Alaska
Russian explorers reached Alaska in 1741 when Vitus Bering claimed the territory for the Russian Empire, and Russia established its first permanent settlement at Three Saints Bay in 1784. The Russian-American Company monopolized the fur trade from 1799 until declining profits, competition from the British Hudson's Bay Company, and geopolitical pressures led Russia to sell Alaska to the United States in 1867. The United States administered Alaska as the Department of Alaska, then the District of Alaska, and finally as an organized territory from 1912, before admitting Alaska as the 49th state on January 3, 1959. Gold rushes in the 1890s and oil discovery at Prudhoe Bay in 1968 were among the key economic developments shaping Alaska's growth.
Pre-contact era
The history of Alaska dates back to the Upper Paleolithic period (around 14,000 BC), when foraging groups crossed the Bering land bridge into what is now western Alaska. At the time of European contact by the Russian explorers, the area was populated by Alaska Native groups. The name 'Alaska' derives from the Aleut word Alaxsxaq, meaning 'mainland' or 'continent'.
Colonial history
Russian colonial possessions in the Americas were collectively known as Russian America from 1799 to 1867. The Ukase of 1799 established the southern border of Russian America along the 55th parallel north and granted monopolistic privileges to the Russian-American Company (RAC). Russian Creole settlements were concentrated in Alaska, including the capital, New Archangel (Novo-Arkhangelsk), now Sitka. By the middle of the 19th century, profits from Russia's North American colonies were in steep decline due to competition with the British Hudson's Bay Company and near extinction of fur-bearing mammals.
Alaska passed through several administrative phases: the Department of Alaska, 1867–1884; the District of Alaska, 1884–1912; and the Territory of Alaska from August 24, 1912, until statehood on January 3, 1959. Alaska was granted territorial status in 1912 by the United States of America. In 1942, two of the outer Aleutian Islands—Attu and Kiska—were occupied by the Japanese Navy during World War II.
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State history content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Historic sites data: National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
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