The city of Angoon on Admiralty Island of Alaska has been the home to members of the Tlingit Bear Clan for thousands of years. In fact, some residents still make a living from hunting and fishing just like their ancestors did. Glancing through the ancient Tlingit histories tell us of a world full of spirits and shamans that gave them much of their traditions. But in the 18th century, ambitious new entrants from the West disrupted the traditional Tlingit world.
The disruption began when the Russians explored the shores of Alaska in 1784 in search of pelts for the fur trade in Europe and a new territory for the Russian tsar. And in 1799, they reached the Tlingit community.
After two years of uneasy coexistence, the Tlingit people turned on the Russians, killing most of them and driving the rest away. The Russians, not the kinds to give up easily, returned in 1804 and went to war with the Tlingit. After a six-day siege, the Russians finally forced their way in, only to discover that the Tlingit had escaped.
The victorious Russians renamed the Tlingit village New Archangel. And for the next 60 years, it was the capital of Russia’s rapidly expanding North American empire, extending as far as San Francisco.
But in the 1860s, Tsar Alexander II decided to sell Alaska to raise additional funds as the Russian Empire was heavily indebted, having lost the Crimean War.
He found a potential buyer in American Secretary of State William Seward who accepted to buy the hitherto cold and seemingly barren Alaska. And so, on October 18, 1867, Alaska was officially handed over to the United States for $7.2 million, or approximately $120 million in current dollars.
The Senate, along with most of the American population, was very skeptical about the wisdom of Seward’s purchase. It was mocked as Seward’s Folly, Seward’s Icebox, and Seward’s Polar Bear Garden.
In the wake of the supposed folly, Alaska avoided national attention until its Gold Rush began in the 1890s. It became a territory in 1912 and started petitioning to be recognized as a state a few years later.
Western commentators often call it the best ever land deal while certain Russian nationalists try to raise their voice about returning Alaska to Russia. Well, can that ever happen for a state that last year had a Gross State Domestic Product of ~ 50 billion dollars – thanks mainly to its vast energy and natural resources? Our guess is as good as yours.
But to celebrate this “Folly,” KarmaPlay is hosting a special America Quiz. Participate and discover the fun facts and follies of the largest economy in the world!
