Marine expeditions to Alta California in the context of great powers rivalry in the first half of the XIX-th century

Abstract

The article is devoted to the features of the establishment of European powers in Alta California in the first quarter of the 19th century. The available information about Russian penetration into California and interaction with the Spaniards and US citizens is summarized. This process involved government authorities and private commercial companies. The authors use documents obtained from domestic and foreign archives. The article is written on the basis of an interdisciplinary approach and is conceived as a series of further publications by the authors.