Russian-American Company Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The Russian-American Company was a semi-official colonial trading company chartered by Emperor Paul I in 1799. The charter granted the company monopoly over trade in Russian America, which included the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and the territory down to 55° N latitude. A second charter, in 1821, extended its domain to 51° N latitude. Under the charter, one-third of all profits were to go to the emperor.Under Alexandr Baranov, who governed the region between 1800 and 1818, a permanent settlement was established at Sitka, Alaska, and a thriving fur trade was organized.
The company constructed forts in what is today Alaska and California. Fort Ross, on the California coast just north of San Francisco, was the southernmost outpost of Russian America, and is now a museum.
In the 1840s the profits from the fur trade began to decline and the Russian government took control of the Russian-American Company from the merchants who had held the charter. The explorer and government official Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel, who had been administrator of Russian government interests in Russian America a decade before, was the first president of the company during the government period. The company was officially dissolved in 1867, when the Alaska Purchase transferred control of Alaska to the United States.
See also: Alaska Commercial Company
| # | Name | Beginning of Term | End of Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexandr Andreyevich Baranov (1747-1819) | 1799 | Jan. 11, 1818 |
| 2 | Leonty Andreyanovich Gagemeister (1780-1833) | Jan. 11, 1818 | Oct. 24, 1818 |
| 3 | Semyon Ivanovich Yanovsky | Oct. 24, 1818 | Sep. 15, 1820 |
| 4 | Matvey Ivanovich Muravyev (1784-1826) | Sep. 15, 1820 | Oct. 14, 1825 |
| 5 | Pyotr Igorovich Chistyakov (1790-1862) | Oct. 14, 1825 | Jun. 1, 1830 |
| 6 | Baron Ferdinand Petrovich WrangelVrangel (1797-1870) | Jun. 1, 1830 | Oct. 29, 1835 |
| 7 | Ivan Antonovich Kupreianov (1800-1857) | Oct. 29, 1835 | May. 25, 1840 |
| 8 | Adolf Karlovich Etolin (1798-1876) | May. 25, 1840 | Jul. 9, 1845 |
| 9 | Mikhail Dmitriyevich Tebenkov (1802-1872) | Jul. 9, 1845 | Oct. 14, 1850 |
| 10 | Nikolay Yakovlevich Rozenberg (-1857) | Oct. 14, 1850 | Mar. 31, 1853 |
| 11 | Alexandr Ilich Rudakov | Mar. 31, 1853 | Apr. 22, 1854 |
| 12 | Stepan Vasilyevich Voyevodsky (-1884) | Apr. 22, 1854 | Jun. 22, 1859 |
| 13 | Ivan Vasilyevich Furugelm (1821-1909) | Jun. 22, 1859 | Dec. 2, 1863 |
| 14 | Prince Dmitry Petrovich Maksutov (1832-1889) | Dec. 2, 1863 | Oct. 18, 1867 |
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