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3.2.13.wavAs overhunting forced traders to keep moving further east and the distances from Russia increased, so did the cost and difficulty of operations. The Alaska Peninsula was 2,500 miles by sea from the primary Russian seaport of Okhost. By 1770, only a few merchant companies were left in business. The most important of these was owned by Gregory Shelikhov, a Siberian merchant attracted by the chance to make money in Alaska.
After receiving reports of Captain Cook's voyage, Shelikhov was concerned about foreign competition. The British, Spanish, and French had all sent expeditions into Alaskan waters. Up to this point, there was no permanent settlement in Alaska. Such a permanent settlement would solidify Russia's claim to the area and help maintain exclusive Russian control of the fur trade.
Grigory Shelikhov
Shelikhov dreamed of settling an empire from the Bering Strait to California. After financing several voyages on which the fur hunters stayed only a year or two in Alaska, he decided to establish a permanent trading post on Kodiak Island. Besides preventing foreign competition for furs, a permanent settlement would be much more economical. Traders at such a post could trade for furs all year round and would not have to spend much of their time at sea on the long, dangerous journey to and from Alaska.
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