6. Scan the text. Why Were the Colonial Possessions of Russian America Sold?

After Russia’s contemporaneous acquisition of new lands from China the further importance of Alaska was lessened. Emperor Alexander II (1818-1881) added the northern part of the Amur region to the Russian Empire under the Treaty of Aigun in 1858 and the Maritime region east of the Ussuri River under the Treaty of Beijin in 1860. These acquisitions changed the focus of Russia’s eastern attentions from Alaska to the area around Khabarovsk and Vladivostok, which provided better access to the Pacific Ocean and the markets of East Asia.

The Russian government concluded to sell its American colony.

Although some Russian statesmen opposed the sale, others realized that Russian possessions were overextended in Alaska and that despite Alaska's potential, the future of Russia on the Pacific lay through the fertile Amur valley but not Alaska.

The UK had shown interest in obtaining Alaska as an addition to its territory in British North America (Canada), and had potentially threatened it during the Crimean War (1853-56) after attacking the Kamchatka Peninsula. Russia recognized that the long-standing economic ambition of the Hudson’s Bay Company to tap Alaskan resources made the region defenseless to British plans. But, after losing the Crimean War to Britain, France, and Turkey in 1856, the Russian Emperor didn’t want to negotiate with the Great Britain or to see Alaska occupied by a recent enemy.

In 1867 the Russian government addressed the United States, the only potential buyer, to sell Alaska.

Russia thus turned to the only other potential buyer, the United States. In the mid-nineteenth century, Russia and the United States were joined by a common hostility toward Great Britain and a basic agreement on most foreign policy issues. Of the major European powers, Russia was the only one to support the Union in the American Civil War of 1861-65. The United States had already known about the possible Russian interest in selling Alaska in the mid-1850s, during the ruling of President Franklin. Faced with the breakup of the nation, however, the administrations of Presidents James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln didn’t react positively to Russian offers.

In 1867, Seward, a Secretary of the state reached an agreement with the Russian ambassador in Washington to purchase the Russian territory for $7.2 million (according to the rate of 2007 - about 104 million dollars). On October, 18^th, 1867 Alaska was officially transferred to the USA.

The general size of the sold overland territory accounted to 1 519 thousand square kilometers, so it was sold practically for nothing: $ 4, 73 for 1 square km.

The Russian colonization of Alaska lasted for less than a century but at that time produced a rich history of great importance. After Alaska was sold the American government at last devoted its attention to those lands.

Treasury Warrant in the Amount of $7.2 Million for the Purchase of Alaska, 1868