A History of the Russian-american Company

Dust jacket notes: "The Russian-American Company was chartered by the Russian government in 1799 to conduct monopoly trading in the Aleutians and Alaska and played a major role in the affairs of the North Pacific during the folowing half century. This new and long-awaited translation of Tikhmenev's comprehensive history of the Company, acknowledged by scholars as a fundamental source on Russian-American history, will be indispensable to further study in that field. The original Russian text of this classic work was written, at Company behest, a few years before the sale of Alaska to the United States and the liquidation of the Company. Undertaken to 'glorify' the activities of the Company, in the mistaken hope of winning a renewal of the monopoly charter, Tikhmenev's history is based on documents then in Company archives, but later destroyed. Thus it has survived as the only source of many facts about Russian activities in the North Pacific, including Alaska, California, and even the Hawaiian Islands. The few previous translations of this important source have either been incomplete or untrustworthy for scholarly purposes. Long involved with the translation and study of Russian historical materials, Pierce and Donnelly are eminently qualified to render an accurate translation. Included in this volume are the main text of Tikhmenev's work and his own notes, supplemented by citations of relevant works. Interest in this book will be high among researchers whose concerns are with such topics as Russian eastward expansion, the history of the native civilizations in the Pacific basin, and the early development of Russo-American relations. Students of Russian-American history will find it invaluable."