Return to Northwest Coast of America exploration
After Peter the Great died in 1725, expansion and exploration slowed considerably. The Russian throne had a series of four rulers under whom little happened. Things changed again when Tsar Peter III died in 1762 and his widow succeeded him. She was Catherine the Great and, during her reign, Russian expansion and interest in the outside world resumed.
As more Russians moved across Siberia to the Pacific, they became aware of the large numbers of fur-bearing animals in the region and their potential as profitable, commercial ventures. Private companies were set up to exploit the trade and Russians began looking even further afield to secure more territory. North America was the next immediate target but Russia was aware that Spain had ideas to expand its empire north from Mexico into the same region.
Russia established a port at Okhotsk on a large arm of the Pacific Ocean situated to the north of the Kuril Islands and to the west of Kamchatka. The arm took its name from Okhotsk and is the Sea of Okhotsk. Okhotsk has limitations as a port and beacuse of its distance from the Pacific proper and Alaska so further ports were opened in Kamchatka including Pertopavlosk. From the middle of the eighteenth century, Russia and Spain entered a period of mutual suspicion with regards their motives in the North Pacific. It directed their actions and movements in the region though neither country made a large number of official expeditions. Those that they undertook were moves to claim territory and to thwart the ambitions of the other.
Vitus Bering was a 43 year old Dane working for the Russian Navy when, in December 1724, Tsar Peter the Great signed a decree ordering him to lead an expedition to determine whether Russia and America were connected by a land bridge or were separated by the sea. Semenn Dezhnev had, in fact in 1648, sailed from the Kolmya River on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, round to the North Pacific, thus demonstrating that Russia and America were separated but reports of the voyage were not publicised. The easternmost point on the Asian landmass was later called Cape Dezhnev.
The Russian court did not know about Dezhnev's voyage, its records having already disappeared into the archives, so Bering began organising his own expedition. The distance from St. Petersburg and the state of communications ensured that progress was very slow. Bering left St. Petersburg in February 1725 and reached Okhotsk on 1 October 1726. A Russian, Aleksei Chirikov, who had been appointed as Bering's second-in-command, joined him in July 1727. A ship, the Fortuna was built in Okhotsk to transport them to Kamchatka where another ship, the Sviatoi Gavriil (St. Gabriel) was constructed. Eventually, on 14 July 1728, the expedition sailed with 44 men on board.
The Sviatoi Gavriil followed the coastline closely though fog made this difficult at times. St. Lawrence Island was passed on 11 August. They sailed on to the north and, on 15 August, reached 67° 18' N whereupon Bering decided to turn back, despite Chirikov's pleas to continue. The next day, they sighted the Diomede Islands as they sailed back south. On 20 August, Bering met a party of Chukchis and, from them, learned about the coast north of Bering Strait. The ship returned to Kamchatka where it met the Fortuna and they anchored together at the mouth of the Kamchatka River. Bering wintered here and charted the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands in early 1729. On 23 July, Bering reached Okhotsk and six days later he set off for St. Petersburg, which he reached on 1 March 1730.
Fog had prevented Bering's expedition seeing the American mainland and Chirikov, for one, felt they had failed in their mission. However, history has looked favourably on Bering and his name has been given to the strait separating Russia and America, and the sea north of the Aleutian Islands.
The Great Northern Expedition, 1733-1743.
The results of Bering's first expedition were received lukewarmly by the authorities in St. Petersburg. However, he submitted proposals for another expedition in 1730 and, in 1732, they were accepted and Bering was chosen to lead it. The plan involved a large range of tasks but included an instruction to visit the American shore and bring it under Russian control. As before, Chirikov was appointed as Bering's deputy and, as before, the project was beset with delays. It took seven years before Bering was able to sail from Okhotsk, on 4 September 1740, to Kamchatka. The two ships were 24 metres long brigs named the Sviatoi Petr (St. Peter) and the Sviatoi Pavel (St. Paul). Bering commanded the Sviatoi Petr, which carried a crew of 75 men and the naturalist Georg Steller. Chirikov was in charge of the Sviatoi Pavel, which had a crew of 73 men. Louis de L'Isle de la Coyere, the French astronomer sailed with Chirikov. On 6 October, the ships arrived in Avacha Bay on the east coast of Kamchatka. They wintered here and a settlement was established, which was named Petropavlask after the ships.
On 4 June 1741, the ships set out from Avacha Bay. At first, they sailed southeast looking for Terra da Gama but, on 12 June, they gave up and turned to head northeast. After eight days, the ships were separated during a storm. Bering continued sailing northeast and on, 16 July 1741, he sighted the American coast with a range of high mountains behind. Now following the coast west Bering came to an island and anchored off its west coast on the 20th. The island was Kayak Island near Cape Suckling and Bering allowed Steller to briefly go ashore on the island. Steller collected plants that would have helped offset scurvy but the sailors declined to eat them. Bering named the island St. Elias and the highest peak on the nearby mountain range was called Mount St. Elias. Interestingly, neither Bering nor any of his men ever appear to have landed on the American mainland. He had, though, delineated approximately the edge of the Gulf of Alaska. Bering headed west on 21 July.
Bering followed the Alaskan coast to the southwest, passing close to Sitklaidak near the southern end of Kodiak Island on 26 July. On 3 August, he sighted a snall island, which he called Tumannoi. Cook tried unsuccessfully to locate this island in 1778 and it was left to Vancouver to find it and rename it Chirikov Island after Bering's number two. In August, the water supply was nearly gone and scurvy began to take hold. On the 31st, bering anchored between Near and Nagai Islands to procure fresh water. However, a crewman died here and Bering buried him on Nagai Island. This island and the group, the Shumagin Islands, were named after the dead crewman. The Sviatoi Petr sailed on 3 September, trying to reach Kamchatka as soon as possible. Bering was already ill and confined to his bed from mid-October. Storms held the ship up and, on 6 November, it anchored off one of the Komandorskie Islands (it was later called Ostrov Beringa in honour of Bering). Another storm, on 28 November, forced the ship onto the shore, wrecking it causing most of the supplies to be lost. Bering, on 8 December 1741, and 30 other men died on the island. The 46 survivors, under Lieutenant Sven Waxell, managed to build a new ship from the wreckage over nine months and finally reached Avacha Bay on 27 August 1742.
Chirikov, after separating from Bering, 1741-1742.
On 20 June 1741, in a fierce storm, the two ships were separated. Chirikov, in the Sv. Pavel, spent two days searching for Bering before resuming his course to the northeast. On 15 July, Chirikov sighted land, somewhere in the region of Prince of Wales Island. He searched unsuccessfully for an anchorage and dispatched his quartermaster, Grigorii Trubitsyn, to inspect an inlet. No anchorage was found, nor signs of human occupation. Chirikov passed the Hazy Islands and followed the coast north until the 18th.
At 58°N on 18 July, snow covered mountains could be seen. Chirikov, fearing that conditions would worsen as they sailed north, determined to send a party ashore to make an examination before it became too cold. While the stood off, Avram Dementiev and ten men took the yawl and went to inspect a nearby bay. They did not return and, after waiting for six days, the boatswain, Sidor Savelev, led a rescue party ashore. That boat also failed to reappear. On the 25th, two boats were sighted but they proved to be local Tlingits, who would not approach the ship. Chirikov waited another day before giving up and sailing away. He had no more small boats and had no way of finding out what had happened to his men. It is believed these events took place near Yakobi Island and Lisianski Strait.
The Sv. Pavel sailed west and, on 1 August, land was sighted. For several days as they sailed southwest, Chirikov could see land occasionally, probably the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island. By this time, food was in short supply and Chirikov had to introduce rationing. Scurvy was also taking hold. More land was sighted on 4 and 8 September, probably the south coasts of Unalaska and Umnak Islands. Chirikov believed that the pieces of land he had seen over the last month were connected. Chirikov anchored briefly off Adak Island on the 10th and sighted Agattu Island and the Semichi Islands on the 22nd.
In early October, two of Chirikov's lieutenants, Chikhachev and Plautin, died, and Chirikov, himself, was extremely ill. He handed over command of the ship to Ivan Elagin, while he was prepared for death. Luckily, the ship reached Avacha Bay on 10 October. The astronomer, De L'Isle de la Croyere died on the day they entered Avacha Bay. Bering had not yet returned and, when he recovered, Chirikov sailed, in May 1742, in search of his commander. He reached Attu in the Aleutian Islands without finding any trace and returned to Kamchatka on 1 July.
Outcomes of Bering's voyages.
As well as having established that Asia was separated from America by the Bering Sea and having outlined in broad terms the south coast of Alaska, the main outcome of Bering's expeditions was news that fur bearing animals, especially the sea otter, could be found in great numbers. Immediately this news broke, Russians began advancing into the region to exploit the resource.
For two days, the Sv. Gavriil stood off, unable to anchor or land. No people could be seen though habitations were seen in the distance. The ship drifted back to one of the islands and, as they prepared to leave, a Chukchi paddled to the ship. From him, Gvozdev learned about Bolshaia Zemlia. The Russians had been close to Cape Prince of Wales at the western tip of the Seward Peninsula. They were probably the first Russians to actually sight the American mainland in this region, even though they did not land.
Gvozdev sailed back to Kamchatka, which he reached on 28 September 1732. He submitted a report and drew a sketch map that was the first to show the outline of the tip of America across the Bering Strait from Asia.
The Russian Government stood aside as 40 private companies operated in the region between 1743 and 1764, sending off hundreds of expeditions. In the first few years, the hunting expeditions needed only to go as far as the Komandor Islands and the Western Aleutians. Gradually, as competition became more fierce and the furs became rarer through over exploitation, the hunters had to travel further. They reached the Eastern Aleutians and Alaska Peninsula in the 1760s and 1770s and Kodiak Island, Kenai Peninsula and Prince William Sound were being visited by the 1770s and 1780s. In some cases, companies equiped expeditions and employed hunters who secured pelts on their behalf. In many others, badly funded and ill-organised individuals or small groups set off to earn their fortunes.
A typical expedition started at Okhotsk or Kamchatka in September. They would cross to Ostrov Beringa (Bering Island) and pass winter on the island collecting sea lion meat and whale blubber. As soon as spring broke, they would sail east for the Aleutians and Alaska. At their intended bases (zinov'es), the Russians would force the local men to hunt for them after taking the women and children hostage. Most of the hunters were illiterate, lawless and cruel and thousands of the local people, Unangas (the Russians called them Aleuts) were killed. The Aleuts hated the Russians and they often killed them if the opportunities arose.
The Government deployed agents to sail with and monitor the behaviour of the promyshlenniks, as the hunters were called, but mostly they ignored or collorated in the outrages. The agents were also supposed to collect the yasak, the tribute whereby the Government received one tenth of all pelts. Some of the companies prospered and even received royal approval, including the Lebedev-Lastochkin and Shelikov-Golikov companies. The Lebedev company set up Fort St. George in Cook Inlet in 1787 followed by nearby St. Nicholas Redoubt in 1793 and St. Constantine in Port Etches, Prince William Sound, the same year.
Grigorii Shelikov was the most prominent figure in the Russian fur trade. He financed and led expeditions between 1775 and 1783. He established the first factory on Kodiak Island in 1784 at Three Saints Harbor and later set up others on Afognak and Atka Islands, and on the Kenai Peninsula. In 1792, the factory on Kodiak was moved north to St. Pauls Harbor after Thre Saints Harbor was destroyed by an earthquake.
Not all the promyshlenniki were anonymous, bad people. Some have become known through their contact with other European explorers and sailors who recorded their meetings. Gerasim Izmailov met and helped James Cook. In 1784, he led an expedition to Prince William Sound and drew charts of Latouche Island. Potop Zaikov entertained Esteban Martinez, the Spanish sailor, at Unalaska in 1788. Martinez's colleague, Eustrate Delarov, the factor at Three Saints Harbor on Kodiak Island, entertained Lopez de Haro and Billings.
Materials and supplies were taken by land across the peninsula to finish the repairs and prepare for the voyage. Krenitsyn was to command the Sv. Ekaterina, while Levashev took charge of the Sv. Pavel. The ships were finally able to sail on 21 July 1768 but soon separated in thick fog. Krenitsyn passed Beringa Island and reached Siguam Island on 14 August. On the 20th, he passed between Umnak and Unalaska Island and sailed on passed the north coast of Unimak and the start of the Alaska Peninsula. Krenitsyn decided to spend the winter in the region and anchored in St. Catherine Bay on Unimak. The Russians were desparately short of food and feared attack by the local Aleut people. Scurvy set in and many men died so that from a starting crew of 72 men, Krenitsyn only had 12 fit men left in April 1769. He was fearful of attack.
Meanwhile, Levashev had followed a similar route to Krenitsyn and spent the winter in Captain's Bay on Unalaska. Levashev had not been harrassed by Aleuts and produced a detailed description of the local people. He also produced a chart of the area. In June 1769, he sailed east and was reunited with Krenitsyn. They left Unimak together on 23 June and sailed for Kamchatka. They were separated again on 5 September but both ships made it to Nizhnekamchatsk. Krenitsyn drowned in the Kamchatka River in June 1770.
The expedition, largely, had been a failure. It had returned with some charts and desriptions of Aleuts and Unalaska. However, it had lost many men and had not discovered anything that the promyshlenniks had not seen already.
Efforts then switched to Okhotsk. Billings was ready to begin again in September 1789 with two ships. However, the Dobroe Namerenie was wrecked as they sailed from Okhotsk on the 8th. Billings took command of the Slava Rossii and departed from Okhotsk on 19 September, heading for Unalaska. Another ship, the Chernyi Orel, left on another expedition. The Slava Rossii sailed round to Avacha Bay where Billings and Sarychev decided to spend the winter.
On 9 May 1790, Billings left Avacha Bay and sailed east to reach Amchitka Island, one of the Rat Islands in the Western Aleutians on the 29th. Two days later, they were off Unalaska Island and encountered Stepan Cherepanov, a cossak, who led them to a safe anchorage in Bobrovoi Bay. The Russians spent two weeks there and performed scientific work ashore. They sailed on 17 June and passed the Shumagin and Semidi Islands, reaching Three Saints Harbor where they met Eustrate Delarov, the factor. They heard about the presence of the Spanish expedition commanded by Salvador Fidalgo in the area and moved north toward Cook Inlet. Billings was keen to meet Fidalgo and sent messages suggesting a meeting.
Billings tacked off Afognak Island for three days waiting for Fidalgo but he had chosen to ignore the invitation and had sailed south. In August, the Russians sailed on to Prince William Sound where they landed on Montague Island. Local Chugach people complained to Billings about the treatment they received from the Russian hubters. Billings then decided to return to Kamchatka and, after a passage slowed by storms, he reached Avacha Bay on 14 October 1790.
In 1792, a third stage to the Billings-Sarychev expeditions took place. Billings sailed to Unalaska but, instead of continuing on to Cook Inlet, he went to Bering Strait. There he handed over command of the Slava Rossii to Sarychev while he led a party overland through Chukchi territory to Kolmya. Sarychev returned to Unalaska where he prepared charts and stayed until early 1793. He returned to Petropavlosk on 21 June and met the British fur trader, Charles Barkley, who was ther in his ship Halcyon. Sarychev produced a composite chart of the North Pacific showing all the information gathered by the Russians and James Cook in the previous 60 years.