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The purpose of this paper is two-fold - to trace the development of Russian American Company relations with foreigners in Alaska and to assess the effects of foreign trade there on the competitive position of the company. The closing year for this study, 1839, is the year in which the Russian American Company made definite arrangements to receive much of its provisions from the Hudson's Bay Company in order to resolve its long-standing problem of supply. As to the first aspect of this theme, this account of Russian American Company foreign relations follows in broad outline the existing works dealing with the history of the company. However, some corrections and new material based on a careful study of unpublished sources in America and the Soviet Union have been added concerning the details of foreign visits to Alaska. Various subject relevant to the development of foreign trade are considered: its beginnings, the evolution of company and government attitudes to relations with foreigners, and the development of Hudson's Bay Company trade in the area. The financial prosperity of the Russian American Company is reassessed and revised downwards on the basis of some relatively unexploited archival material, with the inflationary decrease in the value of the paper ruble being taken into account. Particular attention is paid to the events leading up to the lease of the Alaska panhandle (lisière) in 1839 in order to determine the essential significance of the agreement in terms of the foreign trade and further development of the Russian American Company. The main conclusions of the thesis can be stated briefly as follows. Although small in comparison with the total income and expenditure in the colony, foreign trade was absolutely necessary to the survival of the company in Alaska unless and until some reliable alternative source of vital provisions and supplies could be devised. The final decision to regularize and perpetuate the Russian American Company's dependence on foreign trade signified a final acceptance of the view that there was no feasible alternative. Whether this view was completely valid cannot be answered definitely on the basis of the available evidence. It seems clear that the decision was not made on the basis of economic feasibility or political considerations alone. In any case the principal result of the lease agreement was that the Russian American Company's prospects for economic progress or even for holding its own financially practically disappeared. / Arts, Faculty of / Central Eastern Northern European Studies, Department of / Graduate

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The history of contact with Europeans for Native Americans and the Tlingit people in particular has been well documented as one of extreme pain, suffering, and injustice. It was "survival time" for the Tlingit and very difficult choices had to be made. The life of one Tlingit man, Rudolph Walton, born in Sitka, Alaska in 1867, illuminates this critical time in the history of the Tlingit people. This dissertation is ah exploration of the interplay between competing cultures and interests and it is a quest to understand who Rudolph Walton was and how his life and the choices he made are connected to the larger historic themes and cross-cultural issues in Alaska Native education and religious life. In addition to providing a look at history and at cultural change through an individual's life, choices and experiences, this dissertation is also about the connection between my ancestors' choices and the impact those choices had on the survival of a people. It is at once a macro view and a micro view of the impact of history on Indian people. After the purchase of Alaska by the United States traditional Tlingit life changed forever. The Tlingit were forced on a daily basis to balance demands and pressures made by various Christian religious groups and the U. S. government. They also had to contend with the prejudice of the average American citizen. Most Native American history has been limited to the use of records written by Europeans and Americans. Our understanding of that history is limited because the voice of the Native American is rarely heard. This dissertation fills a gap in the history of Southeast Alaska through an examination of the life of Rudolph Walton. The life of Mr. Walton is important because he left us with a unique set of documents which help us to understand the difficulties he had to face as a Tlingit man during a critical time in the history of Southeast Alaska.

The history of contact with Europeans for Native Americans and the Tlingit people in particular has been well documented as one of extreme pain, suffering, and injustice. It was "survival time" for the Tlingit and very difficult choices had to be made. The life of one Tlingit man, Rudolph Walton, born in Sitka, Alaska in 1867, illuminates this critical time in the history of the Tlingit people. This dissertation is ah exploration of the interplay between competing cultures and interests and it is a quest to understand who Rudolph Walton was and how his life and the choices he made are connected to the larger historic themes and cross-cultural issues in Alaska Native education and religious life. In addition to providing a look at history and at cultural change through an individual's life, choices and experiences, this dissertation is also about the connection between my ancestors' choices and the impact those choices had on the survival of a people. It is at once a macro view and a micro view of the impact of history on Indian people. After the purchase of Alaska by the United States traditional Tlingit life changed forever. The Tlingit were forced on a daily basis to balance demands and pressures made by various Christian religious groups and the U. S. government. They also had to contend with the prejudice of the average American citizen. Most Native American history has been limited to the use of records written by Europeans and Americans. Our understanding of that history is limited because the voice of the Native American is rarely heard. This dissertation fills a gap in the history of Southeast Alaska through an examination of the life of Rudolph Walton. The life of Mr. Walton is important because he left us with a unique set of documents which help us to understand the difficulties he had to face as a Tlingit man during a critical time in the history of Southeast Alaska. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate