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76-579: The Adobe was designed to function both as a headquarters of a working ranch and as a defensive structure against attack by the Russians then living on the California coast or by the borderland's native tribes. It consisted of two, two-story buildings surrounding an open courtyard of roughly 200 ft × 145 ft (61 m × 44 m). It was built using adobe bricks and hand-hewn redwood timbers and planks. The building had planked floors and

152-400: A conflict." Building on Zavalishin's proposal, Mordvinov planned on buying serfs from Russian landlords and sending them to California. The freed serfs were to be supported by the company and had to remain as settlers for seven years in its service. After the expiration of their contracts, all farming implements provided and land farmed upon would become the property of the freemen. A banquet

228-539: A contract for provisions, Rezanov even having a romance with his daughter, Concepción Argüello . However the officials were only willing to forward the request of the Russians to Mexico City , none wanting to disobey a decree by the Spanish Empire that outlawed trade with foreigners. After several months the Russians departed for New Archangel without an agreement for provisions. Valuable reconnaissance however

304-577: A damages settlement. The lease gave the HBC authority as far north as 56° 30' N. Under Baranov, who governed the region between 1790 and 1818, a permanent settlement was established in 1804 at "Novo-Arkhangelsk" (New Archangel, today's Sitka, Alaska ), and a thriving maritime trade was organized. Alutiiq and Aleut men from the Kodiak and the Aleutian Islands were forcibly conscripted to work for

380-612: A lack of Spanish military posts above San Francisco Bay, and the possibility to trade with the Spanish Missions . Built in 1812 and located on the coast of California in modern-day Sonoma County , Fort Ross was the southernmost outpost of the company. Several additional posts were operated by the company, including Port Rumyantsev on Bodega Bay , and several ranches south of the Russian River valley. Though on disputed Spanish and then subsequently Mexican territory,

456-652: A list of the general managers (or chief managers, usually known in English as governors) of the Russian-American Company. Many of their names occur as place names in Southeast Alaska . Note that the English spelling of the names varies between sources. The position administered the commercial operations of the company, centered on Russian America . Alexander Andreyevich Baranov was the first and longest serving chief manager, previously managing

532-525: A low-sloped shingled roof. The wide, covered second-story veranda encased and protected the adobe walls from the weather and provided advantageous firing positions in case of an attack. There were large gates located between the buildings on the south and north sides of the quadrangle. The southwest section of the building contained the Vallejo family living area, for when they visited the ranch. Some walls were plastered and whitewashed. The outdoor kitchen and

608-461: A meeting was never arranged. Eventually Tsar Alexander echoed Nesselrode's position and refused to send Zavalishin back to California. The political upheaval of Alexander I's death and the subsequent Decembrist Uprising halted the considerations for an extensive commercial colonisation of California by the RAC. In 1853 Governor General N. N. Muravyov recounted to Tsar Alexander II that: California during

684-450: A particular California institution. A small area of land was set aside around an Indian settlement to create a ranchería. Some rancherías developed from small communities of Indians formed on the outskirts of American settlements who were fleeing Americans or avoiding removal to the reservations. […] With the passage of Public Law 83-280 in the mid-1950s, terminating federal supervision and control over California tribes, some 40 rancherías lost

760-542: A period of time. They may also have been sent to the Rancho by one of Vallejo's allies such as Chief Marin or Chief Solano . Rancho Petaluma also had some Native Americans who were not working voluntarily. They may have been captured by the military and were being punished for stealing or raids. The fate of the ranch turned in 1846–48 when the United States and Mexico went to war: Lieutenant Colonel Vallejo

836-603: A separate flag for the RAC on 10 October 1806 O.S., writing "So be it" upon the report. After being sent to the State Council , it was forwarded to the Finance and Naval ministries, along with the Saint Petersburg office of the RAC on 19 October 1806 O.S. The memorandum described the flag as having "three stripes, the lower red, the middle blue, and the upper and wider stripe white, with the facsimile on it of

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912-429: A ship in 1810 to present-day Alaska with the intention of supplying New Archangel. The supplies were welcomed by Baranov, and he hired the ship to transport furs to Guangzhou. Upon learning of the pressing issue of American sales of firearms, Astor conceived of plan beneficial to both his American Fur Company and the RAC. In return for a monopoly to supply Russian stations through his subsidiary Pacific Fur Company and

988-753: A shipyard there." The company directors were previously advised by Rezanov to establish a company settlement on the river, in a plan aiming for company expansion south "to include the coast of California in the Russian possession." Bad weather made passing the mouth of the Columbia too difficult to pursue. A company vessel, the Nikolai , was dispatched to the Oregon Country by Chief Manager Baranov in November 1808 with instructions to "if possible discover

1064-673: A site for a permanent Russian post in the Oregon Country." On 1 November, a weather system of strong gales and large waves marooned the ship on a beach north of the Quillayute River and James Island . Conflict arose with the neighboring Hoh nation and the crew had to flee into the interior of the Olympic Peninsula . Clashes with the indigenous population continued over the next year, the Russians having to resort to raiding villages for food. Eventually most of

1140-704: A small, rural settlement. In the Americas the term was applied to native villages or bunkhouses . Anglo-Americans adopted the term with both these meanings, usually to designate the residential area of a rancho in the American Southwest , housing aboriginal ranch hands and their families. The term is still used in other parts of Spanish America ; for example, the Wayuu tribes in northern Colombia call their villages rancherías . The Columbia Encyclopedia describes it as: The term could be applied to

1216-613: A vessel of the maritime fur trade , was sailing from Boston, Massachusetts to New Archangel/Sitka. When the U.S. government protested, the Russians released the vessel and paid compensation. Due to treaty violations in 1833 with the British by the company's governor, Baron Ferdinand von Wrangel , the Russians later leased the southeastern sector of what is now the Alaska Panhandle, to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1838 as part of

1292-687: A year to reach Ayan , Irkutsk , and the Siberian Route . The majority of the pelts were traded in Kyakhta , where Chinese trade goods, principally cotton, porcelain and tea, were traded. In 1817, Fort Elizabeth was built in Hawaii by Georg Anton Schäffer , an agent of the RAC. His actions to attempt to overthrow the Kingdom of Hawaii is known as the Schäffer affair . Over the course of

1368-551: The 84,000 acres (340 km) Rancho Suscol . The new grant extended the lands of Rancho Petaluma south down to the San Francisco Bay , and southeast past the present-day city of Vallejo . The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Vallejo's land claim for Rancho Suscol in 1862. Low-cost and plentiful labor was the key to financial success for Rancho Petaluma. Native American workers were generally paid with food, clothing and other goods. The most valuable Indian workers were

1444-537: The Alaska Commercial Company . From 1816 to 1867 the Company circulated ruble or assignat ( Russian : ассигнация , romanized :  assignatsiya ) equivalents - marki ( Russian : марки ) - printed on tanned skins. The Russian commercial flag (civil ensign) was used between 1799 and 1806 by the company on its ships and establishments. Tsar Alexander I approved a design for

1520-616: The Crimean War of 1853 to 1856, when the United Kingdom fought against the Russian Empire from 1854 to 1856, officials of the RAC began to fear an invasion of their Alaskan settlements by British forces. The RAC began discussions with the Hudson's Bay Company in the spring of 1854, with each company pledging to continue peaceable relations and to press their respective governments to do the same. The United Kingdom and

1596-748: The Farallon Islands . While catching otters on the northern shores of the San Francisco Bay, Luis Antonio Argüello , the commandant ordered a cannon be shot at the trappers' baidarkas , dispersing the Aleut and Alutiiq trappers from the Bay. Reports from the American captains and Rezanov on the conditions in California encouraged Chief Manager Baranov to plan a coastal settlement in the territory. There were numerous sea otter populations to hunt,

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1672-844: The Juno , an American ship, he and its crew departed from New Archangel in February 1806 south to attempt purchasing supplies in Alta California. Upon entering the Californias, Rezanov negotiated with Spanish authorities in the name of the Tsar, presenting himself as a minister plenipotentiary. Despite his claims, he was never given such a commission by the Imperial Government. Efforts were made at cultivating relations with prominent official José Darío Argüello , in order secure

1748-532: The North West Company of Canada, ended Astor's operations on the Pacific coast. The Russian-American Company grew interests in other parts of North America, principally Alta California , with smaller focus on Baja California and the Oregon Country . Additionally, some efforts were spent on increasing relations with the Kingdom of Hawaii , with the Schäffer affair being an attempt at colonizing

1824-645: The Petaluma River to the San Francisco Bay. The hides and tallow was the ranch's main income source while much of the meat was wasted. Vallejo made an estimated $ 18,000 to $ 24,000 yearly on hides and tallow ($ 659,000 to $ 879,000 in 2023 dollars). The ranch also had herds of up to 3,000 sheep that were used primarily for wool. Products such as candles, soap, thousands of wool blankets, boots and shoes for military troops under Vallejo's command, and saddles were manufactured by native artisans in ranch shops. In 1843, Mexican Governor Manuel Micheltorena granted Vallejo

1900-476: The Sea of Okhotsk in 1862. It operated from 1863 to 1865 before being sold to Otto Wilhelm Lindholm. Two schooners used the station as a base, sending out whaleboats to catch bowhead whales , which were towed ashore and processed at a nearby tryworks. The Russian-American Company has been appraised as being run with "poorly chosen and inadequately skilled staff", floundering in part from "the lack of experience of

1976-639: The United American Company . After Baranov's tenure, appointees were chosen from the Imperial Russian Navy and generally served terms of five years. Thirteen naval officers acted as chief managers over the course of the company. At the beginning of its existence the company vessels were all Russian-built. As time went on foreign-built vessels began to be acquired. More than 30 vessels were bought that had been built in England,

2052-497: The 1820s "was unoccupied and virtually unprocessed by anybody", though he found that a "foothold in California" would "sooner or later" have to be turned over to the advancing Americans. In 1818 the Russian government had taken control of the Russian-American Company from the merchants who held the charter. Starting in the 1820s the Company's profitability slumped due to declining populations of fur-bearing animals. It had already had bad annual returns, in 1808 slightly less than half of

2128-563: The 2,300,000 rubles of expense were covered. Between 1797 and 1821 the RAC or its forerunner the United American Company collected the following inventory of furs, worth in total 16 million rubles: 1.3 million foxes of several species, 72,894 sea otters , 59,530 river otters , 34,546 beavers , 30,950 sables , 17,298 wolverines , 14,969 fur seals along with smaller numbers of lynx , wolf , sea lion , walrus and bears. In 1828, Emperor Nicholas I of Russia ordered

2204-516: The All-Russia state coat-of-arms below which is a ribbon hanging from the talons of the eagle with the inscription thereon 'Russo-American Company'". The company flag eventually had several variations, in part from the nature of individual production and the changing designs of the Imperial flag. As researcher John Middleton noted, "There continues to be much discussion concerning the design of

2280-614: The High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the United American Company . Emperor Paul I of Russia chartered the company in the Ukase of 1799 . It had the mission of establishing new settlements in Russian America , conducting trade with natives, and carrying out an expanded colonization program. Russia's first joint-stock company , it came under

2356-646: The RAC to begin to supply the Russian settlements on the Kamchatka Peninsula , such as Petropavlovsk , with salt. The Company was expected to ship between 3,000 and 5,000 poods of salt annually. Continual difficulties in securing large amounts of cheap salt in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Alta California led officials to consider Baja California instead. Arvid Etholén was dispatched in the winter of 1827, and soon secured permission from Mexican authorities to gather salt around San Quintín . Transportation

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2432-485: The RAC was in 1803. An American vessel owned by James O'Cain, the O'Cain , was contracted to trap sea otters on the Baja California peninsula , with half of the furs caught property of the RAC. On board the ship besides its American crew were 2 RAC staff and 40 natives, principally Aleuts, along with some Alutiiq of Kodiak Island. The hunting equipment used in the expedition was of indigenous origin, including

2508-508: The RAC's first decade of enterprise, its officials became increasingly concerned about American ships trading in adjacent coastal regions, especially their sale of firearms to natives. Throughout 1808 to 1810, Imperial officials appealed to the United States government to ban this trade. The American government took no action to satisfy Russian concerns. Discussions were held with American ambassador John Quincy Adams in 1810 to determine

2584-533: The Rancho Petaluma employed up to 2,000 Native Americans . The rancho became one of the largest ranches north of the San Francisco Bay and a social-economic center of Northern California. The ranch also included a tannery, smithy, and a grist mill powered by Adobe Creek. It had over 12,000 head of cattle with about one quarter slaughtered each year. The cattle provided the ranch's main products - hides and tallow which were sent via river boats on

2660-634: The Russian Empire accepted the deal by the companies, but both governments specified that naval blockades and seizure of vessels were acceptable actions. The British HMS Pique and the French Sibylle attacked an RAC outpost on Urup Island in the Kuriles in 1855, in the belief that the agreement did not cover the Kuriles. The company built a whaling station at Mamga in Tugur Bay in

2736-601: The Russian-American Company to receive a grant of land extending north to the border of the Oregon Country , south to the San Francisco Bay and east to either the Sierra Nevada mountains or the Sacramento River . In return the Russians were to maintain a naval presence in San Francisco Bay, protect the California Mission 's right to maintain neophyte labor, allow Californios to settle within

2812-428: The Russians named present-day Bodega Bay, California as "Rumyantsev Bay" ( Залив Румянцев ) in his honor. In 1799 the Russian government appointed an official, with the title 'Correspondent', to maintain oversight of company affairs, the first being Nikolai Rezanov . This role was soon expanded to a three-seat board of directors, with two elected by the stockholders and one appointed by the government. Additionally

2888-566: The United States, Germany and Finland. When Alaska was sold to the United States in 1867, foreign-built ships made up 97% of the total tonnage of the company fleet. References: Pierce, Richard, ed. Documents on the history of the Russian-American Company . Kingston, Ont. : Limestone Press, c1976. pp. 23–26. OCLC: 2945773. Tikhmenev, P. A. A history of the Russian-American Company. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1978. pp. 146–151. OCLC: 3089256. Rancher%C3%ADa The Spanish word ranchería , or rancherío , refers to

2964-519: The adobe deteriorated and the Bliss family could not afford all the repairs. In 1910, Native Sons of the Golden West , Petaluma Parlor #27 purchased what remained of General Mariano G. Vallejo's vast adobe ranch house. Over half of the building had succumbed to neglect and the forces of nature. In 1932 it was registered as California State Historical Landmark #18. After years of work and fundraising,

3040-484: The animals and materials requisitioned by Fremont, et al. . His claim was reduced by a Board of Officers appointed by the Congress to examine the claims and Vallejo was paid $ 48,700 in 1855. The University of California considered purchasing it for a campus site in 1856. Vallejo sold the building and 1,600 acres (6.5 km) to William Whiteside for $ 25,000 circa 1857 who sold it to William Bliss. The southeast half of

3116-454: The company flag, mostly centered around the design and placement of the eagle." The various flags flew over the company's holdings in California until 1 January 1842, and over Alaska until 18 October 1867, when all Russian-American Company holdings in Alaska were sold to the United States. The flag continued to represent the company until its Russian holdings were liquidated in 1881. Below is

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3192-522: The company for three-year periods because they were "among the most sophisticated and effective sea otter hunters in the world." During its initial years, the company had problems in maintaining a pool of skilled crewmen for its ships. The limited number of Russian men proficient in naval craft in the Empire usually sought employment in the Imperial Russian Navy . The RAC (Russian-American Company) had difficulty recruiting men for naval training, in part due to

3268-581: The company. He was replaced in 1818 by an officer appointed from the Imperial Russian Navy . The position of Chief Manager was thereafter reserved for Imperial Naval officers. The Ukase of 1799 (decree by the Tsar) granted the company a monopoly over trade in Russian America, defined with a southern border of 55° N latitude. Tsar Alexander I in the Ukase of 1821 asserted its domain to 45°50′ N latitude, revised by 1822 to 51° N latitude. This border

3344-515: The continued practice of serfdom in the Empire, which kept most peasants tied to the land. In 1802 the Imperial government directed the Imperial Navy to send officers for employment in the RAC, with half of their pay to come from the company. Russian merchants were excluded from the port of Guangzhou and its valuable markets, something the RAC endeavored to change. The company funded a circumnavigation that lasted from 1803 to 1806, with

3420-659: The crew became willing slaves to the Makah on the understanding they would be released when the next European vessel would arrive. American Captain Brown of the Lydia purchased the Nikolai crew and they sailed for New Archangel, arriving there on 9 June. During their time marooned on the Olympic Peninsula , seven of the crew died, including expedition commander Nikolai Bulygin and his 18-year-old wife, Anna Bulyagina. The first ship to trap furs in either Alta or Baja California for

3496-418: The dining room (featuring imported glass windows) were on the ground floor. The second floor of the "fort" (as it was called by Vallejo) housed the family's sleeping rooms, Vallejo's office, the sleeping room for the ranch manager, guest rooms, and communal sleeping areas for the most privileged workers. The downstairs dining room and the rooms of the family and manager had interior fireplaces. Construction of

3572-587: The direct authority of the Ministry of Commerce of Imperial Russia . Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev (Minister of Commerce from 1802 to 1811; Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1808 to 1814) exercised a pivotal influence upon the early activities of the company. In 1801 the company's headquarters moved from Irkutsk to Saint Petersburg , and the merchants who were initially the major stockholders were soon replaced with Russia's nobility and aristocracy. Count Rumyantsev funded Russia's first naval circumnavigation of

3648-494: The directors had to send reports of the company's activities directly to the tsar. They also appointed a Chief Manager of the company, who was stationed in North America to directly administer the forts, trade stations and outposts. Alexander Andreyevich Baranov was appointed as the first Chief Manager. During his tenure, he founded both Pavlovskaya and later New Archangel , settlements that became operating bases for

3724-522: The eastern building was never fully completed. The walls were built but neither floors nor a roof were completed. That building no longer exists, so what remains of the Petaluma Adobe is only half its former size. In 1834, California Governor José Figueroa ordered Lieutenant ( Teniente ) Vallejo and his soldiers from the Presidio of San Francisco to move north of the Bay. He granted Vallejo

3800-481: The end of the reception became fully supportive of it. Additionally the Minister of Education, Shishkov, while not present at the banquet warmly received the memorandum. Zavalishin became fearful the treaties made in 1824 and 1825 that delineated Russian America's borders would restrict the Empire from a proactive policy in North America. He beseeched Tsar Alexander I for an audience to defend his memorandum, but

3876-528: The executives handling an organization which overreached itself through its expansion across the Pacific and along the American coast into California..." The company ceased its commercial activities in 1881. In 1867, the Alaska Purchase had transferred control of Alaska to the United States and the commercial interests of the Russian-American Company were sold to Hutchinson, Kohl & Company of San Francisco, California, who then renamed their company to

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3952-588: The fully restored historic site was turned over to the State of California in 1951. In 1970, it was registered as a National Historic Landmark. It is preserved as the centerpiece of Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park. About 80% of the adobe brick is original, although most of the wood has been replaced. A part of the foundation for the deteriorated half is visible, and a small museum and other exhibits are on display. Locals refer to it as "Old Adobe." Russian-American Company The Russian-American Company Under

4028-571: The globe under the joint command of Adam Johann von Krusenstern and Nikolai Rezanov in 1803–1806. Later he funded and directed the Ryurik ' s circumnavigation of 1814–1816, which provided substantial scientific information on Alaska's and California's flora and fauna, and important ethnographic information on Alaskan and Californian (among others) natives. During the Russian-California period (1812–1842) when they operated Fort Ross ,

4104-447: The goals of expanding Russian navigational knowledge, supplying the RAC stations, and opening commercial relations with the Qing Empire . While the expedition did sell its wares at the Chinese port, "no noticeable progress" towards securing Russian trading rights was made during the next half century. Due to the closed Chinese ports, the RAC had to ship its furs to the Russian port of Okhotsk . From there caravans typically took more than

4180-500: The grant and establish Spanish language schools throughout California. A council of the inner Russian government debated the merits of Zavalishin's plan. Foreign Minister Count Karl Nesselrode feared the scheme would anger the United States and the United Kingdom, and consequently was against it. The court representative of the RAC, Count Nikolay Mordvinov , defended the memorandum and voiced Zavalishin's stance that "too much leniency and effort to avoid conflict sometimes only precipitate

4256-461: The initial lands of Rancho Petaluma . During 1836 Vallejo began construction of the ranch house, eventually investing an estimated $ 80,000 in labor and materials. The planned structure was never fully completed. His younger brother Salvador Vallejo directed most of the construction. Between 1836 and 1839, at least 2,000 Native Americans were employed at the ranch to make bricks, haul lumber, build buildings, cook, farm, make tools, tan hides and tend

4332-415: The islands by a company agent acting alone. While sailing south from Russian America for Alta California, the crew of the Juno , a New England ship purchased from John DeWolf , attempted entering the Columbia River . Grigory Langsdorff reported that "Count Rezanov had already formed his plans for the removal of the Russian settlement [New Archangel] to the river Columbia, and was now planning to build

4408-426: The large herd of cattle. Vallejo's family sometimes used the Petaluma Adobe as a summer home and for entertaining guests. They lived in the neighboring town of Sonoma . Vallejo's Sonoma home, known as Lachryma Montis , is now part of Sonoma State Historic Park . Vallejo left daily management to his mayordomo (foreman), Miguel Alvarado, who resided at the ranch. In its operational days between 1836 and 1857,

4484-412: The legitimacy of these claims was contested by both the Company and the Russian Government until the sale of the settlement in 1841, basing the legitimacy of their claims on prior English ( New Albion ) claims of territorial discovery. It is now partially reconstructed and an open-air museum, with the Rotchev House being the only remaining original building. An expansive colonization program of California

4560-408: The mission-trained ex-neophytes. Vallejo was particularly successful at attracting these workers from the secularized missions at Sonoma and San Rafael. They had the necessary skills and trades required for running the Rancho and its workshops and manufacturing. They constituted most of the year-around workforce. The most privileged workers were housed in rooms on the second floor of the Adobe. There

4636-400: The negotiations to secure this trading right. Eventually the Americans dropped the provision and on 2 May 1812, the parties signed a four-year agreement. The two companies agreed to cease trading with other merchants and prevent the trading operations on the coast by their competitors. But the onset of the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States, and the capture of Astoria by

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4712-523: The notable iqyax boats. Based out of San Quintín , Alaskan natives caught sea otters from Misión de El Rosario de Abajo to Santo Domingo (located in the modern Comondú Municipality ). Returning Kodiak island in June 1804, the O'Cain contained a total of 1,800 sea otter skins caught by the natives or purchased from Spanish. Under similar terms other American captains were employed over the years, with Aleuts continually used to trap California Sea otters, specific operations employing upwards of 300. During

4788-402: The period between 1805 and 1812 Baranov supplied Aleut laborers to 10 American ships sent to California, with over 22,000 pelts gathered. In Aug. 1805, Nikolai Rezanov arrived at New Archangel, then visiting the scattered RAC possessions. Provisions were at the time sorely needed by the RAC posts to feed its workforce, an issue that would plague the company for decades. After Rezanov purchased

4864-411: The residential area of an Indian reserve . It especially means the historical residential area, as opposed to newer subdivisions. It was further extended to refer to other non-white residential communities, such as the Kanaka Rancherie in early Vancouver , British Columbia , which came to house the city's Kanaka (Hawaiian) residents. In an even more truncated form, the Ranche was used to refer to

4940-540: The right to certain federal programs, and their lands no longer had the protection of federal status. In 1983, a lawsuit resulted in restoring federal recognition to 17 rancherías, with others still waiting for the reversal of their termination . The word migrated north with the 49ers to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in an adapted form, " rancherie " . It survives in British Columbia as a somewhat archaic but still commonly used word, in rural areas and small towns, as well as in general First Nations English usage, meaning

5016-542: The right to transport RAC furs to the Qing Empire, Astor promised to refrain from selling firearms to Alaskan natives. The Russian Minister to the United States, Count Fyodor Palen , was informed of the proposal. He contacted the Imperial government, noting that the deal would likely be more effective at ending the firearm sales than through diplomatic channels with the United States. Astor's son-in-law, Adrian B. Benton, traveled to Saint Petersburg in 1811 to negotiate with company and government officials. The proposed agreement

5092-513: The settlements of the California Mission Indians beyond the Spanish missions , such as Maugna of the Tongva people. In California , the term refers to a total of 59 Indian settlements established by the U.S. government , 54 of them between 1906 and 1934, for the survivors of the aboriginal population. San Diego State University maintains a reference titled California Indians and Their Reservations: An Online Dictionary . It says: The Spanish term for small Indian settlements. Rancherías are

5168-404: The southern limits of the Russian's claimed land. Government agents of the Russian Empire "claimed the whole coast of America on the Pacific, and the adjacent islands, from Bering's Strait southward toward and beyond the mouth of the Columbia River ". The pronouncement stalled attempts at settling a southern border of Russian America for over a decade. American fur trader John Jacob Astor sent

5244-421: Was a historic-era Indian ranchería along the east side of Adobe Creek where the other year-around workers lived in tule reed huts. Other unskilled Indians, who the Californios called gentiles, worked on a seasonal basis for the grain harvest, the cattle slaughter ( la matanza ) or things such as adobe brick making. Some of these individuals or families may have attached themselves to the Rancho voluntarily for

5320-442: Was arranged with the Misión Santo Tomás . The explorer and naval officer, Baron Ferdinand Petrovich von Wrangel , who had been administrator of imperial government interests in Russian America a decade before, was the fifth governor (in office: 1830 to 1835) during the government period. Eventually during the 1840s the governing board of the company was replaced with a five-member administration of imperial naval officers. During

5396-405: Was challenged by both Great Britain and the United States, which ultimately resulted in the Russo-American Treaty of 1824 and the Russo-British Treaty of 1825 . These established 54°40′ as the ostensible southward limit of Russian interests. The only attempt by the Russians to enforce the ukase of 1821 was the seizure of the U.S. brig Pearl in 1822, by the Russian sloop Apollon . The Pearl ,

5472-472: Was favorably received by the board of directors, outside one contentious clause. Astor requested to be allowed to transport a minor amount of furs into Russia import free, a benefit which only the RAC had enjoyed. Shareholders of the company, such as the minister of both the Foreign and Commercial offices, Count Nikolay Rumyantsev , expressed opposition to this provision. He believed that Astor had arranged all

5548-533: Was gained, with Rezanov seeing first hand the lack of Spanish presidios or settlements until the southern shore of the San Francisco Bay . Several ships owned by Americans were contracted to begin operations in Alta California almost immediately after the Juno's return to New Archangel. One ship was based in Bodega Bay , with its Indigenous Alaskan workforce operating from the coast of modern Mendocino County to

5624-459: Was held for Zavalishin to draw support for his plan, with many prominent officials of the Empire attending. Mikhail Speransky , a former Governor-General of Siberia, saw California as a future grain supplier to Russian Pacific possessions in Alaska, Sakhalin and the Siberian coast. The Assistant Foreign Minister, Poletica, while at first against Zavalishin's program of Californian expansionism, by

5700-527: Was imprisoned for his position in the Mexican military, and in his absence, John C. Frémont requisitioned and stripped the ranch of its horses, cattle and grain reserves for the California Battalion . Many of the natives, his main labor force, fled from the soldiers. Thereafter the ranch declined in value and profitability every year. In 1851 Vallejo submitted a claim to the United States for

5776-549: Was presented to the Imperial Court by the "garrulous and unreliable" 20-year-old junior officer and former Decembrist Dmitry I. Zavalishin in late 1824. He had been a crew member of an expedition that during 1823 and 1824 to examine the Russian possessions in North America. His memorandum proposed that the Californios be encouraged to secede from Mexico in order to create a political alliance. Zavalishin wanted

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