Alaska is a peninsula that is characterized by a cold climate. Summer is very short, but there are quite warm days. Winter periods are characterized by very severe frosts. But this does not frighten the Aleuts and Eskimos, as well as the Indians of the Apataska, Hyde and Tinklit tribe , living long ago on this earth. Alaska is an insanely beautiful place. There are clear lakes with cold water, long rivers, snow-capped mountains of amazing beauty, endless fields and tundra. It was such landscapes that opened before the first explorers, who very decisively moved inland into the peninsula. So who is Alaska open to?
Main version
There is a basic version of the discovery of Alaska and who first stepped on it, but there are other numerous options. However, confirmation to other versions does not exist.
So who is Alaska open to? Vitus Bering Jonassen is a famous sailor, an officer of the Russian fleet, who was born on August 12, 1681 in Denmark, but his soul always belonged to Russia. It is he who is considered the discoverer of Alaska. In 1741, the famous navigator discovered and charted a peninsula located in North America. This place was given the name Alaska. It is worth noting that thirteen years before that he could not see the peninsula due to heavy fog. This discovery did not bring much joy to Bering. Scurvy very soon brought the discoverer to the grave. It happened on December 19, 1741 on the islands that he discovered, which were later named in his honor.
Since Alaska was discovered back in 1741, today three maps are known to historians. They were made back in the 60s of the XVI century. Maps show all the details and details of the coast of Alaska, as well as the Bering Strait, formerly called Anian.
First expeditions
Answering the question of who opened Alaska, it should be noted that in 1648 an expedition led by Semyon Dezhnev and Fedor Popov set off on his journey from the mouth of the Kolyma. They sailed through the Bering Strait. However, whether they visited Alaska or not, is unknown.
On the study of lands adjacent to America, Peter the Great thought . This happened in the year of his death (1725). He wrote instructions to Vitus Bering with the task of sailing to Kamchatka, building several ships, sailing them along the strait in the direction to the North and finding the place where Kamchatka adjoins the American coast. In addition, the navigator had to draw a map of the area. But, unfortunately, the first expedition was unsuccessful. Due to heavy fogs, Bering could not make out anything.
Speaking about who discovered Alaska, it is also worth noting that another expedition led by surveyor Mikhail Gvozdev and navigator's assistant Ivan Fedorov sailed in this direction on the ship "St. Gabriel" in 1732. On August 21, mariners approached western Alaska. On modern maps, this is the Cape of the Prince of Wales. But strong waves prevented them from stepping ashore.
The second attempt to study the land
A year later, the Russian government instructed Bering to go on a second Kamchatka expedition. In 1734, he arrived in Yakutsk, where for many years he had been stocking up supplies for a future campaign and had discussions with local bureaucrats, because you could not do without them. At that time in Russia, in order to start something, it was necessary for all important people to give a bribe. But Bering, the man who lived in the country for so long, did not learn this. Or just didn’t want to.
Only in 1740, on two packet boats under the leadership of commander Alexei Chirikov, the expedition sailed from Okhotsk to the Avacha Bay area, where it spent the winter. The discovery of Alaska by the Russians would never have happened if Bering had not looked for the mythical land of Gama. Here is a coincidence.
What attracted the peninsula?
What does the history of Alaska contain? June 4, 1742 two ships headed toward America. But again, the fog, together with a strong storm, complicated the situation. And on June 20, the ships scattered in different directions and got lost. After that, they continued swimming one by one. Many people think that the botanist Georg Steller was the first to enter the land of Alaska from this expedition. And one day later, on June 16, 1741, the lands of the peninsula were also seen from St. Peter's. Returning from this research expedition to Russia, people on the ship spoke about sea beavers living in coastal waters of Alaska - sea otters. Their fur is of very good quality. Then it was considered the most expensive material in the world. It was he who contributed to the fact that the history of Alaska became known to many of those who wanted to get rich.
Also, gold was discovered on the peninsula. After this find, the gold rush began. It lasted from 1896 to 1897. It was at this time that gold was also found on Klondike, in the Canadian territory of Yukon. Hoping to get rich quick, thousands of prospectors headed for the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
The loss of several sailors
The first boat to sail the peninsula was St. Paul, led by Chirikov. But because of the shallow water, the discovery of Alaska never took place. The captain sent one boat with those who wanted it, but they disappeared without a trace. After a little thought, he came to the conclusion that the boat was simply damaged. Accordingly, another boat was sent. In the group sent a caulk master. But, unfortunately, this group also disappeared without a trace. In total, Chirikov lost five people. Being completely bewildered and unknown, the officers of “St. Paul” at the meeting decided to return home.
After some time, it turned out that the missing sailors were captured by local residents. They were alive. Many of them even married foreigners. Subsequently, they were even given the opportunity to become Spaniards by adopting citizenship, but the sailors turned out to proudly declare that they were Russian.
Failures haunted mariners everywhere
The ship "St. Peter" reached Alaska on June 6, but the sick Bering could not go ashore because of his ailment. And the way back turned out to be very difficult. The sailors were dying one by one from scurvy. The storm brought the ship to the bay of one of the islands, where they came to the conclusion that it was necessary to stay for the winter. Here their commander died (December 6).
Waiting for the winter, sailors from what remained of the ship "St. Peter", built a new ship. But out of 75 people, only 35 survived. Many died during the voyage, and some during the winter. Therefore, only 35 people reached the coast of Kamchatka.
So who was the first to descend on the peninsula?
But in the West they are sure that the discovery of Alaska happened under the direction of Steller. It is believed that he was the first to see islands of incredible beauty and snow-capped mountains. After that, he had a desire to continue his research directly on the peninsula. But the ship's captain V. Bering was planning a completely different thing. He ordered to come back. Steller was unhappy with this decision and insisted that Bering give him at least a few hours in order to explore the Kayak Island, where the ship had to stop to replenish water supplies.
New versions
There is also a version that Europeans discovered Alaska. They visited the state on August 21 in 1732. We are talking about the composition of the bot “Saint Gabriel” under the guidance of the surveyor M. S Gvozdev and sub-navigator I. Fedotov on the expedition of A. F Shestakov and D. I. Pavlutsky. Swimming lasted from 1729 to 1735. In addition, there is also information about the arrival of Russian people in America in the 17th century.
There is another version of scientists that says that the discoverers of Alaska were Siberian hunters - the ancestors of most native American Indians who went north in the Ice Age, hunting for mammoths. Ancient inhabitants moved to the American continent through the Bering Strait. In those days, it looked like a large ice bridge that was located between two continents. When there was a warming, in the oceans the water level rose significantly, flooding the bridge. Siberia and Russian Alaska were separated by the Bering Sea.
A lot of excavations and studies on the peninsula yielded results: scientists found many objects that people used to manage their farm about 12 thousand years ago, several centuries before the end of the Ice Age. From this it follows that the Eskimo peoples appeared six thousand years before our era.
What was going on in Alaska?
The next two centuries, Russian Alaska acted as a place for furs. Settlements were built, and in many places unusual churches still exist, which were created by Aleuts and Indians under the command of Russian missionaries. Subsequently, the coast of Alaska was visited by sailors of Spain, France, as well as Great Britain. But only Russian people sailed to the peninsula in order to obtain fur, which was subsequently delivered in very large quantities to Europe. After a certain period of time, the number of animals with valuable fur became much smaller. By 1820, the Russians almost did not come to the coast of Alaska.
How was the peninsula sold?
The main hypotheses regarding how Alaska was discovered were outlined above. The history of its sale should also be briefly highlighted. The Russian government was afraid that the peninsula would be captured either by England or America. In addition, it was not possible to completely secure from this possession. This is the first reason that served as the reason for the sale of the island. The second reason was that it was necessary to support the development of a large territory with the help of money. But the government decided to devote all its attention to the Far East, and not Alaska. Therefore, it was decided to sell the peninsula. In 1867, Alaska was sold. The state officially became part of America on October 18.
It should be noted that the money for it did not reach Russia. The bulk of the money in the form of gold was loaded onto a ship that sank for unknown reasons after a failed attempt to capture by the conspirators. However, this did not affect the final result of the transaction. The peninsula became part of the United States. Alaska no longer belonged to Russia.