Alexander Andreyevich Baranov
| Alexander Andreyevich Baranov | |
|---|---|
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| 1st Governor of Russian America | |
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In office July 9, 1799 – January 11, 1818 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Ludwig von Hagemeister |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1747 Kargopol, St. Petersburg Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | April 16, 1819 Sunda Strait, Dutch East Indies |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Religion | Russian Orthodox |
Alexander Andreyevich Baranov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Андре́евич Бара́нов) (1747–16 April 1819), sometimes spelled Aleksandr or Alexandr and Baranof, was a Russian trader and merchant, who worked for some time in Siberia. He was recruited by the Shelikov Company for trading in Russian America, beginning in 1790 with a five-year contract as manager of the outpost. He continued to serve past the end date of his contract.
In 1799 Baranov was promoted, appointed by the recently chartered Russian-American Company as Chief Manager, effectively the first governor of Russian America. He served until 1818. This was the early colonial period of expansion of settlements. He founded Pavlovskaya (Kodiak) and later New Archangel (Sitka), Russian colonies that were bases of the company in present-day Alaska. In addition, he oversaw the expansion of the lucrative fur trade with Alaska Natives.
He continued to support his Russian wife and children, who had moved from Siberia back to live near St. Petersburg. In Pavlovskaya, Baranov took an Aleut woman as mistress and had three mixed-race children with her. After learning that his wife had died in 1807 in Russia, he married his mistress, legitimizing their children. In 1817 Irina, his oldest daughter born in Alaska, married Semyon Yanovksy, a Russian naval officer. Late in 1818, Yanovsky was appointed as Chief Manager and successor to Baranov. That year Baranov departed to sail back to Russia, but he died in April 1819 and was buried at sea.
Alexander Andreyevich Baranov was born in 1747 in Kargopol, in St. Petersburg Governorate of the Russian Empire. He was the son of Andrey Baranov, a lower-class merchant or mestchanin, in the Russian stratified order of classes. Baranov ran away from home at the age of fifteen and went to Moscow, where he became a clerk before returning home.
After he married and his first child (a daughter) was born, Baranov took his young family to Siberia for its frontier opportunities. In Irkutsk, he became a trader and tax collector with his brother. Eventually, his wife left Baranov and returned to Kargopol with their daughter and two young children they had adopted. There was no divorce in the Russian Orthodox Church. Baranov supported them all from afar.
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