I appreciate how you didn’t kill us with “like & subscribe” crap but asked us to consider watching more videos. I thank you for the work done on this informative video.
It was said that the Sun did not set on the British Empire cos it was World Wide but it is also because God did not trust Brits in the Dark and they might attempt to seize Heaven
if you compare usa gdp growth as a whole vs alaskas from 1867-2024 then alaskas gdp should today be about 4,7 trillions for it to have been a good purchase... so either alaskans are beeing severly exploited and that gdp is going somewhere else or it was a really bad purchase considering it's current gdp of 63 billions... alaska should currently be contributing 18% to usas current gdp for it to have been a good purchase
@@sport7553 that amount was a 20% of gdp once off payment.. they need to make 20% of the gdp every year from the year of sale? Doubling an investment continuously (inflation ignored) is a bit far fetched? That’s huge profit margins even if it does deteriorate over time
That's probably also why they have fabricated a story, that Russia only leased Alaska the the USA for 90 years. 😆 Nice try, Ivan. But all sales are final. No returns.
This is absolutely amazing! I knew before watching this that "Sewards FollIy" was not accurate but that most of our ancestors were for the purchase of Alaska. But that was just scratching the surface. In these 23 minutes, I have learned more about Russia and America and this purchase than I had ever learned before! Hindsight, I am hooked!
I never knew that Russia was the only major European power to support the Unionists in the American Civil War. And then also selling Alaska to them for a bargain. I think historically overall, Russia has given more to America than the other way around. Think about relations with Russia in recent times what you want, I feel this video covers events and topics that aren't thought enough in American schools.
Just imagine what the Cold War in the 1950's and 1960's would have been like if the 1867 purchase of Alaska was rejected and then Alaska was part of the Soviet Union in the 20th Century!
Since Tsar Nikolai II was in desperate need of money, he would probably just have found another buyer, in case the 1867 purchase was rejected. I believe that he actually offered Alaska to Liechtenstein, first. It's really funny hearing Russian propagandists trying very hard to push the narrative, that Russia didn't sell Alaska to the US and that it somehow still belongs to Russia. 🤣
Definitely would be a very interesting scenario. There’s always a chance that Alaska would break away from Russia during the civil war and become an independent state (likely under American and British protection). However, if the Soviets were able to take it then it’d likely become it’s own SSR like Ukraine or Belarus. Now obviously, the Soviets would place nuclear bombs here which might seem like a really significant event, but I don’t think it would be, essentially becoming a lessened down Cuban Missile Crisis. As for Cuba, the Americans would likely be fine with having nukes placed there as the threat of Alaska would’ve existed for over 15 years by that point. The Soviets would almost definitely still lose the Cold War, resulting in the modern world having an independent Alaska (likely speaking Russian), however it would almost definitely become a western democracy due to the close influence of the USA and Canada. Looking at it from that point of view, the only major world difference in the modern day would be a slight decrease in the overall power of the USA (now only 49 states), however I do believe that Alaska would become a major non NATO US ally, possibly even joining the alliance itself.
@@baneofbanes Yeah, it ranks nearly dead last out of the 50 states in GDP... It's huge, but it's certainly not populated enough nor rich enough to be it's own country by modern western standards.
The Russians were not totally barbaric to the Natives, You need to do the research. the Orthodox Church was very kind and wrote an alphabet for their language, and wrote the Bible in the language of the people, and educated the people in their own language. And the Natives were not slaves. It was only after the Americans took over that the native people were treated very badly.
@@saccount-z3Ukraine is an American 🇺🇸 Allie and friend and has been since 1991… Ukraine 🇺🇦 will continue to receive tanks, planes, guns, bullets, bombs, and much much more in their fight for freedom and democracy.
The first line from Scott O’Dell’s children's novel “Island of the Blue Dolphins” speaks of hunters from the Aleutian Islands arriving, & the setting of that book is the real-life island of San Nicholas, just off the coast of California from Los Angeles. The fact that the Aleutians could travel this 2500-mile distance speaks to how skilled they were as seaman.
Interesting suggestion: Do you have anything to support your statement, other than a pre-historic land bridge that Siberians probably crossed in pre-history?
I've never heard the myth that Alaska was thought to be a bad purchase at some point. Everything I was taught in school during the 90s said the opposite.
Some politicians and newspapers were against the purchase of Alaska (believing it to be a waste of public funds that went beyond the responsibilities of government as imposed by the Constitution) but Seward paid newspapers in major population centres to display pro-purchase adverts and write positive stories in support of the purchase. In the US, politicians buying favourable news coverage was commonplace and even somewhat expected in that era).
same.. my history teachers always made it out that we fleeced the russians for an amazing piece of land. dont know where the creator is getting that idea from
That is evidence of an extremely poor education system, you must have grown up in the US, The most common way to be completely wrong yet absolutely certain that you’re right.
Actually, I grew up in the US educational system and I think it was pretty fair but that was a long time ago. They have purged a lot out to make room.@@pwdrjnky
Russia first asked the leader of one of the smallest countries in the world if he wants to buy Alaska. Lichtenstein (between Swiss and Austria) but he said no. If not alaska would be german speaking and would belong one of the smallest countries in the world. Imagine how rich that 30.000 inhabiant Country Lichtenstein now would be. And imagine how the cold war would have been when russia would not have sold alaska. russian tanks in north amerika
Russia has always been our ally. Marxism came from the Rothschilds, (Karl Marx was a Rothschild as much as Klaus Schwab is) & together with Wall Street It was the Rothschilds who financed the Khazarian Revolution of Russia (and slaughter of nearly 200 million Russian, Ukrainian & Polish Christians) So if you hate what the Rothschilds did to Russia...better look at our USA politicians. At least Russia recovered from those who attacked her....the USA is just becoming even more Bolshevik...!sadly!
I checked the Deed from Russia to the United States. The legal description on the Deed describes about 1676 acres. Meets and bounds description. Check it out. That is the reason the United States could not get permitting for the Alaska Pipeline before Ted Stevens and Don Young Created the ALASKA NATIONAL INTEREST LANDS CONSERVATION ACT (ANILCA) which changed sovereign native villages into C corporations requiring an attorney to represent them. Hence Alaska was purchased from Russia when Russia did not have title to the land.
Great video. I think something people overlook when they talk about the purchase price of Alaska is with Russian America only having 800~ settlers the control they had on the area was still nebulous. The Russians basically converted a paper claim to cash in a time of need. People often think of modern strictly controlled border but the situation back then was much more flexible.
So Russia lost money fighting a war in Crimea and needed to sell Alaska. Now 2023, Russia is losing money fighting war in Crimea so should they sell Siberia to USA?
9:10 "She passed a law, that declared all natives in Russian America to be *subjects* of Russia ... *forced into labor.* " "Russia ruled the natives with an *iron fist.* " "They took the *children* of the natives' leaders *hostage* , and they frequently resorted to *extreme force.* " *(CHEERY, UPLIFTING MUSIC PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND)*
@@reneblom2160the US literally did genocide of almost all native Americans on their land… like Spain, like the UK. That was “ok” for countries of the time. And huh, actually Russia didn’t treated the natives so badly. Most of these words are just a bad translation or tries of manipulation, Russian bureaucratic machine usually just taxed all natives by furs, like the Empire did in Siberia. Alaskan case was pretty much the same, huh. Almost all local tribes are fighting each other -> the Empire proposes protection for the weakest and taxes them -> the Empire conquers the strongest tribe and taxes them by force -> the entire region is under Russian control. Pretty liberal strategy, comparatively to strategies of other countries of that time 😅
@Habik87_29 There are more Indians in USA than ever in history and prehistory. If you talk about deaths, majority was due infectious diseases. They spread faster than people from Europe set foot. Are you trying to ban sailing by ship and reaching the shore ? Especially since we are talking about the past centuries, not the present ones.
12:31 Minor note, but around this time, the four southern islands in the Kuril Island chain were still part of Japan. Russians first entered them in 1945, after Japan surrendered to the US.
Yes, that probably encouraged Japan to surrender, in addition to the A-Bomb. How does Japan get Russians out of Japanesse territory once siezed? Are not the Russians still there?
The Russians were probably just too busy playing cup cakes to understand Alaska's value 🤷 just an assumption based on how much Russians are into dudes😱🤤
The fact that we get free videos from Hindsight on RU-vid is priceless; keeping the education and knowledge alive. 👍👍👍 By the way, may I also remind you the fact that our Native American population in our motherland, the Continent of America before the European Colonizers arrived, was around 15 millions, while the European population in their motherland, the Continent of Europe was around 25 millions. Today, Native American population is 15 million, while the European population, in the Continents of America + Europe, is a staggering TWO BILLION! A shocking sad truth. 😔 In my humble opinion, it's about time to decolonize the Colonized lands, and return it to rightful owners Native American people. Notorious global cardinal crimes the Christian West has committed, and benefited a great deals, such as Slavery & Colonialism had long been over, why on earth is notorious Colonization still lingering on, may I ask? 😔
My jaw dropped as I learnt Native American population in their motherland, the Continent of America before the European Colonizers arrived, was around 15 millions, while the European population in their motherland, the Continent of Europe was around 25 millions. Today, Native American population is 15 million, while the European population, in the Continents of America + Europe, is a staggering TWO BILLION. It is a shockingly sad truth 😔
You can't discover a place if people are already there for 20,000 long years. Native Americans came from Asia 20,000 years ago when Europeans came from the Middle-East some 40,000 years ago. Moreover, this land is their one and only ASSET. The beloved motherland their ancestors forebears had lived through thick and thin, endured through hardships of all sorts for so long. With their main ASSET being taken away from them, their IDENTITY, their DIGNITY, their POPULATION and most of all, their FUTURE are all but gone.That's a sad truth indeed. All they, indigenous Native people need is their beloved motherlands back, the lands that their ancestors' forebears had lived through thick and thin, endured through hardships and all for tens of thousands of years. May I ask why not let Native Americans have Europe, since Europeans have had both North/South America Continents already? A fair deal? Remember the saying, "You can't have your cake and eat it too" and "A man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do".
Aha! So this is why in Japan there is the Okhotsk Limited Express rail service (limited express means stopping at fewer stations than regular express) that goes all the way to the northernmost tip of the mainland. Beautiful region btw. I also just assumed that name was borrowed from the Sea of Okhotsk, but never realised where that bit of sea got its name. Now I know 😀
Russia know again they become Soviet union of Russia and they capture Alaska Russia become Soviet union of Russia we love Russia in soon it become Soviet union of Russia love from india
At the time of the alleged "sale" , the number of Russians was 2,000, and the number of natives, true first Americans and hunter trappers was 80,000. So what are we talking about. They got good money for the fictional property.😂
"Natives"... Such an interesting term. A term used by the social justice crybaby squad in attempt to convey that absolute ownership of territory relies solely on timing of arrival. Those people, just like all of the "natives" in North and South America migrated in periodic waves from central Siberia over a period of 1500 years. Reality is, "native" just means someone arrived earlier than you did.
If the US Congress had not sold its soul to the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank in 1913, the US government could have invested all of its public wealth into a sovereign wealth fund and eliminated the need for sales and income tax for all states and the federal government, it could have retained gold and silver coin as the only lawful US currency, and it could be providing a stipend every year to each and every US citizen. By abdicating the right to create debt-based US currency to the Federal Reserve Bank, combined with spending vastly more money than it collects in tax revenues each year, the US government has allowed the purchasing power of the US dollar to decrease by 96% since 1913. Read "The Creature From Jekyll Island" by G. Edward Griffin for a more detailed history of the abdication of the US currency by our own bought-and-paid-for government.
I like everything that you said. I watched Edward Griffin on a RU-vid channel and I tried to tell people about this, but too many don't care to listen.
It is simply a geostrategic /expansion westward move by the governing body. The U.S. needed to secure all it's boarders and this deal put the U.S. on both sides of Canada thus neutralizing Canada. Mexico is likewise surrounded by the U.S. holdings in Central America and in Cuba which secure Gulf of Mexico and the important Mississippi river . When it comes to a country's security then SIZE is really important. This is known as 'Check Mate' in chess.
I have been to Alaska,. They are Americans, the Natives also, including any Russian-American descendants. and the Orthodox church. Putin can bluster all he wants.
@@franciscopagan3255 Well, okay, but you FAILED to read my question?! I ASKED where did the U.S. government find that kind of money back in the day to pay the Russians that kind of money for Alaska? Kindly pay attention to what you are reading--PLEASE!
The possibility of the British Columbia mainland and the separate colony of Vancouver and Quadra Islands joining the United States was real, and there was interest by some people and politicians in the US to retain the entire west coast north of Mexico for the United States.
When then Secretary of State William Seward put forth the recommendation to buy Alaska, it was utterly useless land in the forbidden North. Nobody really knew if it was worth a dime or not. Back then, I would have considered it a really bad purchase. But with the discovery of oil, it ended up a deal for America.
Putin should sell Vladivostok to the US next. Putin could make billions for his family and the oligarchs...the people of Vladivostok would be more wealthy as well.
The sale of Alaska to Russia is smartest decision ever in Russian geo politics of 19th century for Russia. Keep your Russia hatred aside and look at the reality of those times
Considering that the Soviets shot the rightful owner of Russian, that like a house thief getting angry that he don't get the car that wasn't park in the garage because the previous owner already sell it.
1:33 LOL I don't know about that.. Their abundance in resources isn't why they were able to 86 income taxes and receive national stipends.. Not a lot of people want to live and stay in Alaska so they HAD to erase sales/income tax and pay people with a stipend to make it more attactive to live there. Half the crap online can't even ship to Alaska LOL
Considering that everything have to be ship to Alaska, everything is already super expensive, adding sale tax onto it would not be taken well by the citizen. Also, I thought the stipend is state not national.
We purchased Alaska from the Russian Czar because the Czar asked us to do so. The Czar was concerned about Great Britton and France taking Alaska. He would have been unable to respond as he was in Saint Petersburg and would have had to send people all the way around the South American continent whereas Great Britton owned what is now Canada. Holding the land from Great Britton would have been impossible.
Don't forget the uniting of Siberia with western Russia was not started until 1891 with the trans-Siberian Railroad. That is a hell of a long-distance to travel in the early 19th century on horse, wagons, foot or ship.. Sell Alaska! Before the Brits...
When I read some of the comments about this video, some of them is very dumb. For example the U.S. bought Alaska so as to be strategic against Russia. What we must do is to put our minds back in 1867. NOBODY either, the common people or the power elites back in the day could have possibly foreseen the Cold War era that began about 80 years later. Absolutely NO ONE back in 1867 could have possibly foreseen intercontinental ballistic missiles with both the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. have these missiles pointed at each other. Also back in 1867 the U.S. and Russia were good friends. The Russians assisted the Union army to victory and saved the United States from extinction as a country.
I also agree that if Russia had not sold it to the United States or England , Canada would still have taken it by force, there were many examples of that time.
There was no Russia until 1721. The state until then was called Muscovy and no one conflated them with the Rus, which only sound similar to anglophones who mispronounce ….many things , actually….
Только поляки называли Московское княжество Руси и Русское царство Московией, чтобы отличать оккупированные ими и Литвой русские земли от остальной Руси. Этому они конечно научили и своих холопов (которых сами называли быдлом) украинцев, которые до оккупации ВЛК и Польшей были такими же русскими
Russia is a greek pronunciation of Rus. wife of Tsar Ivan III Sophia Palaiologina niece of Byzantine emperor insisted on calling it that way. Grand Principality of Moscow just one of many principalities of Rus. Moscow become center of reunification of Rus lands. In 1721 Russia become Empire. Совсем вам мозг засрали, скакуны. Отказаться от 1000летней истории в угоду жидополякской идеологии. Больные люди.
Russia knows but Russia can't hold British attack so better option is to get some money instead of losing it after the war with british and with no money
Id like to trade Vancouver,Van island and the lower mainland for alaska. We will incorperate alberta and the rest of bc into the new nation and call it 'Albaska'
At the time, Russia had no physical or economical means to hold on to or defend Alaska, and therefore made the only right decision at the time: to sell it rather than just lose it "for free." My only question is whether they could've/should've negotiated a better price.
They did sell it for a better price. The tsar authorised the sale for $5Mn and the US paid $7.2Mn - a premium of almost 50%. At that time there were only 800 Russian settlers so the price/man was enormous - about $9000/head
Good thing Russian sell Alaska to the US when it did, if they don't Japan would have annexed it after the Russo-Japanese war. Of course it would lost Alaska to the British during the Crimea War earlier then that. So many way for Russia to lose Alaska to a foreign powers...
I grew up in Willow,AK. I never saw the log cabin I was raised in again. I was drafted in 65...7 years later I returned to Anchorage where a good man gave me a job as a diver (Ted Jackson). He had to go against the Union. I will always love the wilderness I grew up in. In the winter of 72/73 I did a survey of the Texaco Tanker Hillary Brown in Cold Bay, she was carrying a cargo of LNG. The US Coast Guard vessel Old Ironside captain said she had to be abandoned and dead towed to San Francisco. 14 years before the the Exxon Valdez I believe. Retired from saturation diving in 98. SEAL Team was my start and the flag my God.
@HindsightYT if you compare usa gdp growth as a whole vs alaskas from 1867-2024 then alaskas gdp should today be about 4,7 trillions for it to have been a good purchase... so either alaskans are beeing severly exploited and that gdp is going somewhere else or it was a really bad purchase considering it's current gdp of 63 billions... alaska should currently be contributing 18% to usas current gdp for it to have been a good purchase
@@thomashenebry8269 Not their job, their choice, in hopes to make money, a choice made up of many creative choices, many of which I thought was well done. If not one recognizes what goes behind it, it can feel unappreciated.
$218,670,000 today- still a bargain We’ll see what Putin makes of his mumbling claim of possession of due to an illegal sale of Alaska to the US in 1862 .
All Canadian land is known as crown land-! which means that old king Chooles owns the whole kittinkaboodle, known as Canada, - go figur. Some Canucks think that they need an old king hovering over them. Oh when, oh when will they wake up from the past.
Nice story I forgot it but major and secret Zone of Aircraft and submarine and other weapons produced there plus kind of war with Japan early last century about this island or Sthg elsr A/W Story of history besides Wealth of the land
Publishing negative opinions about a prospective purchase was not candid. They must have had the ulterior motive of pretending lack of pubic support, in order to lower the purchasing bid. The about to be seller would be thus willing to lower its asking price in order to defuse the perceived widespread opposition to the deal.
Taken in account the fall of the Soviet Union, how would today's sitution be if Alaska would still be Russian territory? Would Ukraine have happened like the way it did up to now?
At that time, it was impossible for Russia to have control over Alaska and manage it. Communication lines couldn’t support saddlers. Any attempt would be waste of money.
Wondering... When is Putin going to say that Alaska has to become russian again. Part of the Ukrainian territory used to be part of the russian Empire. As well as Alaska...
That is because Canada did not become a country until 1867, whereas the USA became a country 91 years earlier Already Russia as a country was centuries old. So the USA and Russia were 'in the game' acquiring new territory. Russia had to sell Alaska because back in the day, Alaska was too far away to govern. Russia did damn good acquiring a huge land mass all the ways to the Bering Strait.
The best deal ever in the world history! Rússia was enormous, that was the deal of the Millennium, thats why Putin is so mad about this past deal! Billions from this land unbelievable
The Native American People in Alaska were abused and suffered due to the greed of those seeking material resources Very Sad!😢😢😔😞All will receive their karma Justice will prevail 💯🦾💪💯
FOLLY OR FOLLY - THE MEANING HAS CHANGED !!! I think there maybe a misunderstanding of the word "Folly" !!! My Uncle lived in a "Folly". A mock Castle complete with drawbridge & even a moat. But it was built by an American who had migrated to England, around 1870, in the Victorian era (1840-1902 the reign of Queen Victoria). Known as a "Folly" because Castles became useless as Castles by 1380, when gunpowder first arrived from China, to Europe. But such "Follies" (and there are many in Britain), did make nice impressive homes, implying the owner was important & wealthy, & in reality often used more modern methods of construction !!!! So "Sewards Folly" could mean virtually the exact opposite of what it is generally thought to mean today !!!! Definition of "Folly" as per CURRENT Oxford English Dictionary = Quote "A lack of good sense or foolishness" Unquote !!!
As I watch this I wonder where the American government back in history found that money--$7,200,000.00? Not only that but if you look at U.S. history, the Louisiana purchase was for $11,000,000.00. At the time the USA was a very small country, so where did that money come from? Decades later after the war with Mexico, The USA paid the Mexican government $15,000,000.00 for what is now , New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and California. Where did that money come from? Back in that era of history, no small country had any kind of national treasury such as that. Only the British and French empires had national treasuries of that size. Likely we will never know.
