Alaska History Timeline

In 1724, Vitus Bering was ordered to sail east from Russia. His expedition began on the Kamchatka peninsula in eastern Russia and took him to Alaska. On this trip Bering encountered the Bering Strait, and determined that Asia and America were separate. Bering’s return from this trip led to further exploration of Alaska by Russia.

Alaska’s first Russian settlements began to pop up because of the furs brought back from earlier expeditions. Traders realized that they could make great profits by sailing to Alaska for fur, and set out for the Bering strait to establish hunting and trading posts. This was a terrible time for Alaska natives because of the brutality they faced at the hands of the Russians. In particular the Aleuts were forced to hunt for the Russians.

Russia came to Alaska primarily to make money. They did this by forcing Aleut hunters to gather fur for them while their families were being held hostage, then taking the furs and selling them overseas. Eventually, two main groups of fur traders emerged from the individual traders until the Russian government consolidated them into one company.

Often the fighting over land done by the Europeans hurt the native population. In some cases, the Russians negotiated with the defeated natives and allowed them to stay on their land if they produced goods for the Russians. Then, Russia’s navy took over the colonies in Alaska and expanded them northward.

Many people wanted better ways to travel across Alaska than the native trails that were available. So, congress and the military began looking for better routes and funding road constructions in Alaska and began taxing Alaskans. Then World War II hit, and the expansion of Alaska’s roads skyrocketed for several years until they were re-opened in 1948. Upon becoming a state, Alaska took began maintaining and constructing its own roads.

All throughout Alaska and Canada gold was being found, and as news of the discoveries reached the world people swarmed to claim their own stake. However, people often arrived too late to get their own stake or could not make the arduous journey required to get there. From 1848 to World War two, gold was being looked for high and low, and many new towns were being created.