1700s–1800s: Golden Round trade route pursued
During the late 1800s and early 1900s (late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries), a number of US ships pursuedthe “Golden Round,” a highly profitable trade route that brought sailors around the world beginning in New England, rounding Cape Horn, stopping at various Pacific islands en route to the California and Northwest Coasts, and finally reaching China before returning to New England around the southern tip of Africa. The voyage took about three years to complete and while few sailors made every leg of the journey, it gained great popularity because of the high profits it yielded. Large returns could be made at each of the three major stops, on the Northwest Coast (present-day British Columbia), in Canton, China (present-day Guangzhou), and in major cities in New England. On the Northwest Coast, otter furs were purchased inexpensively from indigenous peoples and sold at high prices in Canton. Tea and other goods purchased inexpensively in China yielded high returns in New England. New England goods, in turn, were traded for Northwest furs. Fortunes made from the Northwest and China trade ultimately helped to fund the United States’ industrial revolution.
1741: Vitus Bering and Alexeii Chirikov reach Alaskan coast
Captain Vitus Bering and Commander Alexeii Chirikov embarked on a voyage of scientific discovery in 1733, seeking information about the geography of the Arctic. The expedition succeeded in mapping the northern North American coast and the Aleutian Islands, and it fueled Russian interest in the maritime fur trade.
1769: First Spanish mission in Alta California established
The first of a series of what would become twenty-one Franciscan missions was established in San Diego, securing the territory of Alta California for New Spain.
1769–1821: Severe population loss in California missions occurs
From 1769 to 1821, Indians who lived along the California coast from as far north as San Francisco to as far south as San Diego were forcibly relocated to Spanish missions. Operated by Franciscan priests, the missions were established to claim territory for Spain, to convert the native people to Christianity, and to provide a source of labor in agriculture, ranching, and manufacture for the Spanish empire. California Indians suffered from severe population loss in the missions. Living conditions were often cramped and unsanitary and native people often had limited access to familiar food sources. This contributed to outbreaks of measles, smallpox, pneumonia, and diphtheria, as well as to chronic diseases such as respiratory ailments, dysentery, and syphilis. Infertility and especially high mortality among children accelerated overall population loss, which historians believe may have reached 1,000,000. As the population of the California Indians in the missions declined rapidly, the padres recruited more native people from farther away, unintentionally augmenting the number of people who would ultimately die in the mission systems.
1776: Captain James Cook reaches Hawaii
In 1776, Captain James Cook departed from Britain on his third Pacific maritime voyage in ten years, intending to return to his home a native man from Society Island (modern-day French Polynesia) who had joined their crew on a previous voyage. During this trip, Cook “discovered” the Hawaiian Islands, in 1778. His crew charted numerous points on the Pacific coast in their search for a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Following Cook's 1779 death in Hawaii, the crew stopped in Canton, learning about the riches that could be procured from sea otters, before returning to Britain. The voyage inspired others to engage in Pacific maritime ventures.
1783: Treaty of Paris ends US War of Independence
The Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolution and established the boundaries of the new nation, without regard to native people's territories. With the war's end, Americans began further encroachment on western lands once protected from settlement by the Royal Proclamation of 1763.
1784: Russian Orthodox missionaries arrive at Kodiak, AK
The Russian Empire established an Orthodox mission in Kodiak, Alaska. Kodiak Island would later prove pivotal to the success of the state-sponsored Russian American Company’s maritime fur trade, as sea otter hunters were conscripted from this island.
1787: Northwest Ordinance signed by Congress
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 determined the processes for establishing territories and governance in the Indian lands to the west of the original thirteen British colonies. The ordinance reaffirmed the federal government's exclusive right to make treaties with Indian tribes.
1799: Tsar Paul I charters Russian American Company
Tsar Paul I chartered the Russian American Company, granting it a monopoly on Russian-American trade. This joint-stock company, financed primarily by private stakeholders, served as the Russian Empire's legal and political presence in North America; beginning in 1804, it was headquartered in Sitka, Alaska. The Russian American Company conscripted Alaska Natives to engage in the maritime fur trade.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s (late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries), a number of US ships pursuedthe “Golden Round,” a highly profitable trade route that brought sailors around the world beginning in New England, rounding Cape Horn, stopping at various Pacific islands en route to the California and Northwest Coasts, and finally reaching China before returning to New England around the southern tip of Africa. The voyage took about three years to complete and while few sailors made every leg of the journey, it gained great popularity because of the high profits it yielded. Large returns could be made at each of the three major stops, on the Northwest Coast (present-day British Columbia), in Canton, China (present-day Guangzhou), and in major cities in New England. On the Northwest Coast, otter furs were purchased inexpensively from indigenous peoples and sold at high prices in Canton. Tea and other goods purchased inexpensively in China yielded high returns in New England. New England goods, in turn, were traded for Northwest furs. Fortunes made from the Northwest and China trade ultimately helped to fund the United States’ industrial revolution.
1741: Vitus Bering and Alexeii Chirikov reach Alaskan coast
Captain Vitus Bering and Commander Alexeii Chirikov embarked on a voyage of scientific discovery in 1733, seeking information about the geography of the Arctic. The expedition succeeded in mapping the northern North American coast and the Aleutian Islands, and it fueled Russian interest in the maritime fur trade.
1769: First Spanish mission in Alta California established
The first of a series of what would become twenty-one Franciscan missions was established in San Diego, securing the territory of Alta California for New Spain.
1769–1821: Severe population loss in California missions occurs
From 1769 to 1821, Indians who lived along the California coast from as far north as San Francisco to as far south as San Diego were forcibly relocated to Spanish missions. Operated by Franciscan priests, the missions were established to claim territory for Spain, to convert the native people to Christianity, and to provide a source of labor in agriculture, ranching, and manufacture for the Spanish empire. California Indians suffered from severe population loss in the missions. Living conditions were often cramped and unsanitary and native people often had limited access to familiar food sources. This contributed to outbreaks of measles, smallpox, pneumonia, and diphtheria, as well as to chronic diseases such as respiratory ailments, dysentery, and syphilis. Infertility and especially high mortality among children accelerated overall population loss, which historians believe may have reached 1,000,000. As the population of the California Indians in the missions declined rapidly, the padres recruited more native people from farther away, unintentionally augmenting the number of people who would ultimately die in the mission systems.
1776: Captain James Cook reaches Hawaii
In 1776, Captain James Cook departed from Britain on his third Pacific maritime voyage in ten years, intending to return to his home a native man from Society Island (modern-day French Polynesia) who had joined their crew on a previous voyage. During this trip, Cook “discovered” the Hawaiian Islands, in 1778. His crew charted numerous points on the Pacific coast in their search for a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Following Cook's 1779 death in Hawaii, the crew stopped in Canton, learning about the riches that could be procured from sea otters, before returning to Britain. The voyage inspired others to engage in Pacific maritime ventures.
1783: Treaty of Paris ends US War of Independence
The Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolution and established the boundaries of the new nation, without regard to native people's territories. With the war's end, Americans began further encroachment on western lands once protected from settlement by the Royal Proclamation of 1763.
1784: Russian Orthodox missionaries arrive at Kodiak, AK
The Russian Empire established an Orthodox mission in Kodiak, Alaska. Kodiak Island would later prove pivotal to the success of the state-sponsored Russian American Company’s maritime fur trade, as sea otter hunters were conscripted from this island.
1787: Northwest Ordinance signed by Congress
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 determined the processes for establishing territories and governance in the Indian lands to the west of the original thirteen British colonies. The ordinance reaffirmed the federal government's exclusive right to make treaties with Indian tribes.
1799: Tsar Paul I charters Russian American Company
Tsar Paul I chartered the Russian American Company, granting it a monopoly on Russian-American trade. This joint-stock company, financed primarily by private stakeholders, served as the Russian Empire's legal and political presence in North America; beginning in 1804, it was headquartered in Sitka, Alaska. The Russian American Company conscripted Alaska Natives to engage in the maritime fur trade.
Last updated: November 17, 2018