Historical Settlement: The First Alaskans, Russian America
Before the arrival of the Europeans, Alaska was diverse in population. Different native groups spanned across the entire state of Alaska (Figure 1). Researchers debate just how many migrations took place, but agree that the settlements of the past are not different from the larger Alaska Native villages present today.
Settlements prior to European contact were strategically built. Most villages were located in the coastal regions or along the rivers found in the interior of Alaska. Many groups lived semi nomadic lifestyles that stayed in one spot during the winter and traversed great distances to hunt and fish during the summer. Approximately 80,000 people lived in Alaska when the Europeans arrived in the mid-1700s.
Settlements prior to European contact were strategically built. Most villages were located in the coastal regions or along the rivers found in the interior of Alaska. Many groups lived semi nomadic lifestyles that stayed in one spot during the winter and traversed great distances to hunt and fish during the summer. Approximately 80,000 people lived in Alaska when the Europeans arrived in the mid-1700s.
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The first Europeans into Alaska was the voyage of Danish explorer Vitus Bering in 1741, sent by the tsar of Russia. After Vitus, the Spanish and English began to make an appearance. However, by the time other European nations reached Alaska, the Russians had already claimed most of the lands who had come in search of furs and bringing the Russian Orthodox Church with them. The Russians also brought disease that devastated the indigenous populations. As a result the native population staggered to an estimated 11,000 people by 1863.
During the 1860's, Russia began looking for buyers interested in buying Alaska. The Russian colony that thrived on fur trade had collapsed. Russia no longer had any interest in Alaska and saw interest in the United States and Great Britain. Because Great Britain was an imperial rival in Asia and an opponent in the Crimean War, the tsar made a deal with the United States who shared good relations. On March 30, 1867 the United States bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million ( 2 cents an acre). |
Settlement of Anchorage:
The settlement of Anchorage began in the early 1900s. It began as a tent city names Ship Creek in 1914 and later turned into a town site. Anchorage mainly served as a construction port for the Alaska Engineering Commission that was heading the construction of the Alaska Railroad. This railroad would later be of great importance as the city's economy in the 1920s and the 1930s centered on the railroad. The railroad extended from the south of Alaska in Seward and reached all the way to the North in Fairbanks.
With the advancements of air transportations, Anchorage began to grown between the 1930s and the 1950s. As air traffic increased Anchorage dedicated an area as a landing strip which would later become the Anchorage International Airport in 1951. It also became a srategic location for the military who built Elmendorf Air Foce Base and Fort Richardson in the 1940s and served as the city's primary economic engine until the focus shifted to the oil industry in 1968. In 1975, the City of Anchorage and other communities such as Eagle River, Girdwood, Glen Alps, and others merged into the geographically larger Municipality of Anchorage. Now a municipality, anchorage continued to grow in the 1980s where the oil industry remained strong and beautification campaigns began to preserve Alaska's wilderness. |
Works Cited
Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Anchorage,_Alaska http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchorage,_Alaska#History Sandberg, Eric. "A History of Alaska Population Settlement." Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (2013): 4-19. Print. Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY9E2lo2jpQ |
Pictures and Maps:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchorage,_Alaska#mediaviewer/File:Anchorage,_Alaska,_May_1,_1916_LCCN2007661315.tif http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchorage,_Alaska#mediaviewer/File:Anchorage_at_night.jpg Sandberg, Eric. "A History of Alaska Population Settlement." Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (2013): 4-19. Print. |