Account of the Russian Discoveries between Asia and America: To which are added, the conquest of Siberia, and the history of the transactions and commerce between Russia and China

In Short

This book serves as a scholarly account of Russian navigational history, documenting the successive voyages that expanded the Russian Empire from the Siberian wilderness across the Aleutian and Fox Islands toward the American continent. Beyond exploration, it details the lucrative, often violent, fur trade that motivated these expeditions and the complex, bureaucratic history of Russian-Chinese commerce at the border town of Kiachta. It has endured as a primary reference for historians interested in the intersection of Enlightenment-era geography, colonial ambition, and the early modern global trade in pelts.

The Story

The narrative begins with the expansion of Russian influence into Siberia, a vast territory governed by independent tribal leaders like Kutchum Chan. The conquest of this region by the adventurer Yermac acts as a foundation for the later, more commercial, push toward the Pacific. As the Russians consolidate their hold on the Siberian hinterland, their attention shifts toward the sea. The central arc of the book follows the progression of private merchant vessels and state-sanctioned expeditions moving eastward from the Kamtchatka Peninsula.

These voyages are driven almost entirely by the insatiable market for furs. The accounts detail the discovery of the Aleutian and Fox Islands, where Russian hunters seek the valuable sea-otter, blue fox, and other skins. The story is one of incremental, often perilous, discovery. Merchants form ad-hoc companies to finance these ships, facing severe storms, shipwrecks, and the harsh realities of wintering on desolate, treeless islands. The text presents these voyages not as heroic epics, but as systematic business ventures, complete with detailed tallies of skins, customs duties, and the distribution of shares among crew members.

As the Russians penetrate further east, they encounter indigenous populations, leading to a complex, often tragic, pattern of interaction. Some encounters are marked by trade and the exchange of glass beads for furs, while others devolve into skirmishes, massacres, and hostage-taking. The book does not shy away from the brutal, opportunistic nature of these "discoveries." It documents the survival of shipwrecked sailors who, stripped of their vessels, are forced to build makeshift canoes from leather sacks to navigate the treacherous coastal waters of Unalashka, often hiding in caverns to escape the wrath of islanders they have provoked.

The narrative shifts geographically toward the end, detailing the strained diplomatic and commercial relationship between the Russian Empire and the Qing Dynasty in China. The book traces the embassy of Ismailoff to Pekin, the subsequent expulsion of Russian merchants due to frontier disputes, and the eventual reopening of trade at Kiachta. It concludes by examining the geographical puzzles of the era, such as the persistent European search for a North-East passage and the botanical evidence suggesting a clear link between the flora of the newly discovered islands and the North American continent. The text leaves the reader with a sense of a world rapidly becoming interconnected, albeit through a lens of exploitation and cold, calculation-driven exploration.

How It Unfolds

The Siberian foundation The account opens by establishing the conquest of Siberia, providing the necessary political context for the later push into the Pacific. It highlights the vulnerability of the region’s indigenous princes, whose internal divisions made the area ripe for the encroaching Russian state.

The shift to the sea The focus moves to the Kamtchatka Peninsula, where the search for sea-otter and fox pelts becomes the primary engine of maritime activity. Merchant-led expeditions replace state-sponsored exploration, turning the Pacific into a commercial frontier.

The discovery of the islands The narrative follows individual ships through the Aleutian and Fox Islands, detailing the harsh conditions of wintering on islands devoid of timber. It catalogs the erratic success of these voyages, where bankruptcy and death are as common as profit.

Conflict and interaction The middle chapters document the volatility of contact with island inhabitants. Through accounts of massacres and uneasy truces, the book captures the precarious power dynamic between Russian hunters and the native populations.

Diplomacy and the Chinese border The final movement steps back from the sea to examine the high-stakes trade at the Chinese frontier. It recounts the shifting political winds at Pekin that alternately encouraged and expelled Russian traders, eventually settling into the fixed commerce of Kiachta.

The People

The figures in this book are defined by their roles in a harsh, commercial machine. Yermac, the early conqueror of Siberia, stands as the archetype of the frontier adventurer whose actions opened the East to the Russian state. Ivan Popoff and Emilian Yugoff represent the merchant class; they are motivated by the high profit margins of the fur trade and the desire for exclusive monopolies, often meeting their ends through the very risks they undertake. Yugoff, in particular, dies in the remote environment he sought to exploit, his cargo sealed by the state upon his return.

Steller, the naturalist, provides a more observational presence, acting as the eyes and ears of the scientific community. His detailed descriptions of the flora and fauna on the islands serve as the intellectual link between these disparate territories and the broader world of European botany. Ismailoff, the diplomat, serves as the primary negotiator with the Chinese, illustrating the sophisticated, if fragile, nature of international relations in the eighteenth century. Finally, the unnamed islanders—the "Toigons" or princes—appear as the people whose lives are irrevocably changed by the arrival of these strangers. They are described as both "docile" and fierce, caught in a struggle to maintain their autonomy against an influx of hunters whose only language is the exchange of iron and beads for skins.

In Its Own Voice

The following passage describes the extreme value placed on the sea-otter, the primary commodity driving these maritime expeditions:

"Of all these furs the skins of the sea-otters are the richest and most valuable; they are called by the Russians Bobry Morski or sea-beavers, and sometimes Kamtchadal beavers, on account of the resemblance of their fur to that of the common beaver."

The book captures the brutal reality of survival when an expedition fails, as seen here in the account of sailors shipwrecked on the coast of Unalashka:

"They scooped out a cavity at the foot of a mountain situated about three versts from the haven, and covered it with a piece of a sail, where they lived in a very wretched state from the 9th of December to the 2d of February, 1764."

What It's Really About

At its core, this book explores the transformation of geography into capital. It is an argument about the reach of empires and the way in which the desire for luxury goods—specifically fine furs—propels the mapping of the unknown world. It asks how far a state can extend its influence before the logistics of distance and the resistance of local populations cause the endeavor to collapse. It also touches upon the clash of cultures, though it does so through the lens of eighteenth-century merchant interests, focusing more on the trade potential of the islands than the humanity of their inhabitants. It is a study of the friction between state-level diplomacy in cities like Pekin and the lawless, individualistic drive of hunters on the edge of the map.

Why Read It Today

This book will appeal to readers who enjoy the granular detail of history—the type of writing that records the exact price of a pelt in Roubles or the specific species of berry found on a desolate island. It feels like a primary source, dense with technical navigation notes and the cold, unadorned reporting of ship logs. Because it was written in 1780, it carries the period’s specific attitudes; the reader should expect an objective, sometimes detached, tone regarding the suffering and displacement of indigenous populations.

The prose is precise and dignified, typical of the intellectual rigor of its time, though the sheer volume of lists, place names, and administrative detail can be demanding. It is not a book to be rushed; it rewards a reader who is willing to sit with the slow, difficult process of discovery. It stays with you not because of its drama, but because of its stark portrayal of the human cost of empire. To read it is to stand on the deck of a fragile wooden ship in the middle of a winter storm, watching as a group of men try to calculate the value of their haul while the world around them remains indifferent to their success or failure.