CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

Denzel Harris
THE COLONIAL AGE OF ALASKA
1741- 1865
BERINGS FIRST JOURNEY 1727
Peter the Great of Russian paid Vitus
Bering to sail east from Kamchatka
Peninsula.
Bering sailed through the Bering Strait
but due to fog he couldnt see the
American Mainland and sailed back to
Kamchatka
THE FIRST RUSSIAN CONTACT IN
ALASKA -1732
Under the rule of Ivan the Terrible, the
Russians began to explore east of the
Ural Mountains into Siberia to trade and
conquer the indigenous people.
THE RUSSIANS USE ALASKA -1741
Russias main interest in Alaska were the many natural
resources that could be exploited for Russian
economic gain.
Russias main interest in Alaska was the fur coats, and
apparently the Chinese paid for a handsome profit for
these coats.
The Russian traders did not hunt for the fur themselves,
they brutalized the Alaska Natives and forced them to
hunt for them.
COOKS VOYAGE 1776
1776 The British Admiralty called Captain Cook
out of retirement and sent him to the
Northwest Coast of America.
Cook discovered the shape of the west coast
to the Arctic of America and everyone finally
knew North Americas shape.
THE RUSSIANS USE ALASKA - 1784
The voyages from Siberia to Alaska were very
expensive so the Russians compromised and decided
to form partnerships.
A Russian partnership called the Russian American
Company decided to regulate all transactions
between the Russians and the aboriginals.
This gave the company monopoly over all resources,
but the Russians didnt seem to know about the gold
or other precious resources until around the time the
United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1847.
FIRST PERMANENT RUSSIAN
SETTLEMENT 1784
Russian voyages from Siberia to Alaska
were expensive so the Russians created
the first settlement on Kodiak Island in
1784.
BARANOV NAMED FIRST RUSSIAN
GOVERNOR 1790 - 1818
Baranov was proclaimed as a aggressive and determined
man.
He was made manager, or in this instance governor of
Russian America.
Baranovs first act as governor of Russian America was to
extend it Southeast, but the Tlingit Indians attacked and
raided his post in 1802. Baranov considered this a
temporary set back but his initial thoughts were proven
wrong when the Tlingit Indians created a sizeable fort.
But to his rescue the Russian naval ship, The Neva, was
there with a number of cannons.

PURCHASE OF ALASKA FROM RUSSIA
1867
The Tsar of Russia and his advisors began to discuss
whether or not Russian America was a liability, they
also discussed unexploited furs in Asia, this made them
come to a decision to sale Russian America and focus
on Asia.
As soon as Russia was done with Alaska, the United
States quickly bought Alaska and it was transferred to
them in 1876.

AGE OF TERRITORY IN ALASKA 1867-
1959
GOLD RUSH! 1861-1900S
In 1861 Prospectors found gold on Telegraph
Creek in Southeast Alaska.
The following years prospectors found gold in
areas such as Fairbanks, Nome, and the Yukon
River Area.
EXPLORATION AND MAPPING OF
ALASKAS LAND EARLY 1900S
A decade after the United States purchased Alaska, the United States knew more
about the resources and territories of Alaska than Russia had known. The United
States took a growing interest in Alaska in which people came from all over the
country to mine gold, fish for salmon, and establish new land as their own.

The United States Military began to make scientific geographic excursions to
explore and survey Alaskas lands. By 1900 the important mountain ranges of
Alaska had been outlined and the major rivers traced. The following years,
teams of geologists made maps and took valuable notes of Alaska and its
outlying areas.
TERRITORIAL ORGANIC ACT OF 1912


FEDERAL INFLUENCE IN THE TERRITORY
LATE 1930S
In Alaska during the late 1930s, the government called for a railroad in Alaska, because as
stated by President Woodrow Wilson a government-built railroad would be a key to unlocking
Alaskas natural resources.

In Alaskas territorial days there was never just one government power involved in Alaskas
affairs. There were several unelected officials involved with Alaska and its lands; in fact 99% of
Alaskas lands were federally controlled. These disputes over land lead to complicated reforms
and disputes over how the land would be divided and distributed. Finally these disputes were
put to rest when Native Alaskans were able to file a lawsuit in 1947 for the lands that were stolen
from them, and were compensated in1960.
WWII EVENT IN ALASKA -1942

ANTI - DISCRIMINATION ACT - 1945

THE CONSTITUTIONAL CAMPAIGN
On November 8, 1955, fifty-five delegates gathered in Fairbanks to
draft a constitution for a state that didnt exist; the state of Alaska.
The fifty-five delegates from Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, and
other surrounding communities met from November to February
crafting a 14,400 word document described as more distinctly
appropriate for its time and place than any other state constitution.
The delegates who met to craft the constitution carefully examined
and constructed the constitution to meet every Alaskans needs.
Finally on February 5, 1956 at the UAFs gym, the constitution was
signed by the delegates and was witnessed by 1,000 people. In
spring the territorys voters approved the constitution by over a two-
to-one ratio.
Alaska became the 49th state 3 years later, when it entered the
Union.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION -1956
ALASKAS STATEHOOD 1959 - TODAY
ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
ESTABLISHED 1960
ANCHORAGE EARTHQUAKE - 1964
ANCSA - 1971
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
was signed into law by President Nixon
December 18
th
1971

This was perhaps the largest land settlement
between the Alaska Natives and the U.S.
Government and the United States history.
ALASKA PERMANENT FUND
ESTABLISHED - 1976
ANILCA (ALASKA NATIONAL INTEREST
LANDS CONSERVATION ACT) - 1980
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lydia T. Black, Russians in Alaska, 1732-1867
Fairbanks: University of Alaska, 2004
Richard Pierce, Russian America: A Biographical Dictionary
Kingston: Limestone Press, 1990
Barbara Sweetland Smith and Redmond Barnett, ed, Russian
America: The Forgotten Frontier, Tacoma: Washington State Historical Society, 1990
Wallace M. Olson, Through Spanish Eyes: Spanish Voyages to Alaska, 1774-1792
Ketchikan: Heritage Research Alaska, 2002.
Fisher, Raymond, Bering's Voyages: Whither and Why
Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1977
Richard A. Pierce, Russian America: A Biographical Dictionary
Kingston: Limestone Press, 1988