Potap Kuzmich Zaikov (17??-1791) was a

Russian 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 ...

navigator who operated across the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...

and the

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska ( Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the ...

during the developing Maritime Fur Trade from the 1770s to 1791. Working primarily in what became

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 ...

, Zaikov would over the course of his career be employed by several groups of Russian fur merchants.

''Vladimir''

Zaikov at first worked for the Panov brothers, who also employed Evstratii Delarov. Zaikov departed from

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: ...

in 1772 aboard the Panov vessel ''Vladimir'', staffed with 57 Russians and 10

Yakuts The Yakuts or Sakha (, ; , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to North Siberia, primarily the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation. They also inhabit some districts of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. They speak Yakut, which belongs to the Si ...

. Pallas, Peter Simon. ''Bering's Successors, 1745-1780; Contributions of Peter Simon Pallas to the History of Russian Exploration toward Alaska.'' Edited by James R. Masterson. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 1948, p. 88. The winter was spent at the mouth of the Vorovskaya river on the

Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

, where ''Vladimir'' remained until July 1773. Next the vessel went to Medny Island, spending the following year collecting food for the upcoming voyage.Makarova, Raisa A. ''Russians on the Pacific 1743-1799.'' ed. Richard A. Pierce and Alton S. Donnelly. Kingston, ON: Limestone Press. 1975, pp. 69-70. On 30 July 1775, ''Vladimir'' anchored at

Attu Island Attu (, ) is an island in the Near Islands (part of the Aleutian Islands chain). It is one of the westernmost points of the U.S. state of Alaska. The island became uninhabited in 2010, making it the largest uninhabited island that is part of th ...

, spending the following year collecting fur pelts in addition to ferrying 10 men to Agattu Island where they formed an

artel An artel () was any of several types of cooperative associations of workers in pre-revolutionary Russia. In the Soviet Union, the term was applied to enterprises in the Soviet Union, production cooperatives. They began centuries ago but were espe ...

for further fur exploitation. Departing from the

Near Islands The Near Islands or the Sasignan Islands (, ) are a group of volcanic islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska, between the Russian Commander Islands to the west and Buldir Island and the Rat Islands to the east. Geography Th ...

in July 1776, Zaikov reached

Unimak Island Unimak Island (, ) is the largest island in the Aleutian Islands chain of the U.S. state of Alaska. Geography It is the easternmost island in the Aleutians and, with an area of , the 9th largest island in the United States and the 134th larges ...

in August, where he formed his base of operations until May 1778. While on the island, he forced the collection of the

Yasak ''Yasak'' or ''yasaq'', sometimes ''iasak'', (; akin to Yassa) is a Turkic word for "tribute" that was used in Imperial Russia to designate fur tribute exacted from the indigenous peoples of Siberia. Origin The origins of yasak can be trace ...

from 89

Aleuts Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...

, being later valued at

₽ The ruble sign, , is the currency sign used for the Russian ruble, the official currency of Russia. Its form is a Cyrillic letter Р with an additional horizontal stroke. The design was approved on 11 December 2013 after a public poll that too ...

10,684. On the return voyage to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, Zaikov wintered at

Umnak Island Umnak (; ) is one of the Fox Islands of the Aleutian Islands. With of land area, it is the third largest island in the Aleutian archipelago and the 19th largest island in the United States. The island is home to a large volcanic caldera on Moun ...

, and in the following year Agattu was visited to gather the artel men left there. After crossing the Bering Sea, ''Vladimir'' reached Okhotsk on 6 September 1779 with 12 men having died during the multi-year voyage.Pallas (1948), p. 92. Profits amounted to ₽165,600 on the Okhotsk market, with the animal products primarily being over 3,800

Sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...

skins, almost 4,000 hides from various fox species, 1,725

Northern fur seal The northern fur seal (''Callorhinus ursinus'') is an eared seal found along the north Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk. It is the largest member of the fur seal subfamily (Arctocephalinae) and the only living species in the ...

skins and 335 Walrus tusks..

Later career

The next voyage Zaikov undertook was in the employ of a Tula businessman, commanding the ''Sv. Pavel'' with a crew of 70

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 ...

.Pierce, Richard A. ''Russian America: A Biographical Dictionary.'' Kingston, Canada: The Limestone Press. 1990, pp. 550-551. Departing Okhotsk in 1781, the crew wintered at

Bering Island Bering Island () is located off the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Bering Sea. Description At long by wide, it is the largest and westernmost of the Commander Islands, with an area of . Most of Bering Island and several of the smaller islands in ...

. The following year was spent among the Fox Islands, where active trade with the native Aleuts was commenced. In July 1783, ''Sv. Pavel'' was located in the

Prince William Sound Prince William Sound ( Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the ...

, where a skirmish arose with

Chugach Chugach , Chugach Sugpiaq or Chugachigmiut is the name of an Alaska Native people in the region of the Kenai Peninsula and Prince William Sound on the southern coast of Alaska. The Chugach people are an Alutiiq ( Pacific Native) people who speak ...

indigenous that left 8 of the crew dead. Throughout the remainder of the 1780s, Zaikov remained based on

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 ...

. During his time there the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

was actively exploring the region. He would meet several

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

explorers in 1788,

Esteban José Martínez Esteban () is a Spanish male given name, derived from Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos) and related to the English names Steven and Stephen. Although in its original pronunciation the accent is on the penultimate syllable, English-speakers tend ...

commanding the '' La Princesa'' and

Gonzalo López de Haro Gonzalo López de Haro (bef. 1788 in Puebla – 1823) was a Spanish naval officer and explorer, notable for his expeditions in the Pacific Northwest in the late 18th century. Background In 1788 two ships were sent north to investigate Russian ...

of the ''San Carlos''. Zaikov died on Unalaska Island in 1791.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaikov, Potap Kuzmich 1791 deaths 18th-century explorers from the Russian Empire Russian explorers of North America Explorers of Alaska People from Russian America Russian explorers of the Pacific Year of birth uncertain Maritime navigators from the Russian Empire