What is the history of Sitka, Alaska?
The area was originally settled by the native Tlingit (Kolosh) Indians. Old Sitka was founded in 1799 by Alexandr Baranov, the governor of Russian America. Baranov arrived under the auspices of the Russian-American Company, a “semi-official” colonial trading company chartered by Tsar Paul of RussiaPaul I. In 1802 a group of Tlingit destroyed the original establishment (an area today called the “Old Harbor”) and massacred most of the Russian inhabitants. Baranov was forced to levy 10,000 Russian rublerubles in ransom for the safe return of the surviving settlers. s, armed with 32 cannon, for defense against Tlingit attacks. Baranov returned to Sitka in 1804 with a large contingent of Russians and Aleuts aboard the Russian warship Neva. The ship bombarded the natives’ village, forcing the Tlingits to retreat into the surrounding forest. Following their victory at the Battle of Sitka the Russians established a permanent settlement in the form of a fort, named “Novo-Arkhangelsk” (or “New A
