Russians in Alaska, 1732-1867 by Lydia T. Black

Abstract

sionaries). Readers will be disappointed by the Victorian veneer that stopsNye fromexpressing what her journey is toward ? namely,why she chose this moment to chase her absent husband around the globe. And yet, smallmoments of humor and sinceritysurface: "Thismorning early went on board theJulia Ann to seeMrs. Ray and her familyoff.On my returnwas taken prisoner.What do you say? Taken prisoner!! Bywhom? Bymy husband to be sure.Got in theboat to come to the ship as I supposed, when [myhusband] Gorham says to me, it isa beautifulmorning, don't youwant to go ashore? I exclaimed no! no! for Iwas inmy morning dress, blue cloak and hood. But you aremost there.Stopped to seeMrs. Spear's and dined. Came off about three o'clock. Must say I have not enjoyed myself better at any time. Gorham says it was because Iwas not afraid of the fog taking the starch out ofmy ruffles, not having any on. Ha! Ha!" (p. 152). Nye's journal firstcame to the attention of historian Doyce B. Nunis, Jr.,in 1967, but he "was unable to give the revision . . . priority attention" (p. 10). After nearly fortyyears of work, Nunis has made the journal available with meticulous notes about the social history of nearly all persons and shipsmentioned and clarification ofNye's language. Sadly, this text bears little evidence of an understanding of what has happened in the study ofmaritime history since 1967. The lengthybibliography cites no sources from thepast fifteenyears and fewfrom thepast forty. No mention is made of the larger context of captain's wives' journals or of JoanDruett, whose work dominates that field. The prologue and epilogue both posit Captain Nye as the truly interestingcharacter and Lydia Rider Nye as a mere appendage to real history. This book isn't the answer to Jo Stanley's question, but itdoes offer carefully prepared traditionalmaterial. Russians inAlaska, 1732-1867 By Lydia T.Black University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, 2004. Illustrations, photographs, maps, bibliography, index. 344 pages. $29.95 paper. Reviewed by Timothy Rawson Alaska Pacific University,Anchorage There are few defenders of imperialism inacademe thesedays, and ifasked about Russian Alaska, most people acquainted with North Pacific history would think of the en slavement ofAleut peoples, the rapacity of the sea otter trade, and the follyof both tryingto maintain the colony and selling the territoryso cheaply.This conventional wisdom isprecisely Lydia Black's target and, while not defending imperialism per se, she asks us to consider the evidence indicating that our perspective needs revision. Two themes structure the narrative: Russian colonization differed from that of other European powers in theAmericas, and the nature of Russian rule changed over time, reflectingpolitical and economic changes in a modernizing western Russia. With a lifetime of scholarship on Alaska Natives and Russian Alaska behind her, Black has the credentials and ability to support her reinterpretation,using archival sources in the United States and Russia. Translations are her own. Startingwith medieval trading patterns and theRussian expansion eastward, thebook followsbasic chronology to theregimechange in 1867.Endnotes, well worth reading, follow each Reviews 513 chapter, and the ample bibliography will make monolinguists feel inadequate. Interspersed maps, illustrations, and photographs enhance the textconsiderably. Its relativelyshort length ? one can imagine the struggle to achieve brevity in the face of such complexity ? and style make ita suitable advanced undergradu ate text. The Big Names are present and accounted for: Vitus Bering, Catherine theGreat, Grigory Shelikhov, Aleksandr Baranov, Ioann Venia minov, and Nikolai Rezanov. Yet, a host of lesser-known actors populate the pages, as do theAlaska Natives. The Aleuts did not take their subjugation peaceably and in the 1760s undertook a "war of annihilation" against the interlopers (p. 89). Black characterizes theRus sianmethod of forcibly acquiring their labor as "impressment," similar towhat theyused on theirown sailors or serfs (p. 133).The Tlingits, numerous and well organized, wielded agency and forced the Russians to accommodate in rough-edged trading cooperation. Yet what eventually emerged was a unique form of colonialism. Acquiring lands and set tlingpeoples was never theaim of imperialRus sia;Alaska was strictlyabout tradingprofits. No more than sixhundred Russians were inAlaska at anyone time,and only thosewho hadmarried Native women were granted permission to stay. Their progeny...