KUSKOV I.A. - founder of Fort Ross

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Anatol
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KUSKOV I.A. - founder of Fort Ross

Post by Anatol » Fri Apr 08, 2022 7:04 pm

Ivan Aleksandrovich Kuskov (1765–1823) was senior assistant to Alexander Baranov, chief administrator of the Russian-American Company (RAC).
In the autumn of 1808 Baranov sent his closest assistant, Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov (a native of Totma), on two ships, the “Kodiak” and “Nikolay”, to inspect the coast south of Baranov Island. The ship "Nikolai" was wrecked, most of the crew was captured by the Indians and died. The “Kodiak”, on which Kuskov himself was, returned with a rich booty of sea beavers. During this voyage, Kuskov noticed places convenient for settlement near the Rumyantsev (Bodega) Bay.
Between 1808 and 1812 he led five exploratory expeditions to California with the intention of establishing an agricultural settlement to supply the northern colonies of Russian America (Alaska).
The “Kodiak”, was a wooden-hulled sailing merchant ship belonging to the Russian-American Company. Purchased by the company in 1806, she was used to transport personnel and supplies among its settlements in Russian Alaska, and to transport trade goods to San Francisco. On April 2, 1860, she struck a rock near the port of Kodiak, Alaska while carrying a load of ice and trade goods destined for San Francisco, and sank near Spruce Island after drifting for three days
In 1810, Kuskov repeated, but unsuccessfully, an attempt to establish himself in the intended place. He succeeded only in 1811. During the winter, he became close to the leaders of the local tribes, gave them medals and gifts and persuaded them to allocate a certain amount of land for settlement.
In 1812, Kuskov brought with him the materials necessary for the initial acquisition. By winter, a fort with 10 guns and residential buildings were built. Thus was founded the village of Ross - the southernmost settlement of the Russian-American Company.
Despite all the energy and enterprise of Kuskov, his efforts to turn the settlement of Ross into a “breadbasket” of Russian America failed. The Aleuts and the Russians at his disposal preferred to engage in fur trade, which was more profitable for them, than agriculture. In addition, the coastal areas closest to the village of Ross were saline as a result of the winds blowing almost constantly from the sea. A great disadvantage of the village of Ross was also the absence of a convenient harbor near it - ships could safely anchor only with north-westerly winds. Kuskov, however, built a small pier and even a shipyard, with which in 1818 and 1819. the brigantine "Rumyantsev" and the brig "Buldakov" were lowered, but all this did not solve the issue of supplying Russian America with provisions.
After retiring from the RAC, he returned to his hometown of Totma, Vologda province, on July 4, 1821, and died in 1823. His house is still kept in Totma as the “Kuskov House Museum”,
Fort Ross is now part of the Fort Ross State Historic Park, which is open to the public.
See also: viewforum.php?f=13401.
Russia 1991;50k; SG6236.
LPR 2021;77r.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Ross,_California.
https://www.ohlone.edu/english-departme ... es-reading.
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