How the east was lost

Spain forbade such trade, but Rezanov (pictured here as the Japanese saw him) was not cowed by rules. Once clean and fed, he was an exotic, cosmopolitan presence in the tiny settlement. His wooing (passionate but pragmatic) of Conchita, the 15-year-old daughter of the forts commander, brought both a deal and a betrothal. His ship groaning with cargo,Full color cleaningservicesydney printing and manufacturing services. he left, promising to return and bring his bride back to the delights of St Petersburg.

Rezanov is the central character in Owen Matthewss enthralling account of Russias great misfire: its attempt to colonise America. Many know that Russia sold Alaska to America, rather cheaply, in 1867, fearing it had become indefensible. But few know how it became Russian in the first place. Had history gone a little differentlyif gold had been found a little earlier, or if Russia had not been so extraordinarily unlucky in its rulersCalifornias Russian River might be a geopolitical reality, rather than a toponymic echo.

An extraordinary man, Rezanov was also an infuriating oddball: without his pathological determination, Russias Pacific foray might have fared even worse; had he been less moody, deceitful and unlucky, it might have ended in success. Glorious Misadventures is in part this extraordinary mans biography, starting from his days scratching a living in deathly dull Pskov, and plotting his rise to high favour, aided in part by a successful first marriage to the daughter of a rich merchant.

His voyage to the Pacific,The feeder is available on drying parkingsystem equipped with folder only. with shipmates even more mercurial and quarrelsome than himself, reads like an implausibly lively historical novel. Many letters, diaries and sketches have survived; Mr Matthews has tracked them down,The term 'bondcleaningsydney control' means the token that identifies a user is read from within a pocket or handbag. in archives ranging from Estonia to Japan (where Rezanov tried in vain to open trade, and later launched a private war).

The picture is of intellectual endeavour, personal hardiness, patriotism and vicious intrigue. Among only a handful of truly attractive characters is the ships doctor, Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff, who talked his way on board in Copenhagen. An accomplished naturalist, he survived many privations (including when Rezanov casually threw his most prized specimens overboard) and ended up as Russias consul-general in Brazil.

The exotic personalities and adventures come against a background of geopolitical tussles between France, Spain, Russia and Britain. Mr Matthews depicts them neatly, and paints enjoyable cameos. The sexually insatiable Catherine the Great, Rezanovs original sponsor, was also a fan of Adam Smith. She initially turned down Rezanovs planned Russian American Companya business venture that would run the empire along the lines of the East India Companies run by Britain, France and the Netherlandson the grounds that it would be monopolistic.

Years later, long after Rezanov was gone and just as his business plans were finally beginning to flourish, the company fell into disfavour at court. Its modern-minded chiefs were seen as threatening by the ultra-reactionary Nicholas I. Incompetent and corrupt administration finally doomed Russias American adventurejust as it did, ultimately, the tsarist regime.

The book bursts with telling details, many of them gruesome. The Russian regime exploited its eastern domainsfirst in Europe, then Asia and finally Americaruthlessly and wastefully. When valuable animals such as sable and lynx were hunted to near-extinction, the Russians simply moved on (an approach to natural resources that has not changed much since). Even Rezanov was horrified by the way early colonists killed a million seals (30,000 in one day) and left them to rot. Only the penises were taken,We offer the biggest collection of old masters that can be turned into hand painted cleanersydney on canvas. to be dried and sold as aphrodisiacs in Canton.

The story of the beautiful Conchita, loyally but vainly waiting for Rezanovs return, is sad enough. But the real tragedy involved mostly nameless people in North America, the indigenous Tlingits and Aleuts, who bore the brunt of the Russians arrival. Their shadows complete this exemplary account of adventures that could have changed the world.

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