Larger/more included in the Alaska purchase?

[Ayoitsme]

Could the US have purchased anything else from Russia as well as Alaska at the time? Following the purchase there was very minor interest in Siberia however this never existed beforehand, so what could conceivably have been added?

 

[Super_Cool2]

Could the US have purchased anything else from Russia as well as Alaska at the time? Following the purchase there was very minor interest in Siberia however this never existed beforehand, so what could conceivably have been added?

I don't think the US would want a land border in Asia. The Bering Strait is a nice natural border for the territory. I think the US can probably buy some more islands surrounding Alaska with minimal PODs, like the Commander Islands, Wrangel Island (technically unclaimed in 1867, but the US could get confirmation it is theirs), and Big Diomede.

Russia also owned the Kuril Islands from Urup to Shumshu and a claim on Sakhalin that was shared with Japan in 1867. American whalers were actually very active in the area, so I could see some American interest in a purchase. However, the USA would be inheriting a disputed area with Japan that would be a turn off, especially after the civil war when the USA wanted to focus on internal affairs. Russia would gain Sakhalin for itself in exchange for the Kurils going to Japan in 1875.

 

[Deleted member 109224]

From Wikipedia's page on Chukotka

Chukotka remained mostly outside the control of the Russian Empire and consequently other foreign powers (American, British, Norwegian) began to hunt and trade in the area from about 1820 onwards. After the sale of Alaska to the United States, American whalers and traders especially extended their activities into Chukotka and foreign influence reached its peak. By 1880, the Russians reacted by setting up coastal patrols to stop American ships and confiscate their property. And in 1888, the administrative region of Anadyr was created. Yet Russian control diminished again and around 1900, a large stream of foreigners entered Chukotka, lured to the region by the Yukon gold rush in 1898.

In 1909, in order to keep the region within Russian control, two districts were created within the Anadyr Region: the districts of Anadyr and Chukotka. The Russian government granted concessions to foreign companies such as the Hudson's Bay Company and the US Northeast Siberia Company, which was granted gold, iron, and graphite mining rights in the entire Chukotka between 1902 and 1912.

Chukotka was so isolated that its possible the Russians might be interested in selling the place to the United States due to the difficulty in establishing control there.


Anglo-French forces besieged Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky during the Crimean War but didn't capture it. Perhaps if they had, the Russians might come to the conclusion that Kamchatka was too difficult to defend and thus better off sold.

 

[Hugh Third of Five]

I don't think the US would want a land border in Asia. The Bering Strait is a nice natural border for the territory. I think the US can probably buy some more islands surrounding Alaska with minimal PODs, like the Commander Islands, Wrangel Island (technically unclaimed in 1867, but the US could get confirmation it is theirs), and Big Diomede.

Russia also owned the Kuril Islands from Urup to Shumshu and a claim on Sakhalin that was shared with Japan in 1867. American whalers were actually very active in the area, so I could see some American interest in a purchase. However, the USA would be inheriting a disputed area with Japan that would be a turn off, especially after the civil war when the USA wanted to focus on internal affairs. Russia would gain Sakhalin for itself in exchange for the Kurils going to Japan in 1875.

I think Karaginsky Island would be more likely than the Kurils, given its proximity to the Aleutians. Also it's undisputedly Russian, so the USA wouldn't be inheriting a territorial conflict. Otherwise I agree with you.

 

[Wendell]

If the Russian-America Company had acquired Hawaii, which could have happened historically, it too could have been sold to the U.S.