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==Background== | ==Background== | ||
*The earliest European inhabitants were '''Russian fur traders''' who first came to Kodiak Island in 1783. Russians eventually established Russian America, which spanned most of the current state. The expense and difficulty of maintaining this distant possession prompted its sale to the U.S. in 1867.<ref>"Alaska", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska, accessed 10 April 2021.</ref> | *The earliest European inhabitants were '''Russian fur traders''' who first came to Kodiak Island in 1783. Russians eventually established Russian America, which spanned most of the current state. The expense and difficulty of maintaining this distant possession prompted its sale to the U.S. in 1867.<ref name="Alaska">"Alaska", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska, accessed 10 April 2021.</ref> | ||
*Between 1774 and 1800, '''Spain''' sent several expeditions to Alaska to assert its claim over the Pacific Northwest. In 1789, a Spanish settlement and fort were built in Nootka Sound. These expeditions gave names to places such as Valdez, Bucareli Sound, and Cordova.<ref name="Alaska"/> | |||
*Juneau and Douglas were '''gold-mining camps''' that sprang up in the 1880s, but a greater boom was the Klondike gold rush of the late 1890s. '''Most of the miners who headed to the Klondike in the Yukon Territory of Canada were Americans''', and most of them passed through Alaska. Gold miners founded Nome in 1899 and Fairbanks in 1902. Anchorage was founded in 1915 as the headquarters of the Alaska Railroad, then under construction, and has since become the center of population. Some people who arrived during the gold rush stayed on in Alaska, but many returned to the "lower 48." | *Juneau and Douglas were '''gold-mining camps''' that sprang up in the 1880s, but a greater boom was the Klondike gold rush of the late 1890s. '''Most of the miners who headed to the Klondike in the Yukon Territory of Canada were Americans''', and most of them passed through Alaska. Gold miners founded Nome in 1899 and Fairbanks in 1902. Anchorage was founded in 1915 as the headquarters of the Alaska Railroad, then under construction, and has since become the center of population. Some people who arrived during the gold rush stayed on in Alaska, but many returned to the "lower 48." | ||
*European immigrants from '''Norway and Sweden''' also settled in southeast Alaska, where they entered the fishing and logging industries.<ref name="Alaska"/> | |||
*Homesteading was not legal in Alaska until 1898, and those filing homestead claims after that date did not have to remain on the land in order to retain their rights. | *Homesteading was not legal in Alaska until 1898, and those filing homestead claims after that date did not have to remain on the land in order to retain their rights. | ||
*The Alaska population has increased steadily since 1929. The Great Depression and World War II brought many people seeking employment. The United States government settled about '''200 families from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin in the Matanuska Valley, fifty miles from Anchorage.''' | *The Alaska population has increased steadily since 1929. The Great Depression and World War II brought many people seeking employment. The United States government settled about '''200 families from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin in the Matanuska Valley, fifty miles from Anchorage.''' | ||
*The '''North Slope oil discoveries''' of the late 1960s brought another wave of immigration. When Alaska became a state in 1959, half of the state's population had resided in the state less than five years. Many residents were from western states. Only about one-fifth of the white population was born in Alaska. | *The '''North Slope oil discoveries''' of the late 1960s brought another wave of immigration. When Alaska became a state in 1959, half of the state's population had resided in the state less than five years. Many residents were from western states. Only about one-fifth of the white population was born in Alaska. | ||
* | *The indigenous population of Alaska is proportionally the highest of any U.S. state, at over 15 percent.Close to two dozen native languages are spoken, and Alaskan Natives exercise considerable influence in local and state politics.<ref name="Alaska"/> | ||
==Immigration Records== | ==Immigration Records== | ||