Classroom and Home Curriculum
A
long time ago, in 1812, there was a big change in
First,
lets talk a little about
The
Russian government owned the trade company, known as the Russian America
Company (RAC), which was given a charter by Russian Czar Paul I in 1799. With
that charter, the czar gave the company the right and privilege to settle in
Section I, Questions:
1.
What year was
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2.
What is the name of the company that established
3. What country controlled
II. Sea Otters
The
most important reason that the Russians went to far away
The fur of the Sea Otter is very, very thick and soft. One square inch of Sea Otter can have as many as one million hairs - as many hairs on it as an entire dog! That means that Sea Otter fur is not only very soft and beautiful, but is also very warm. Otters need that nice coat to keep warm in the cold ocean, but, unfortunately for the poor otters, humans could also use their pelts (the skin and fur of an animal) to make warm things to wear. Sea Otter fur was so warm and nice that it became the most valuable pelt in the world. One sea otter pelt could be worth as much as it took for three people to live for one year!
Sea
Otter pelts could be traded all over the
world to make money. The Russian hunters living in
To kill a Sea Otter, the hunter must go out in the water where the otters live and feed. To do that, he must have a small and agile boat. Alaskan kayaks are perfect for the task, but not just anybody could jump into one and go out on the dangerous Pacific. Alaskan hunters were trained as young children in the skills that they would later need on the water.
A
hunter also would need the right weapon to kill a Sea Otter. A gun wouldn’t
really work because it left big holes in the valuable fur, and its loud bang
made the Sea Otters scatter. Also, how would the hunter get the otter he had
shot? A wounded otter would swim away, and a dead one would sink. Alaskan
hunters used the throwing board and harpoon also called the atlatl. The harpoon
had a seal-bladder float attached to it which would allow the hunter to keep
track of the otter which he had hit. The hunters would usually go out to hunt
in groups of twenty to thirty. The hunters would surround the otters and take
aim as the otters came to the surface to breathe. For more history on the Sea Otter click
here.
1. What was the most valuable pelt in the 1800s? How much could one pelt be worth?
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2. Who did most of the hunting of these animals for the Russian American Company? Why?
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3. Do we have otters in
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Think about it…
1. How do you think the Alaskan Indians felt about working for the Russians?
2. Today many people feel that it is bad to kill animals in order to turn their fur into clothes. Do you think that people in the 1800s might have felt differently? Give some reasons why.
3. Describe what “extinction” means. The Russians almost hunted the otters to extinction. Do you think that they cared? Why? Are animals still being hunted to extinction today? Why?
III. Food!
Think
about
In
the 1800s, it was much harder to move things from one place to another. It was
especially hard to move something like food, which doesn’t keep forever. To get
food to
Section III, Questions
1. Why didn’t the Russians just eat the food
that grew in
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2. How long did it take for food to get to
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3. What disease is caused from not getting enough Vitamin C? What do you need to eat to get vitamin C?
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Think about it…
1. What kinds of foods do you think the Native Alaskans ate before the Russians arrived there?
Why do you think the Russians didn’t eat the same things?
2. How do you think food was prepared and packed to be sent on a two year voyage? What kinds of things might happen to it on its way?
3. How long do you think it takes for the food you eat to get to your table? What sorts of transportation are used to move different foods today? Would you miss the food you like?
IV. California…A Solution for the Russian American Company’s Food Problems.
Food!
Although
The Spanish Missions’ gardens and fields were growing so much food that the Spanish colonists couldn’t eat it all. Many Spanish colonists and missionaries were very happy when they found out that the Russians wanted to buy or trade goods for their extra food. The Russians had many items that the Spanish really needed: things like iron for making plows, nails and tools, redwood barrels, rowboats, wheels, nice cloth for making clothes, linen for the tables, glass for windows, and black powder. The Spanish had the kinds of food that the Russians wanted and needed most: beef, grains for bread, and fruits and vegetables.
Also,
establishing a settlement in
Section IV, Questions
1. List the problems that could be solved by
having a settlement in
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2. What could the company get from the Spanish missions’ farms and fields?
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3. How did the Russians get from
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Think about it...
1. How do you think the Spanish felt about
having the Russian American Company hunting otters in
2. Why didn’t the Spanish have things like iron
and glass? Where did items have to come from to get to Spanish
V. Building a colony, hunting base, and trade center!
There
was also another way that the Russians could get food in
Kuskov
looked at many locations along the
In March of 1812, Kuskov arrived on the site with twenty-five Russians, and eighty Native Alaskans. Many of the Russians were skilled craftsmen who could help to build the settlement. The native Alaskans were also craftsmen who would help build the settlement. Perhaps even more important to the company, they brought with them their baidarkas for hunting Sea Otters. By September 10, 1812, the stockade was completed.
The
Company holdings extended as far south as
Section V, Questions
1. What was the name of the man who found the site for Colony Ross?
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2. The fort is twelve miles north of what river?
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3. How many people came from
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Think about it...
1. Although the Spanish did not have any
settlements north of the
2. If you were a Native Alaskan who was sent to
VI. Who was here?
NATIVE CALIFORNIANS:
Native
Americans, including the Kashaya Pomo have lived in this beautiful spot for as
long as 10,000 years. They are among the oldest cultures in
The Kashaya had almost everything they needed for life here. The local trees gave wood for shelter and tools; the local animals provided food and furs for warmth. Tools were made from wood, bone, and stones like chert. Beautiful baskets could be made from local grasses and plants. The Kashaya traded with other Indian tribes to get items they couldn’t find on their own lands. One neighbor they traded with were the Coast Miwok from the Bodega region. These people were also involved with the Ross Colony.
For maps of the local tribes territories
and their names click here.
When
theCompany first sailed into the cove at Metini in 1812 life had already
changed for many California Indian Tribes. The first Spanish mission was
established in 1769 near
The
Kashaya knew about the missions. They knew they did not want a mission on their
land. When the “undersea people” (the Kashaya name for the Russians) arrived,
they told the Kashaya that they would help to protect them from the Spanish as
well as other Indians in the area. The Kashaya could work for the Russians in
exchange for things like beads, iron pots, tools, and cloth. The Russians also
may have paid them for the land known as Metini with three blankets, three
pairs of britches, two axes, three hoes and some beads. To see this ‘Treaty’ click here.
Eventually, Native Californians from several different tribes lived and worked
here at Settlement Ross: Kashaya Pomo from the lands surrounding
Golovnin -”The chief of the people living next to Port Rumiantsev came to see me when my sloop was anchored there. He brought gifts consisting of various parts of the regalia, arrow, and household items., and asked to be taken under Russian protection. An Aleut who had lived over a year among these people acted as interpreter. This chief, called Valentila, definitely wanted more Russians to settle among them in order to protect them from Spanish oppression. He begged me for a Russian flag, explaining that he wanted to raise it as a sign of friendship and peace whenever Russian ships should appear near the shore.....”
Malcolm
Margolin, a professor from
Section VI, Questions
1. What was the name of the people who lived on the land where Colony Ross was built? What did they call it?
What was the name of the people who lived at and around
2. In what ways do you think that the lives of the Kashaya Pomo and Coast Miwok were changed after the Russians arrived here?
3. Think about the five items that the Russians may have given to the Kashaya as payment for Metini. Do you think that it was a good trade? Tell why and why not.
VII. What Was
First,
lets talk a little about the name “
An
outpost such as this would always have an enclosure called a fort. And yes they
had cannon! They had as many as 20 to 40 cannons. Most of the cannon which the
Russian American Company acquired for use or trade at
Settlement Ross looked very different in the old days than how it looks today. When the Russians sold the fort to John Sutter in 1841, there were fifty-nine buildings. The fort compound would have been pretty crowded if all of those buildings were inside, and in fact, only nine of the buildings were inside the walls.
Almost
all of the people who worked at the colony lived outside the fort. The Native
Alaskan employees lived out in front of the fort on the bluff called the Alaskan
Neighborhood. Their houses, at least in the beginning of the settlement, were
probably similar to the houses that they had built and lived in
Many Kashaya and Miwok women married Alaskan men who came here, and lived with them in their neighborhood in the front of the fort compound. Kashaya and Miwok women must have thought it was very strange to live on the windy, foggy bluff when the weather is so much nicer up in the hills above the fort. The California Indian men who came to Ross for work had a barracks building to sleep in near the Native Alaskan neighborhood. The Native Californian men who worked for the company mostly worked in the company’s grain and vegetable fields and helped tend to the animals raised here. They were paid mostly with flour, meat or clothing, either at the end of a day’s work or at the end of a month's work.
The Native Californian women who lived at the fort probably worked in the fields too, but the company also sometimes had them sew garments for the settlers. The Russians also trained the women to spin yarn from the wool of the sheep at the settlement and weave blankets from it. Women also worked gathering and preparing food for their families.
Outside the fort was an area called the sloboda where there were about twenty-eight houses. The houses were sturdy Russian-style buildings made of redwood. Many of the Russian employees lived there, sometimes with their Alaskan or Native Californian wives. Also surrounding the fort compound were the many buildings which were necessary for agriculture and industry: barns; workshops for working with wood and metal; a ship works; a tannery; two windmills for grinding grain; and the Russian style bath houses.
The buildings inside the fort compound itself were mostly living quarters for higher ranking employees and storage for important and valuable goods like food, furs and trade goods. There were five different managers of the Ross Colony. The first four lived in the two-story Kuskov house. The last manager, Alexander Rotchev, lived with his family in the building we call the Rotchev house, the only original structure left standing today. The Fort Ross Militia, who were in charge of keeping order at the settlement, had a barracks inside the fort walls. The Officials Quarters was used to give company officials or ships captains visiting the fort a place to stay. There were also two warehouses: one for food, one for trade goods. There was a kitchen building where food for the people who lived in the compound was cooked. The chapel was built around 1824 so that the Russian Orthodox inhabitants of the colony could have a place to pray and hold services, although there was never a full time priest here in residence. The two blockhouses and the tall fort walls were important in case there might have been an attack on the fort, although there never was an attack or a battle.
Section VII, Questions
1. What did the Russians call
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2. Was there ever a battle?
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3. How many buildings were there in and around the fort compound?
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Think about it...
1.
The buildings at Settlement Ross were mostly made of redwood. Make a
list of the things besides wood might you need or want to build a building.
Where would materials come from? What could you make from things found in
2. If you were one of the people who lived outside of the fort walls, do you think that you would rather have lived inside? Why and why not?
3. Use your nose for a minute. List some of the smells that may have been created from industry, agriculture and the people living here at this site.
VIII. Who lived at the settlement? What did People do? How were they paid?
Life
at
RUSSIANS:
There
were three different sorts of Russians workers who lived here. Prikashchiki
(prik-asch-chi-ki) were managers and the men who acted as the bosses of the
work crews either located at
Most
of the Russians were promyshlenniki (pro-mysh-len-niki). A Promyshlennik might
do general labor, like working in the sawmill or helping to take care of the
animals and fields. Sometimes, he might also do some hunting for pelts or fur,
or be a sailor on a company ship. One Russian hunter, who possibly ran away from
the company, roamed much of
As far as we know, there were no Russian women who lived here until the arrival of the last manager, Alexander Rotchev brought his wife, Princess Elena and their children. They were also accompanied by their maid, possibly a Russian woman. It is very important to remember that Russians were usually the smallest group here at the settlement. Of 179 men accounted for at Ross in 1820, only 38 of them were Russian.
NATIVE ALASKANS:
There
were many different Native Alaskan people who lived at the colony. The RAC
officials often called all of the Alaskans “Aleuts.” Most of the Alaskan people
who worked for the company at
CREOLES:
“Creole”
is the word which the Company used to describe people whose mothers were Native
Americans and whose fathers were Russian. There were many marriages between
Russians and Alaskan, Kashaya, or coast Miwok women. Eventually there were more
Creoles in the Russian Colonies than Russians.
The Creoles were considered to be Russian subjects. The Russian American
Company educated them, some served in important positions as officers on
company ships and as middle-level managers, clerks, and skilled craftsmen. They
were issued, at company expense, clothing worn by sailors, two pairs of boots,
and one kamlei, at a cost of about 35 rubles.
Master cooper smiths, tin smiths, and blacksmiths were generally Creoles
and were well versed in their crafts. These skilled artisans were well paid and
important to the needs of the company.Click here for Contract information, a
primary document.
Most Russian, Alaskan, and Californian workers were paid very poorly for their hard work. After 1820, the Russians were paid a regular salary in “company scrip.” Company scrip was sort of like money, but instead of being made by a country or government, it was made by the Russian American Company. It was only good for buying things at the store owned by the company.
Most
of the time, the employees weren’t paid enough to get the things that their
families needed to survive, and so they borrowed from the company store. As
their debts got bigger and bigger, it got harder and harder to stop working for
the company. The Company did reward those who worked extra hard. They would get
a bonus. Click
here for more wage information.
What
about kids? So far as we know, there was not a school for the kids. Children
would have been just as busy as adults at
Section VIII, Questions
3. What is the name of the weapon that the Alaskans used to hunt the sea otters?
Think about it...
1. If you were a Native Alaskan, do you think you would rather be paid a regular salary or according to the number of pelts you brought in? Why?
2. Think about company scrip. Discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of only being able to spend money at a store owned by the company.
3. Do you think that it would have been more fun to be a kid today or in the days of Russian Fort Ross? Why?
AGRICULTURE
Under the management of Karl Schmidt from 1821 to 1825 agriculture was expanded. They were possibly better supplied than the Spanish Missions. An inventory states that they had many agriculture tools as well.. Included in the inventory is:
1 steel machine for clearing wheat, 26 horse drawn plows
1 rake with steel teeth, 5 carts with 4 wheels,
Wooden threshing floors, 19 ox drawn plows,
10 rakes with wooden teeth, 10 carts with 2 wheels.
The
outside agriculture efforts were never really successful. Wheat was raised
surrounding the compound.
IX. Why did the Russian American Company go away?
In
1841, after twenty-nine years in
Even
though the company had tried very hard to grow enough food at
The
Ross Colony had always cost the company more money to run than it made. From
1838 to 1841 the company spent 77,000 rubles to run the colony, and only made
26,000 rubles. That means it cost the company 51,000 rubles just to keep
When
the company left, almost all of the people who worked in
They
sold everything they left to John Agustus Sutter, who wanted to buy the things
so he could build up his own settlement, “New Helvitia” near
Section IX, Questions
1.
Why did the company leave
2. What was left behind at the settlement?
3. Who bought the belongings the Company left behind?
AFTER THE RUSSIAN AMERICAN COMPANY
As
soon as the Russians left,