and Aleuts were afraid to go deeper into the impenetrable rain forests of Sitka; it could cost them their lives.
Novoarkhangelsk (most likely early 1830s)
From August 1808, Novoarkhangelsk became the main city of the Russian-American Company and the administrative center of Russian possessions in Alaska and remained so until 1867, when Alaska was sold to the United States.
In Novoarkhangelsk there was a wooden fortress, a shipyard, warehouses, barracks, and residential buildings. 222 Russians and over 1 thousand natives lived here.
Fall of the Russian Fort Yakutat
On August 20, 1805, Eyaki warriors of the Tlahaik-Tekuedi (Tluhedi) clan, led by Tanukh and Lushwak, and their allies from among the Tlingit Kuashkquan clan burned Yakutat and killed the Russians who remained there. Of the entire population of the Russian colony in Yakutat in 1805, according to official data, 14 Russians died “and with them many more islanders,” that is, allied Aleuts. The main part of the party, together with Demyanenkov, was sunk into the sea by a storm. About 250 people died then. The fall of Yakutat and the death of Demyanenkov's party were another heavy blow for the Russian colonies. An important economic and strategic base on the American coast was lost.
Thus, the armed actions of the Tlingit and Eyak people in 1802-1805. significantly weakened the potential of the RAC. Direct financial damage apparently reached at least half a million rubles. All this stopped the Russian advance southward along the northwestern coast of America for several years. The Indian threat further constrained the RAC forces in the area of the arch. Alexandra did not allow the systematic colonization of Southeast Alaska to begin.
Relapses of confrontation
So, on February 4, 1851, an Indian military detachment from the river. Koyukuk attacked a village of Indians living near the Russian single (factory) Nulato in the Yukon. The loner herself was also attacked. However, the attackers were repulsed with damage. The Russians also had losses: the head of the trading post, Vasily Deryabin, was killed and a company employee (Aleut) and the English lieutenant Bernard, who arrived in Nulato from the British sloop of war Enterprise to search for the missing members of Franklin's third polar expedition, were mortally wounded. That same winter, the Tlingits (Sitka Koloshes) started several quarrels and fights with the Russians in the market and in the forest near Novoarkhangelsk. In response to these provocations, the main ruler N.Ya. Rosenberg announced to the Indians that if the unrest continued, he would order the “Koloshensky market” to be closed altogether and would interrupt all trade with them. The reaction of the Sitka people to this ultimatum was unprecedented: the next morning they attempted to capture Novoarkhangelsk. Some of them, armed with guns, hid in the bushes near the fortress wall; the other, placing pre-prepared ladders up to a wooden tower with cannons, the so-called “Koloshenskaya Battery,” almost took possession of it. Fortunately for the Russians, the sentries were alert and raised the alarm in time. An armed detachment that arrived to help threw down three Indians who had already climbed onto the battery, and stopped the rest.
In November 1855, another incident occurred when several natives captured St. Andrew's Alone in the lower Yukon. At that time, its manager, a Kharkov tradesman Alexander Shcherbakov, and two Finnish workers who served in the RAC were here. As a result of a sudden attack, the kayaker Shcherbakov and one worker were killed, and the loner was plundered. The surviving RAC employee Lavrentiy Keryanin managed to escape and safely reach the Mikhailovsky redoubt. A punitive expedition was immediately sent out, which found the natives hiding in the tundra who had ravaged Andreevskaya alone. They holed up in a barabor (Eskimo semi-dugout) and refused to give up. The Russians were forced to open fire. As a result of the skirmish, five natives were killed and one managed to escape.
