Skip to main content

Questions tagged [alaska]

Questions related to Alaska, the 49th State, admitted to the U.S. in 1949, located in the northwest extremity of the continent of North America.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
53 votes
3 answers
13k views

Why did Britain not purchase Alaska when Russia had it up for sale?

One thing that comes up often when discussing "what-ifs" with family or friends is why the British government never nabbed Alaska when Russia had placed it up for sale and made it into Canada's fourth ...
canadiancreed's user avatar
37 votes
4 answers
12k views

Why did the population of Anchorage, Alaska, increase by so much in the 1970s?

Between 1970 and 1980, the population of Anchorage, Alaska, increased by more than 260%, around 130,000 people. What caused this? There had been previous increases of approximately the same in ...
Throsby's user avatar
  • 473
35 votes
6 answers
14k views

Has there ever been a major migration from the New World to the Old World? If not, why?

Considerable research has been done on the ancient migration of humans from Northeast Asia to the Americas. Between that and Columbus, there were a few smaller migration events from elsewhere in the ...
StarlightDown's user avatar
31 votes
2 answers
6k views

Were there ethnic Russians in Alaska when the US purchased it 1867? Did they stay?

How many ethnic Russians, or inhabitants with recent roots in Russia, were there in Alaska when US bought it? Were they hunters, farmers, traders? How many stayed and became Americans?
LocalFluff's user avatar
  • 1,327
12 votes
1 answer
989 views

Was it worthwhile for Britain to side with the USA in the Canada-Alaska border dispute?

In 1903 the Canada-Alaska border dispute was decided by a tribunal of 3 American members, 2 Canadian members, and 1 British member. The British member sided with the Americans with the stated goal of ...
Dale's user avatar
  • 4,430
12 votes
2 answers
445 views

Did the Tlingits benefit from resisting the Russians more than other Alaskan tribes?

The Russian-American Company had ongoing problems with the Tlingit (Kolosh) people living near its colonial headquarters. In other words, the Tlingits resisted incursion more effectively than other ...
user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
671 views

What's this flag flying on a fort at Kodiak, Alaska?

Naval captain Yuri Lisianskii drew a harbor scene in Alaska about 1805. It was engraved in England for an edition of his book. (High-res version) In the image, from left to right, there are flags ...
user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
306 views

When did Europeans make their first well-attested visit to mainland Alaska?

To my surprise, I could not find a straightforward answer to this question. When did Europeans first set foot in mainland Alaska? I could easily find that: Vitus Bering, a Dane of Russian allegiance, ...
Pertinax's user avatar
  • 324
8 votes
2 answers
270 views

Does any library hold the archives of the Russian-American Company?

I am researching Russian visits to Alta California during the Mexican War of Independence, which were mostly or all projects of the Russian-American Company. There is a collection of Company documents ...
user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
597 views

What is the full text of the song about the failed battle of Kiska?

I came across a mention of the song about the failed battle of Kiska in the audiobook "The Rising Sun". I started googling, but found only two mentions, both on Google Books. Is there the full text of ...
CopperKettle's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
274 views

Regional dominance of Sitka library

The Russian-American Company's directors were in St. Petersburg while its Chief Manager lived and worked in Sitka. The library there held "more than 1,200 books, valued at some 7,500 rubles. More than ...
user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
188 views

Which prayer did sailors in Russian America expect to hear?

Father Ioann Veniaminov (Saint Innocent) was a Russian Orthodox priest who ministered in Russian America. Leaving Sitka, he recorded the following in his journal: Tuesday, June 30, 1836. Having ...
user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
309 views

How many died during St. Lawrence Island 1878-1880 famine?

Do we have any accurate figures of deaths during the 1878-1880 St. Lawrence Island famine? Wikipedia states the population had been decimated, but attributes that to both deaths and migration. ...
user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
117 views

Which ships arrived at Novo-Arkhangelsk between 1810 and 1815?

The Russian-American Company's colonial headquarters were at Novo-Arkhangelsk, today's Sitka. Occasionally, supply ships from Russian ports to the west (Okhotsk, Petropavlovsk, Kodiak) would arrive. ...
user avatar