On October 18, 1867, the US agreed to buy Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. During the treaty signing, the Russian Minister to the US, Edouard de Stoeckl, and the US Secretary of State, William Seward, negotiated the deal that saw the handover of Alaska to the US government.
While it offset the designs of Great Britain in the Pacific, it also helped to elevate the US as a great power in the Asia Pacific region.
The Treaty for the Purchase of Alaska marked the end of Russia's trading and settlement expansion efforts to the Pacific coast of North America. And at the same time, it disrupted Great Britain's organization in the region.
At the start of the 1800s, the US competed with Russian explorers and traders for Alaska, which was rich in natural resources, and was lightly inhabited. And although Russia had a keen interest in the region, St. Petersburg lacked the resources to support a significant military presence and settlements along the Pacific coast. In addition, permanent Russian settlers were no more than four hundred. Worse still, the Russians lost during the Crimean War and, as a result, further lost interest in the territory of Alaska.
Thanks for the information
I think that was the most important purchase for the USA, since the independent from Great Britain, my opinion, JV
Excellent bargain for a few cents per acre of land Mr. Seward’s foresight was to be remembered by a park in Seattle on the south-western side of Lake Washington, where we used to visit when our children were small to watch the ducks, geese, and birds. .
This information is a big piece of Americas history. I have learned something new today.
Cool Beans 🫘
I was always understanding That the Seward’s folly of Alaska was bought for about a penny a acre? Is that correct?
At the time, 1867…this was commonly referred to as, “Seward’s Folly”,
but…time has shown that this purchase…has panned out as far more than
…….William Seward had …ever hoped.