''Phoenix'' (also spelled ''Feniks'') was the first ship built in

Russian America Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

(roughly equivalent to today's

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

), for the

Shelikhov-Golikov Company The Shelikhov-Golikov Company (SGC) was a Russian fur trading venture, founded by Irkutsk entrepreneurs Grigory Shelikhov and Ivan Larionovich Golikov in 1783. Formed in Eastern Siberia during the 1780s along with several competing companies, t ...

, a precursor of the Russian–American Company (RAC). James George Shields, a British mariner in the employ of the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

, directed her construction, using mainly local materials. The ship was launched at Voskresenskaia on Resurrection Bay in the summer of 1794. The ship was three-masted, 90 feet long, with a burthen of between 180 and 240 tons ( bm) (sources differ), and mounting 22–24 light cannons. It was by far the largest and most important vessel of any Russian American fur trading company of the time. The ship was named after the British ''Phoenix'', a trading vessel involved in the maritime fur trade, which in turn was the namesake of Phoenix Bay on

Afognak Island Afognak (Alutiiq: ''Agw’aneq''; ) is an island in the Kodiak Archipelago north of Kodiak Island in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is long from east to west and wide from north to south and has a land area of , making it the 18th largest i ...

. ''Phoenix'' was lost at sea in late 1799, last seen on 24 August 1799 when departing

Okhotsk Okhotsk ( rus, Охотск, p=ɐˈxotsk) is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Okhotsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located at the mouth of the Okhota River on the Sea of Okhotsk. Population: ...

for

Kodiak Island Kodiak Island (, ) is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the Un ...

. Wreckage washed up on shores from

Unalaska Island Unalaska (, ) is a volcanic island in the Fox Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in the US state of Alaska located at . The island has a land area of . It measures long and wide. The city of Unalaska, Alaska, covers part of the island a ...

to the

Alexander Archipelago The Alexander Archipelago () is a archipelago (group of islands) in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal mountains that rise steeply from the Pacific Ocean. Deep ...

. It was the greatest marine catastrophe in the history of Russian America. In addition to the ship itself, 103 people died, including 92 ''

promyshlenniki The ''promyshlenniki'' (, промышленник, ''promyshlennik'') were Russian and Indigenous Siberian artel members, or self-employed workers drawn largely from the state serf and townsman class who engaged in the Siberian, mariti ...

'', Captain James Shields, Bishop Joasaph Bolotov, head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Alaska, along with cargo worth 569,328 rubles. The total financial loss was 622,328 rubles, over twice the combined capital of the Kodiak and Unalaska RAC Departments. The loss of ''Phoenix'' and its large load of colonist passengers greatly slowed the tempo of the

Russian colonization of the Americas From 1732 to 1867, the Russian Empire laid claim to northern Pacific Coast territories in the Americas. Russian colonial possessions in the Americas were collectively known as Russian America from 1799 to 1867. It consisted mostly of present-d ...

, effectively ending RAC Governor Baranov's plan to establish a colony south of

Sitka, Alaska Sitka (; ) is a municipal home rule, unified Consolidated city-county, city-borough in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was under Russian America, Russian rule from 1799 to 1867. The city is situated on the west side of Ba ...

on either Prince of Wales Island or in

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the British Columbia Coast, northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia ...

. The ''promyshlenniki'' passengers had been essential to this plan. In addition, the loss of Bishop Joasaph and his retinue was a major blow for the Orthodox Church in America. It took 40 years for the Church to assign a new bishop to the American diocese. The loss of Captain Shields was also a major setback, as he was one of the most experienced captains and shipbuilders working in Russian America.

References

External links

Baranov Quarterly 1, No. 1 (2005), Kodiak Historical Society.
1794 ships Age of Sail merchant ships Fur trade Maritime incidents in 1799 Cargo ships of Russia Russian colonization of North America Russian-American Company Ships built in Alaska Ships lost with all hands Shipwrecks Shipwrecks of the Alaska coast {{Merchantship-stub

See also

References

External links