Strange Shores: A Russian America TLIAW

With the recent spate of TLIADs I could jump in as well. As a partisan for my home region of the Pacific Northwest (the portion in Yanquistan), I settled on a longer lasting Russian America. This TL was made specifically so that others may imitate or copy it to allow for generally more plausible depictions of Russian expansion in North America. At least compared to scenarios where such Imperial overreach is done solely “for the lulz.” Hopefully this story isn't terribly bad...

Bibliography:
I feel obliged to copy my friend (or asshole that I tolerate, a distinction hard to make ) Kaisermuffin in making this list. Perhaps it could be a trend on this forum to specifically make sources read for a TL. Then again, reading a website that has minimal control over its content is more appealing to those less interested in the (sometimes) serious historical discussions on this site. The following have been utilised by me to both write this shit story and make some Wikipedia articles more shit:

P. A. Tikhmenev A History of the Russia-American Company.
This is the grandaddy of scholarship on the Russian colonization of North America, written before the sale of Alaska! The Russian Civil War destroyed some of the archival content used in this book, making the still go to source for historians. There are minor errors, but nothing terribly egregious.

Richard Pierce Russian America: A Biographical Dictionary.
Exactly what it says on the tin, a bulky book covering many, many dead people in the region. Thankfully this isn't only about Russians, giving pages to American and British merchants along with some Indigenous political figures.

James Gibson Imperial Russia in Frontier America.
Gibson effectively covers the Russian exploitation of the fur trade, and continual difficulty in maintaining a secure source of supplies for its distant posts. If people keen on spreading the Tsardom across North America read this book, so many the regional flavored Russowanks would vanish.

Lydia Black Russians in Alaska, 1732-1867.
If none of the above sound appealing, I'd recommend Black's work. It makes good use of the works by Tikhmenev and Pierce, and unlike the former two, paints a more vibrant picture of this time period in North America.

John Galbraith The Hudson's Bay Company as an Imperial Factor, 1821 – 1869.
Still the corner stone for any discussion about everyone's second favorite British monopoly. Sorry HBC but the BEIC had the best spree of conquest among British monopolies.

James Gibson Farming the Frontier, the Agricultural Opening of the Oregon Country 1786-1846.
Meaty with factual information, yet a fast read, it's a comprehensive revision against over a century of unwarranted silence about British pioneer farming.

Tom Koppel Kanaka, the Untold Story of Hawaiian Pioneers in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.
An introduction to a topic seldom discussed at length outside of a college thesis or two, Polynesian laborers in North America.

Richard Dillion Fool's Gold, the Decline and Fall of Captain John Sutter of California.
Another “old book that remains a standard”, used mostly for the sketches of Californio personalities.

Chapter 1: Where bloated salmon rot

….Famous for their trading prowess, the Chinookan peoples were divided by individual villages along the Oregon River.[1] Their trade pidgen Chinook Wawa likely existed prior to contact with Europeans, and use was later encouraged across Chinukiya[2] by Russian officials. Chinooks were at the forefront of the fur trade, controlling the interior trade routes not easily accessible to European or New Englander maritime merchants. When the American exploration party famously led by Lewis and Clark wintered near the Pacific Ocean, they received the material support of the local Clatsop Chinook chieftain, Coboway.[3] It was through Coboway's diplomatic skills that encouraged temperate exchanges between the Russians and Americans when the Juno entered the Oregon River in late March 1806.[4] Nikolai Rezanov, the de facto manager of the Russian-American Company, was keen on exploring the river for a potential agricultural colony and was upset to see the small American Fort Clatsop. After curt exchanges, hampered by a lack of a common language, the Russians departed to further examine the river.


Reaching as far the Wallamette River[5], the Russians faced scant provisions and traded heavily with neighboring Clackamas Chinooks. The Clackamas merchants gave accounts of the valley that the river drained from, inhabited by the Kalapuyan peoples, declaring it was home to extensive camas[6] fields, which the Russians took note of for later exploration. Satisfied with the general conditions of Chinukiya, the Juno began its journey south for Alta California. Before leaving the region, Rezanov ordered that a trading establishment be created on the southern bank of the Oregon River, near its mouth. A RAC officer was left in charge over a quarter of the Juno's crew, 10 promyshlenniki, and began work with the support of the neighboring Clatsop.

While moored at Monterrey, the colonial capital of Alta California, Rezanov began a romance with the Governor's daughter, Concepción Argüello. The couple sent ripples through the small Spanish settlements with an announcement of their marriage, though the Russians departed after securing a cargo of sorely needed wheat. After a two month absence, the Juno observed the new RAC station on the Oregon River, which with a touch of imperial grandeur Rezanov christened Novgorod-na-Oregone.[7] Russian Imperialism in the Americas was now set to expand south across Chinukiya, with decreasing focus on Alyaska.[8]


After concluding his tour of the Russian trading stations in the New World, Rezanov sailed across the Northern Pacific to travel overland across Siberia. At the time the primary Russian Pacific port was Okhotsk, where a RAC establishment was maintained. There was a tenuous connection to Yakutsk though an awful trail that covered 600 miles of fly infested rivers and broken terrain. The RAC employed Yakut pack drivers to deliver shipments between the two settlements, which incurred exorbitant expenses. Rezanov gathered intelligence while in the region, and later pushed for the Company to reoccupy the nearby Ayan to cut costs.[9] Ayan would remain the primary Pacific station of the Company until the creation of Konstantinovsky in 1841.

Upon returning to the Imperial court in 1808, Rezanov found a scene of intense politicking with the ongoing turmoil in Europe. The Treaties of Tilsit and Fontainebleau made Russian and Spain allies to France, relations left in doubt after Emperor Napoleon's death late in 1807.[10] Yet both nations found some benefit in keeping these relations maintained for several years. The official opening trade between the Russian-American Company and Alta California had been a project among company directors for years. With Rezanov's first hand reports that likely painted too bright of a picture, it only incensed officials even more. By 1809 Charles IV of Spain had agreed to the proposal from Russian diplomats, and by 1811 RACs were consistently visiting the ports of Monterrey and San Diego.[11]

Another pet project of Rezanov was gaining colonists for North America, though during his life only lackluster results ensued. The period of peace that began under Joseph I's reign allowed for new avenues and proposals to receive more attention by the Emperor. Minister of Finance Golubtsov was during 1808 airing a plan to promote allowing anyone interested in moving to the distant shore at the Empire's expense. This was viewed with hostility by all other Imperial Ministers as too exorbitant. Reports by Rezanov of “American Agents” surveying the Oregon River and “potentially our Possessions” were nothing more than a distorted account of Lewis & Clark. Yet such news changed the moods of several ministers, concerned more with maintaining Imperial dignity than minor trading outposts. With the Tsar's approval 170 exiles were sent aboard the annual shipment from Kronstadt to the New World to create farming settlements.

Footnotes: (Almost as long as the chapter.)
1 – The Columbia River, Oregon being the historical alternative in the Anglosphere. Awfully creative of me huh?
2 – A hopefully correct transliteration for Chinook [land]. ITTL it is corresponding to lands north of Alta California, west of the Rockies and south of the Fraser River.
3 – This important detail isn't even on the radar of the mountain of books focused on nigh solely the two white guys. Why the footnote? Because I fucking hate narratives that undermind the contributions of the many Indigenous peoples.
4 – The POD of course. OTL several attempts were made and failed, Rezanov then went to Alta California and began his short but famous romance with Concepción Argüello only die shortly after entering Siberia.
5 – The slightly more accurate spelling based off of the name of a Clackamas village. The Americans favored Willamette, which I find a boring place name.
6 – A kick ass root plant that was a principal component to regional native diet.
7 – If it isn't clear Novgorod is built around where Astoria was OTL.
8 – The coastline north of the Fraser River.
9 – Done several decades eariler due to Rezanov not dying in Siberia.
10 – Napoleon had a major (indirect) hand at crippling Russian colonisation efforts. Sorry if this is too directly controlled for anyone, but it makes matters a lot easier, as I'll show.
11 – This was an objective of the RAC, hampered entirely by the Peninsular War and later the Fort Ross settlement.

This looks awesome dude, a Russian PNW sounds really interesting, and what you have set up so far is some cool stuff. Eagerly awaiting more

I wonder just how many people the Russians can get over there in a few decades? The POD is far back enough that the US's expansion toward the area may even be delayed vis-a-vis OTL, though I can still imagine its difficult to get Russians there. Even if the area is greatly more promising for settlement than Siberia.

May I suggest Chinuksky Krai, perhaps?

And will we see my favorite colonial forts- the Russian forts in Kauai?

Meanwhile in less cool places

Chapter 2 Meanwhile in less cool places haha puns

Ascending the French throne late in 1807 was Napoleon's eldest brother Joseph, though much of the military and political affairs were controlled by men like Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte and Charles Talleyrand. Emperor Joseph, derided as “le petit Empereur”, led the Empire fair less proactively than his deceased brother, yet he sanctioned a foreign policy that was far less aggressive. Talleyrand kept a continual influence over Joseph and was often considered the power behind the throne. French relations with Spain were kept cordial and Charles IV received support against a revolt led by his son Ferdinand in May 1808.[1] While long pining for seizing southern Portugal, Charles faced continued domestic issues and luke warm responses from Paris.

Wars continued to erupt across Europe yet by 1811 a lasting peace was declared. Many of the polities created by Napoleon were erased, yet his accomplishment of seizing the western bank of the Rhine remained. Additionally Murat and Jerome kept their thrones of Naples and Westphalia. The last significant Napoleonic state to maintain any cohesiveness was the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. The state was put under heavy Russian influence with corps of advisers to the new King of Poland, the youngest brother of Tsar Alexander, Michael, who converted to Catholicism. Important for Russian shipping was the Polish possession of Danzig and the eastern portion of Ducal Prussia.[2]

....

With the end of war against the British, the Spanish began an amphibious overhauling of their American Empire. A plethora of decrees were issued, including the opening of colonial ports to non-Spanish merchants, rapidly exploited by the British, Americans and French. Four separate Kingdoms were created in the Americas in 1815, two with separate Bourbon Monarchs.[3] The disgraced Ferdinand was sent to La Plata and Leopold, a Sicilian nephew to Charles IV, was sent to New Granada. Ferdinand's reactionary governance has been appraised as the primary reason for the establishment of the United Provinces and perhaps unfairly the rise of Republicanism in Latin America in general. The more prosperous Kingdoms of Anahuac[3] and Peru were given organic laws that amounted to a constitution and administrative independence. Charles was maintained monarch over both domains with considerable executive power in the form of viceroys.

Footnotes:

1 – Broad strokes, sorry if the preceding paragraph is implausible and too vague. In my defense, Europe isn't the focus of this TL. :b
2 – Charles had toyed with the idea in 1806, but nothing came from it.
3 – Rule of cool.

Arkhangelsk said:

This looks awesome dude, a Russian PNW sounds really interesting, and what you have set up so far is some cool stuff. Eagerly awaiting more

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It's only cool because the PNW is, at least compared to your sunny California.

Nassirisimo said:

I wonder just how many people the Russians can get over there in a few decades? The POD is far back enough that the US's expansion toward the area may even be delayed vis-a-vis OTL, though I can still imagine its difficult to get Russians there. Even if the area is greatly more promising for settlement than Siberia.

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But what if the US balkanises? Ooppps. Colonisation in the PNW is most important to plant the flag, firmly. More so than sending in tens of thousands of colonists, which seems to be an odd fetish of AH.com

Tsar Gringo said:

May I suggest Chinuksky Krai, perhaps?

And will we see my favorite colonial forts- the Russian forts in Kauai?

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I very much got the term from a non-native Russian speaker, but it is meant to be a region, not a political division. Chinuksky does appear more accurate though, thanks! Those Russian forts have been an eventual target of my editing on Wikipedia, the Schaffer affair was "fun" enough. There's a great book on the fort, "Hawaii's Russian adventure" which is heinously barely used on the relevant articles. I cannot wait to own a copy! Relations with the Hawaiian Kingdom will be covered next.

Excellent start.

Chapter 3: Skin O' my teeth

The Imperial administration over Russian America throughout the Napoleonic Wars[1] was somewhat schizophrenic. Since its foundation in 1799, the Russian-American Company officially operated by laws decreed in Siberia. Such decrees were put into force by the judgment of local Russian-American Company officials, leaving certain regions relatively untouched for years. When Rezanov returned to Russian America on a second tour in 1810, he was upset to find many of his earlier directives only partially implemented. Chief Manager Alexander Baranov had faced difficulties in quelling continual rebellions of Tlignit, acquiring their firearms from New Englander merchants in return for furs. Colonists dispatched to New Arkhangelsk then numbering a litter under 300, and were across scattered Alyaskan stations, including a small number moved to Urup in the Kurile Islands. Baranov had argued that creating agricultural stations along the Oregon River would only break the already dispersed company. The colonists were need to compensate the distant posts staffed with only often ignorant promyshlenniki and Aleut creoles.


Unfortunately for Baranov's career, Rezanov didn't agree with his reasoning and promptly removed him from office. In his stead was a Russian Naval officer was appointed, a trend to be continued until late in the 19th century. Called the "Prussian Governor" for his strict administration and refusing to be seen in anything but his officer's uniform, Captain-Lieutenant Vasily Golovnin proved to be much proactive in pursuing Rezanov's goals. During his tenure legislation emanating from Siberia was applied with vigor. In 1810 the RAC maintained only three posts in the region. The original Novgorod-na-Oregone was never expanded due to difficulty in clearing the eternally present forest, already beginning to languish in importance. Opened at Vapata Falls[3], the Vapata Reboubt to become a critical center of salted salmon, though at the time it was still focused on trading for furs with the Upper Chinookan peoples. The last station was Sahaptia, opened at the forks of the Oregon and Shoshone[4] Rivers in 1809. The officer in charge there during the next year had the unpleasant news of famed explorer David Thompson representing the North West Company arriving with enough men to compete with the RAC.


News of the NWC employees appearing in force shattered Rezanov's honeymoon with Concepción. He was forced to leave the balmy summer sun for the cloudy and tormenting weather of the north, though his wife joined him. Suddenly facing the unfavorable possibility of protracted competition with the Canadians, Rezanov coordinated an extensive response with Governor[5] Golovnin. The Wallamettte Valley had been previously explored by Russians traders based out of Vapata Redoubt, finding the agriculture pristine. Removing the difficulty of provisions would greatly reduce expenses and allow the company to better counter the NWC. Golovnin organised most of the colonists, amounting to 240 Russians, along with 90 Alyaskan Creoles and 20 Aleutians, and shipped them south to the Wallamette Valley in early 1811. Two settlements were created, both in open prairies. Initially the larger of the two, Shmpuksk[6], quickly became thriving with fields of golden wheat. Tualatin was built on a tributary of the Wallamette River of the same name. Despite being recruited to eventually be farmers, RAC officers exasperatedly noted that the majority of the colonists were mediocre at tilling the soil. The few Aleuts sent with them were of minimal help, and were reappointed to the otter hunts in California.


Satisfied with Golovnin's talents at directing company affairs Rezanov returned to Monterrey. As other historical works have noted, the city received a consul well before any other city in the Anahuac Kingdom. In fact it wasn't until three years after Monterrey did Mexico City get an officially appointed Russian ambassador. The opening of Californian ports to (non-Russian) merchants saw much of the pastoral products like tallow purchased by New Englander and British ships offering better rates than the Russians. Small wheat shipments could be procured through the Missions[6] until the Gold Rush. The focus of Rezanov's second visit to the Golden Coast was mostly on purchasing much needed farming implements and farm animals. Additionally the Russian noble spent much time ingratiating himself into the tight knit social web of Alta California. While he wasn't accepted by many nobles, his gestures of generosity and performances of an Aleut choir did draw the attention of many. Returning to the Oregon River and later New Arkhangelsk, he received even more distressing news; American employees of John Jacob Astor visited all three RAC posts along the River during the Winter.

Chinukiya was now a region with three white fur trading companies vying for control of the massive beaver populations. The RAC was the most entrenched, yet it was already overextended and faced incredible difficulties in its supply convoys. The NWC also had prolonged distances to cover to access its supply base, but its advantage was that it was overland across the Great Prairies. The Americans organized the American Fur Company had expected the talk of Russian establishments on the Oregon River to be tall talk and were crestfallen to find the important portions of it occupied by both Russians and Canadians. The Scottish officers of the PFC determined that the area of earlier controversy between British and Spanish merchants, Vancouver Island, was their best bet. The Island was for decades continuously visited by New Englander and British captains independently operating of each other. Yet the PFC was able to create several posts on the Island and on the adjacent mainland within a year. The Americans had a promising commercial future despite the unpleasant weather and maritime competition. With the outbreak of war between the United States and the United Kingdom during 1812, colloquially in the American nations as "The Bloody War",[8] the majority of these vessels were absent the following year. This raised the hopes of the PFC staff, until news of the Secession of New England and the siege of New York reached the distant shore. Finding themselves without any chance of supplies, the company officers determined to sell the assets to either the NWC or RAC. Governor Golovnin offered better terms, including the majority of the staff being retained at a single condensed post on Vancouver Island rechristened as Saint Andrei Redoubt...

Footnotes:
1 – Did I mention I'm not creative with making up terms?
2 – Bill Holm, 1991
3 – Wapato Falls, OTL "the Dalles"
4 – Snake River, again just grinding my axe for poor placenames
5 – So far in my reading there isn't a clear period when the head RAC officer in Russian America was called Governor. It was likely that the office remained officially "Chief Manager."
6 – Champoeg
7 – Having an officially Catholic government means the Missions continue to receive state patronage.
8 – Really not creative at all.

I'm loving this so far. How far will the balkanization of the US proceed? Also, no mass-migration to Chinuksky? Interesting...

Keep up the good work, you bitch

First of all let me say that so far your TL looks extremely well-thought and researched and fascinating to read. Being a Russian myself it is always interesting to read TL about Alaska and so far yours is one of the very few realistically looking ones without Russian population appearing from nowhere and settling the whole region.


Am I right to assume that your goal is to create a Russian America that owns large parts of NW America West of Rockies but does not own California? If so I can only applaud to your wise choice – such a region is important enough and economically self sufficient enough for Russia desiring and having ability to retain it, but does not have Californian riches that make it an immediate target of all the powers that have influence in the region.


So far I don’t really have any critique on the plot of your TL. However being a Russian speaker I have a few remarks on the naming.
First of all what you spell as “New Archangel” should be spelled “New Arkhangelsk” or “Novij Arkhangelsk” if you want to completely emulate the actual Russian pronunciation as the port is named after town Arkhangelsk in Northern Russia.



Secondly the spelling “Alyeska” does not correctly represent the actual Russian pronunciation. Actually OTL “Alaska” is much closer but the best corresponding one would be “Alyaska”.


Thirdly “Kappato” does not look like more Russian than “Wappato”. Actually “Wappato” does not look that bad but if you want to russify it “Vapata” or “Vapatov” look much better (Russian sound «в» is actually somewhere in the middle of English “V” and “W” but is almost always transliterated as “V”; “a” or “ov” ending look much better ending than “o” in the context ).


Forthly in Russian naming tradition unlike English the name of already existing town is almost never copied in other place without some additional modifiers. So if Rezanov wants to name the town after Novgorod he will chose “New Novgorod”(or “Novij Novgorod” in complete transliteration), “Novgorod Zamorskij” (meaning Nongorod over sees) , “Novgorod Amerikanskij”(meaning American Novgorod), “Novgorod Chunukskij” (Novgorod in the land or Chinook), “Novgorod on Oregon” (“Novgorod-na-Oregone”) or some other variant in the same model.


And last but not least “sky” (or ‘’skij’ as it is less widespread but closer to actual Russian pronunciation) is an ending of adjective (and surname) in Russian and Russian adjectives are almost never used out of noun groups in written language (in oral nouns can be ellipted but still implied). So without any noun controlling it “sky” ending looks very unnatural in toponyms. So while “Chinuksky Krai”( “krai” means land or area) looks good “Chinuksky” without noun does not. If you want one word for “the land of Chinooks” you should probably pick “Chinukiya (like “Yakutia” the land of Yakuts “Khakasiya” the land of Khakas etc). Similarly to this “Konstantinovsky” and “Shampuksky” should either or “Konstantinovsk” and “Shmpuksk”(this is the most frequent model of naming town) or have some sort of noun in the name like “Konstantinovsky Fort”, “Konstantinovkij Port”, “Konstantinonvky Post”, “Konstantinovky Gorodok” etc.


I’m sorry for such a minor pins, otherwise your TL looks perfect so far.

So I feel asleep after my post and just woke up. Maybe ya'll may find it cheating, but I am not counting that time against myself. It doesn't help matters I can't fucking type fast. The next chapter will be up soon enough covering briefly Hawaii and of course those blasted British fur traders.

Soverihn said:

Excellent start.

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Thanks Sov.

EvolvedSaurian said:

I'm loving this so far. How far will the balkanization of the US proceed? Also, no mass-migration to Chinuksky? Interesting...

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I'm leaving that intentionally vague, simply because I'm lazy as fuck! There will be increasing Russian migrations, but late in the 19th century. That doesn't mean other ethnic groups wont be moved there in force somewhat loyal to the crown.

Kaisermuffin said:

Keep up the good work, you bitch

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I think you're lying cause this is boring!

Shnurre said:

Am I right to assume that your goal is to create a Russian America that owns large parts of NW America West of Rockies but does not own California?

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You hit that on the head.

However being a Russian speaker I have a few remarks on the naming.

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As I had said, all of my Russofication help came from a non-native speaker and websites (haha), this was really helpful! The only bit I'll defend is New Archangel, which English literature usually refers to the settlement as such. I prefer the transliteration though so I'll adopt it. I do really need help with thinking of terms for the mixed race offspring in the New World. OTL the term Creole is used, but as ITTL the Russians intermarry with Chinookan and later Saphatin peoples I want separate terms for offspring in either region (Chinukiya vs Alyaska).

Chapter 4: Stop Breakin' Down Blues

Strategically situated along like a string of jewels, the Hawaiian Kingdom was the critical Pacific station for European and New Englander merchants. Russian interest in the islands had been focused on food provisions and salt, though these needs were eventually supplemented by Chinukiya and Baja California respectively. It was a location of Rezanov's third Pacific tour, though food was of only secondary importance to the active official. Accompanying him was Naukane, a Hawaiian appointed by King Kamehameha I to oversee the Kanakas hired by the Pacific Fur Company. The Russians continued to employ the men, and found them to be impressive laborers, especially compared to the already rapidly declining Aleutians. Golovnin and Rezanov agreed that the RAC desperately needed a rapid increase in employees for the many posts that dotted the Pacific Ocean. The company was making record profits, though it still had a mostly ineffectual staff of promyshlenniki.

Returning to Russian America in 1816, it would prove to be Rezanov's final examination of the company's assets. Naukane quickly gained his ear through honeyed words, speaking of thousands Hawaiian recruits only waiting for the Russians to hire them. Several ships had recently sunk at the archipelago, and was the pretext for the weary official to sail south. The cargoes were easily regained yet meetings with Kamehameha continued. Seeing first hand the King's control of the noble aliʻi, and their own complete control of common Hawaiians, Rezanov had to converse with the king to secure official support of hiring additional Kanaka laborers. Naukane was reaffirmed as the official representative of the Hawaiian court in the Pacific Northwest during these talks. The price for each man made the Russian balked, and was only to secure minor adjustment to their annual contracts. 95 Kanakas were to spend three years under the RAC, though their contracts could be extended if they were interested. Before Rezanov could depart however, he became afflicted with a tropical fever and perspired soon afterward. A visionary statesman, surely Russian America lost much with his death. The arriving Kanakas were put to use across the RAC stations by Golovnin. A final directive from Rezanov called for a new "capital" of Russian America to be built along the Oregon River on a prairie opposite the Wallamette River mouth. Built up throughout 1817 by a mixed force of Hawaiians, Russians, Chinookans and even a few Aleutians, Sv. Nikolsk (Saint Nicholas) was fated to became integral taproot of Russian Imperialism.[1]


The termination of the prominent company official[2] was received with his final instructions to Governor Golovnin. Characteristically his orders called for another programme of company growth, this time to counter the NWC. Posts maintained by the NWC were located on the upper Oregon River and dominated the fur trade along the Shoshone River. In total they had five posts of varying importance on the margins of Chinukiya. The Canadian concern still had a far more powerful competitor to the east, their eternal rivals, the Hudson's Bay Company. Shortly before entering Chinukiya, negotiations between the two companies lead to an exchange of stock and an agreement for NWC freight to be shipped by HBC pack trains.[3] Yet the two outfits still brayed for blood. The NWC focused on establishing a rival settlement against the HBC Red River colony. With the collapse of the United States into squabbling polities after the Bloody War[4] the margins of claimed territory became the open prey of British subjects exploiting the regions for furs. The NWC made an agreement with John Jacob Astor's shattered American Fur Company to purchase its properties, with Astor becoming a company wintering partner. A settlement was built up at what became Duluth, where the AFC had a prominent station.[5]

Footnotes:
1 – Vancouver, Washington. From my reading of George Simpson's journal it was indeed the most promising spot along the lower Columbia River.
2 – I wont lie, I have yet to find a coherent title given to Rezanov in historical works, but he was effectively the head manager. If I knew his official title I'd have used it.
3 – Yes, another boring OTL deal that fell through for a variety of reasons.
4 – This is really awful term
5 – And so the NWC doesn't focus on the PNW, awfully convenient for the Russians.

I gave it some thought, and there is simply no way I can give the boring meaty details I wish to and complete this within a day. I'm going for a completion within a week. With any luck I wont bore everyone to death.

Chapter 5: Between the Hammer & the Anvil


As the Indigenous inhabitants of the Wallamette Valley, the Kalapuya peoples faced the gradual loss of their territorial sovereignty under Russian colonisation. Like the Chinookan peoples, the Kalapuya were divided politically along seasonally migrating villages. A diet composed of local fish, elk, deer, and several species of berries was the norm amongst the Wallamette nations. The camas root was an important trade item with Chinukiyans[1] both on the coast and further up the Oregon River. Indeed the root was often consumed across the region, with the valley being one of its larger areas of production. Like some neighboring peoples, the Kalapuya annually burnt forests to allow camas to grow in open fields. It is quite likely that many, if not all of the Wallamette prairies were created by this ongoing practice. Additionally the controlled fires made edible tarweed seeds collectible and kept grass lands available for elk grazing. Without the Kalapuyan systematically creating open prairies, the Russian-American Company would not have figured the Wallamette Valley worth any significance.


The traditional picture painted by Russian historians of a static people decimated by disease and the superior might of Slavic colonists is far from true. While the various bands amounted to conservatively estimated 3,000 people, upwards of 10,000 perhaps composed their cultural sphere.[2] When Russian colonists entered the valley, negotiations had to be held with political figures representing the areas for either planned settlements. Rather than seceding away their homelands forever, the village leaders merely acquiesced to Russian occupation of particular tracts of land. Access to adjacent fisheries and game was enshrined in this both agreements, showing a keen disposition by traditional leadership to maintain their privileges in changing times.

Contact with new diseases greatly reduced the number Chinukiyans along or near the Oregon River south of Vapata Falls, killing upwards 90% of the total population by the mid 1820s.[3] This hemorrhaging of people didn't completely halt the traditional trading networks, but severely weakened them. Chinookan and Kalapuyan men began to arrive at RAC posts hoping to find work. As the Oregon River posts were past their initial period of weak leadership and labor force, most were turned away. Farmers in the Wallamette were more receptive to hiring many of the men to expand their own tillage. Being in such a disadvantaged position, natives labored with little pay or food, barely subsisting above starvation with their families. As in previous decades among the Aleuts, the natives found their defender against Russian exploitation in the Orthodox Church. The Church had maintained several missions in Chinukiya for over a decade, though only the St. Alexander Nevsky church in St. Nikolsk continuously had a priest.


Priests acted as a shield against the excessive demands of particular farmers and officials. Legisilation in Siberia creating rodovye upraveleniya or “Clan directorates” was championed by the missionaries to give some autonomy for Chinookan and Kayapulan peoples suddenly facing immense population loss. Governor Matvey Muravyev found the scheme a practicable means of controlling intercourse between the indigenous and settlers through out the Lower Oregon River region. Established in 1825, the system made villagers completely dependent upon toyons or native nobility, who in turn formed dumas. Unlike the later Imperial Congress these dumas were not democratic, as membership was restricted to toyons. However the dumas were initially able to disseminate Russian decrees more effectively than Imperial officials. This was possible through a combination of modification of particular laws to be more acceptable to local conditions and Russian administrators not concerned over implementing a literal interpretation of the decrees.

Much like their Siberian counterparts, some Chinukiyan toyons took advantage of their new political positions and exploited their brethren. Visiting European and New Englander merchants criticised the system, with some Orthodox priests joining in the attacks. An Imperial delegation was sent in the 30s to investigate the allegations, its findings leading to a curtailment of the powers of toyons. Additionally the more egregious abusers were removed from the appointed office. Included in the new decrees, called the Regulations of 1836, were laws aimed at both forcing sedentary life styles upon Indigenous and appropriating all Indigenous lands as property of the state. Despite this many villagers, continued to maintain the seasonal migrations according to available. This wasn't to say the remaining natives weren't unaffected by their colonial overlords. For instance, many of the Kalapuyan women had intermarried among the valley's settlers, especially into the growing Polish community...

Footnote:
1 - All inclusive term for the regional natives.
2 - The content up till now is a shameless copy of this informative thesis on the Kalapuya people: Regional Archaeological Model of the Luckiamure Band Settlement Patterns

It is not boring. It's good. I like this a lot.

I get the sense 'Russian' America is actually going to be a very multicultural affair, what with the large Polish and other colonists. Could even become an outpost for persecuted ethnic and religious minorities from across the Empire looking for somewhere they can practice their languages freely.

ChazMo said:

I get the sense 'Russian' America is actually going to be a very multicultural affair, what with the large Polish and other colonists. Could even become an outpost for persecuted ethnic and religious minorities from across the Empire looking for somewhere they can practice their languages freely.

Click to expand...

In OTL Russia was very good in assimilating both local population and non-Russian migrants in Siberia. In 18th-19th centuries Poles and Lithuanians were a large part of non-native population of Siberia and there were also Germans, Dutch etc. However by XX century there were almost no remains of non-Russian speaking not native population (and most native population was assimilated as well). While TTL Chinukiya is more isolated from Russia than Siberia I would be very much surprised if Russian speaking population would not be definite majority by XXth century.

Ah but will it be like America, where you all remember the old country and the funny flag and you sing songs nobody remembers the tune for anymore and then you go home and the kids all speak Russian and don't have time for the old ways anymore.