Lol, I'm sure it's not that bad even if, like Evolved Saurian said, Russian America is a silly idea.
Strange Shores: A Russian America TLIAW
- Thread starter Bartholome de Fonte
- Start date
Lol, I'm sure it's not that bad even if, like Evolved Saurian said, Russian America is a silly idea.
You say this because Siberia's conditions appear better than they are (consider this was all done before a lot of modern farming techniques and technological advances, and supplied by horse or small boats). There isn't that much more agriculturally valuable land to exploit left, really, even in Siberia, and the fur tax is not enough to keep large populations because animals are getting killed off and prices are going down.
On the other hand Russia maintained a very respectable navy that could have been put to good (and by good I mean Imperialist) use in the aftermath of the Napoleonic disruption, but never was.
So compare marginal still-unoccupied land in Siberia with Willamette, Fraser, or Columbia rivers basins, or Hawaii or even San Francisco bay? Russian America is a lot less silly in that context, though still a tiny bit silly.
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Your reasoning is far more sound than mine, based mostly on aesthetics. It just seems like Petersburg had too much on its plate already, in too many theaters, to be able to afford yet another distraction.
Russia does have the advantage of having a fuck ton of areas to expand across. Yet if slightly disengaged from Europe (my awful handwavy Kingdom of Poland/HRE) and able to play on some the weaknesses of the Qing Empire (it collapsing and becoming a convenient puppet state) I'd say Russia could have gobbled up the PNW. It really boils down to the first fur trading company to get a stable local supply of food and having an Empire actually remain invested in it. That and no Americans on the scene. 