Embedded Files
3.3.8.wavGiven the maritime focus of the colony, ships were essential to Russian America. Ships brought supplies from Russia and other places, transported hunting parties to and from distant waters, carried furs from Alaska to Russia, and carried all communications. Ships also provided platforms from which the Russians could use their cannons to threaten or bombard the villages of Native Alaskans. The Russian naval superiority was a key part of their military advantage.
However, the colony was very short on ships to meet these needs. In 1793, with the establishment of a ship-building post at present-day Seward, Baranov worked to create a home-grown ship-building capability. This endeavor was a tribute to Baranov and his men's resourcefulness. They had to find ways to make many necessary ship items, such as calking, paint, bolts, and tar, on their own.
In 1794, the three-masted, 73-foot-long Phoenix was launched. It was the first ship built on North America's Pacific coast, a testament to Russian America's growing abilities. The Phoenix would sail between Kodiak and Okhotsk six times, bringing furs back to Russia and returning with supplies. After the Phoenix, the colony's shipbuilding would expand. Eventually, Sitka would have the first shipyard and launch the first steamship on the American Pacific coast.
The boat most commonly used in Alaska was a European style ship that the Russians called a bot.
The Phoenix also illustrated another reality of the colony's reliance on ships: that sailing the dangerous Alaska waters was full of risks. In 1799, the Phoenix was sunk in a storm off the Aleutian coast with the loss of 103 crew and passengers. The lost supplies she carried were estimated at 500,000 rubles ($5 million in current dollars). This tragedy was not uncommon. Over the Baranov Era, more than half of the Russian-American ships were shipwrecked. In a colony always struggling for men and supplies and to ship enough furs to Russia, the losses from shipwrecks were, at times, devastating.
Launching of the Phoenix in Resurrection Bay, 1794
by James Shield, the shipwright
Report abuse