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Antropologicheskij forum, 2016, no. 29
Andrei Grinev Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University, Humanitarian Institute Abstract: This article is devoted to the dynamics of the barter trade between Russians and natives of Alaska under the Russian Empire. During the first stage of colonization, the Russians (unlike the English and the French), did not tend to barter trade because they preferred to catch the main riches of Alaska, especially the valuable furs, using their own hands, or obtain them by exploiting local people in hunting parties using non-economic coercion to work and debt bondage. Moreover, the trade between the Russians and natives was complicated by the chronicle deficit of wares, the high cost of delivery, relatively narrow assortment, and the prohibition of selling firearms and alcohol (with few exceptions). As the author demonstrates, during the Russian colonization of Alaska, three different systems of barter trade with their own dynamics formed. At the same time, the fur trade of the Russians in Alaska, though relatively profitable on the whole, was less effective than the trade operations of American and British traders, their competitors. The development of fur trade had a dramatic effect on the fate of many native people, but at the same time it helped to put an end to intertribal conflicts and improved the life of native people by affecting their material culture. Keywords: Alaskan natives, Russian colonization, Russian America, barter trade, commercial competition, material culture. To cite: Grinev A., 'Spetsifika tovaroobmena russkikh s tuzemtsami Alyaski v 1741–1867 gg.' [The Dynamics of Russian Barter Trade with Alaskan Natives 1741–1867], Antropologicheskij forum, 2016, no. 29, pp. 66–98. URL: http://anthropologie.kunstkamera.ru/files/pdf/029/grinev.pdf |
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