Timofei Nikitich Tarakanov

In late 1803 the Boston-based maritime fur trading merchant ship ''O'Cain'', under Joseph Burling O'Cain and owned by Jonathan Winship and other Winship family members, arrived at Kodiak on Kodiak Island, the capital of Russian America at the time. O'Cain met RAC Chief Manager Alexander Andreyevich Baranov and proposed a joint venture: The ''O'Cain'' would take RAC Aleut hunters and their kayaks and overseers to Spanish California to hunt sea otters. Baranov agreed. This was the first of many such joint ventures involving US ships taking RAC hunters and overseers to hunt California sea otters. Baranov supplied O'Cain with twenty baidarkas (Aleutian kayaks) and about forty indigenous sea otter hunters, plus two overseers to manage the hunters and hunting. Afanasii Shvetsov was the senior Russian overseer and Timofei Tarakanov was assigned as the junior overseer. At the end of the hunting season, in the spring of 1804, O'Cain returned to Alaska with 1,110 sea otter furs, plus 700 more acquired by illegal trade with Spanish officials and missionaries. O'Cain, Tarakanov, Shvetsov, and the hunting parties arrived back at Kodiak in June 1804. ==Rezanov and Juno==

In 1805 Nikolai Rezanov and other high status aristocrats and naval officers arrived in Sitka, Alaska, which had just been recaptured from the Tlingit and would soon become the capital of Russian America. Sitka, a name derived from the Tlingit Sheetʼká, was known as Novo-Arkhangelsk by Russians and Americans at this time. Various American maritime fur traders also arrived in Sitka in 1805, including John DeWolf who sold his ship Juno to Rezanov and the RAC. The large number of visitors in Sitka worsened a food crisis over the winter of 1805–06, causing scurvy and famine. To alleviate the immediate crisis, Rezanov took Juno to San Francisco to obtain provisions from Governor José Joaquín de Arrillaga. RAC documentation is unclear, but it is possible that Tarakanov was part of this expedition. ==1807–1808 Peacock voyage==

Rezanov returned to Sitka with Juno and supplies in May or June 1806. About the same time another Winship family owned ship, Peacock under Oliver Kimball, arrived seeking a joint venture to hunt California sea otters. Baranov agreed and assigned Tarakanov to lead the hunting party. Over the following few years Tarakanov and Ivan Aleksandrovich Kuskov, the first manager of Fort Ross, met with Coast Miwok and Kashaya Pomo leaders multiple times. They gave various gifts, including special medallions made specifically for the purpose. The RAC later wrote reports saying they had acquired land cessions through these meetings, but they almost certainly misrepresented how the indigenous people viewed the gifts, negotiations, and agreements. The RAC and Russia's preparation of documentation showing land rights north of San Francisco Bay was intended for use in potential diplomatic conflicts with Spain, but for various geopolitical reasons it never became consequential. During this time in early 1807, Tarakanov led hunting parties into San Francisco Bay, working the northern shores and avoiding the Spanish Presidio of San Francisco near the Golden Gate strait. As the hunters left the bay the Spanish presidio commander, Luis Antonio Argüello, fired upon them, causing a minor panic and a hasty retreat. In May 1807 Kimball left Bodega Bay, taking Tarakanov and his hunters to San Quintín Bay, Baja California. There he joined with the Winship's ship ''O'Cain'' before returning to Sitka. Tarakanov's hunters had brought over 1,000 sea otter skins worth approximately $30,000 in Guangzhou (Canton), China. The Chinese forbid the RAC to trade to Canton, but Americans like O'Cain and Kimball could—another factor that benefitted both the RAC and American traders in these joint ventures. Additionally, Tarakanov had gained valuable experience with sea otter hunting on the coast of California as well as with communicating and negotiating with the indigenous Miwok. Baranov, recognizing this, began giving Tarakanov increased responsibilities and leadership roles within his promyshlenniki social class. ==1808–1810 shipwreck and enslavement==

Kimball's Peacock with Tarakanov on board, arrived back at Sitka in August 1807. responsible for managing the hunters and any trade with indigenous peoples that may occur. Baranov ordered Bulygin and Tarakanov to make a detailed survey of the coast south of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the mouth of the Columbia River. At Grays Harbor or the mouth of the Columbia they were to meet ''Kad'iak'', commanded by Navigator Ivan Petrov with the overall leader of the expedition, Ivan Kuskov, on board. Then the two vessels would continue south to California and establish an outpost at Bodega Bay or some other suitable site. During their time there, at least seven RAC workers, including captain Bulygin and his wife, died from injuries, illness, or other consequences of their misadventures. Tarakanov took over as leader of the main group of survivors who became slaves of the Makah. Accounts of the ordeal, including reports by Tarakanov, portray the Makah as relatively fair and benevolent, despite the enslavement. The Makah leader known as "Yutramaki" promised to try to sell the captives to whatever ship might sail by Makah territory. Many of the survivors willingly chose enslavement by the Makah over any other option they had. partially through making things such as a large kite, various metal tools made from iron nails, carved wooden dishes, a "war rattle", and a large fortified lodge with gunports. The expedition's second vessel, ''Kad'iak, with Kushov, waited for Sv. Nikolai at Grays Harbor before eventually sailing to Trinidad Bay, California, then Bodega Bay. Kushov spent the winter at Bodega Bay, making repairs and waiting for Sv. Nikolai''. Despite difficulties with deserters, Kushov's hunters worked the coast in various places, including San Francisco Bay. They had almost 2,000 sea otter skins, an impressive and valuable cargo, when they returned to Sitka in October 1809. This financial success, coupled with Kushov's reconnoitering and Tarakanov's earlier exploration of the Bodega Bay area, led to Baranov proposing to the RAC Main Office in St. Petersburg to seek imperial governmental permission to establish a post in California. Count Nikolay Rumyantsev spoke with Emperor Alexander I, who approved the plan in November 1809. This soon resulted in the establishment of Fort Ross and the surrounding Ross Colony in what's now Sonoma County. ==1810–1811 hunting in San Francisco Bay==

Not long after Tarakanov was rescued and returned to Sitka, Baranov sent him on another hunting expedition in California over the winter of 1810–1811. The US ship Isabella, under William Heath Davis Sr, the father of William Heath Davis, took a hunting party with 48 kayaks and Tarakanov as overseer, to the Bodega Bay area. Once Tarakanov had set up a base of operations just north of San Francisco Bay, Davis left for Hawaii. Soon another US ship, the Albatross under Nathan Winship, brought another hunting party with 60 kayaks. Then in March 1811 a third hunting party of 22 kayaks came from Bodega Bay where Ivan Kushov had arrived on board the Chirikov. These hunting parties worked together in San Francisco Bay, probably eliminating sea otters in the bay. Kushov returned to Sitka with over 1,200 skins. In September 1811 Davis returned with Isabella and took Tarakanov's hunters, along with those from the Albatross, back to Sitka with another large cargo of sea otter furs. After the return of this hunting expedition Baranov launched a major effort to establish an RAC outpost on the coast just north of San Francisco Bay. Credit for founding Fort Ross is usually given to the relatively high status Russian Ivan Kushov, but the serf Timofei Tarakanov was a vital part of the effort. RAC records are not entirely clear, but it appears that Tarakanov was Kushov's principal deputy and in charge of managing the indigenous sea otter hunters as well as indigenous people living in the Fort Ross and Bodega Bay areas. ==Establishment of Fort Ross==

Russian documentation on the founding of Fort Ross has either not survived very well or remains to be discovered. According to RAC writer, employee and future manager Kirill Khlebnikov, the Chirikov left Sitka to found Fort Ross in November 1811, although other sources say it was delayed until mid-March 1812. Tarakanov was either on board or soon arrived in California some other way. Kuskov investigated Bodega Bay and the Russian River valley, but found both wanting in defensive potential and lacking a good supply of timber for construction. Good timber was found along the coast a little north of the Russian River, so Fort Ross was founded there, on a defensible knoll near a stream and a small but serviceable cove for ships. While Kuskov was looking for the ideal site for Fort Ross, Tarakanov again met with Coast Miwok and Kashaya Pomo indigenous leaders of the Bodega Bay and Fort Ross coast areas, giving lavish gifts. Some historians have described these transactions as a purchase of the land, but others as well as the Miwok and Kashaya peoples, describe it as a more complicated agreement of mutual friendship and cooperation. In 1818 Russia took steps to prepare diplomatic arguments to use with Spain, claiming that indigenous land rights were acquired. But most historians doubt the veracity of the events described in these diplomatic documents. ==1814–1815: Fort Ross and the Channel Islands==

Documentation on Tarakanov's activities in the early 1810s is incomplete. While Kuskov remained at Fort Ross, Tarakanov returned to Sitka at least once. In January 1814 he was given command of a party of about 60 Alutiiq sea otter hunters sent from Sitka to California on the ''Il'mena, a New England ship bought by the RAC during the War of 1812 when Americans feared their ships being captured by the British. The Il'mena'' sailed under command of the American captain William Wadsworth, who was working for the RAC. At one point Tarakanov and eleven indigenous Alaskan hunters were captured by Spanish authorities near San Pedro. A preliminary investigation into the massacre was held at Fort Ross. Babin was deemed responsible. In April 1815, at Fort Ross, Tarakanov demoted then fired Babin, replacing him with Boris Tarasov. Reports of the massacre were sent far up the RAC chain of command, eventually reaching the main offices in Saint Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire. It took several years, but in 1818 RAC Chief Manager Ludwig von Hagemeister, ordered Iakov Babin to be taken to Sitka, then to Saint Petersburg to be held accountable for the Nicoleño massacre. ==Tarakanov in Hawaii==

In early 1816 at Fort Ross, while the Channel Islands hunting operations were still ongoing, Tarakanov and one of his hunting parties boarded ''Il'mena, bound for Sitka under the American captain and RAC employee William Wadsworth. Once well at sea, Captain Wadsworth discovered the Il'mena'' was leaking badly and was in danger. In May 1816, Kaumualiʻi, seeking freedom from Kamehameha's overlordship, agreed to become a protectorate of Russia. A written report of the event was composed by Tarakanov and others. Kaumualiʻi also gave permission for three RAC forts on Kauai. Fort Elizabeth, was built with stone at the mouth of the Waimea River. The other two, Fort Alexander and Fort Barclay-de-Tolly were smaller earthen works. Tarakanov was involved in building and operating Fort Elizabeth. Schäffer also assigned Tarakanov to deliver letters to Kaumualiʻi and engage in diplomatic negotiations. As the alliance between Kaumualiʻi and Schäffer grew stronger over 1816, Kaumualiʻi and other Kauai nobility made many land grants and other gifts to RAC, Schäffer, Tarakanov, and others. Among other gifts, Tarakanov was granted a village with eleven Native Hawaiian families on the left bank of the Hanapēpē River. The various grants were voided when the Schäffer affair fell apart. Nevertheless, for a short period, Tarakanov had been granted status akin to Hawaiian nobility while still being a Russian serf. For various complicated reasons, Kaumualiʻi turned against Schäffer and the RAC. Schäffer tried to make a stand at Fort Elizabeth but was forced to flee to Honolulu, Oahu. Tarakanov and others on Kauai joined him on board ''Kad'iak'', which barely made it to Honolulu and became stuck in the harbor. Native Hawaiians and Americans in Honolulu would not allow the Russians to disembark unless Schäffer surrendered for arrest. He refused and a standoff ensued. In July 1817 the American Isaiah Lewis, captain of the Panther, offered to take Schäffer away from Hawaii. This would end the "affair" but allow Schäffer to avoid arrest and escape to Europe. Schäffer put the question to his men on ''Kad'iak. Tarakanov and others urged him to take the deal and leave. On 7 July 1817 Schäffer left for China, then Europe, on Panther. He left behind a committee, headed by Tarakanov, to look after Kad'iak'' and the many remaining RAC employees and goods on Kauai, Oahu, and other Hawaiian islands. Also on 7 July, just before Schäffer departed, a letter asking for reinforcements and military aid was written. It was signed by Schäffer, Tarakanov, Captain Lewis, and others. After Schäffer left and those on ''Kad'iak were freed, Tarakanov took charge of salvaging the situation. He prepared an inventory of RAC property, including the land grants on Kauai. Still having a cordial relation with most American shipmasters in Hawaii, Tarakanov was able to make a deal with Captain Myrick of the Cossack to take two Russians and 41 indigenous Alaskan hunters from Oahu to Sitka. Payment for the trip was secured by stopping in California and hunting sea otters for the American shipmaster. Tarakanov himself returned to Sitka in December 1817 on board the American ship Eagle'', under William Heath Davis Sr. In January 1818 the RAC officer and Russian Naval officer Ludwig von Hagemeister, who had arrived in Sitka in early 1817, took over as the RAC's Chief Manager and governor of Russian America. Baranov was dismissed and left Alaska, but died on the voyage. When Tarakanov arrived in Sitka in December 1817, Hagemeister had already replaced Baranov. Tarakanov had had a good relationship with Baranov, but the much more elitist and autocratic Hagermeister found fault with Tarakanov. Hagermeister believed Tarakanov had not had the authority to make deals with American captains that involving hunting sea otters for them, and reprimanded him for acting "contrary to instructions from superiors". But Hagermeister needed Tarakanov to help repair the situation in Hawaii. In February 1818, on Hagermeister's orders, Tarakanov accompanied Fleet Lieutenant I.A. Podushkin, captain of Otkrytie, to the Hawaiian Islands with the goal of reestablishing friendly relations with Kamehameha, and to recover as much RAC property as they could. Hagermeister's instructions to Podushkin make it clear he did not trust Tarakanov and thought him careless and unreliable. The results of his voyage were reported by Hagermeister in August 1818. All RAC personnel apart from a few deserters were returned to Sitka, but none of the property was recovered. The land grants were void. The ''Kad'iak'' was abandoned to slowly rot in Honolulu's harbor. A few small items, like the rigging of ''Kad'iak'' were recovered. But the overall financial loss of the Schäffer Affair was calculated at over 200,000 rubles, an enormous sum for that time. ==Later life==

In 1817, when Tarakanov was in Hawaii a ship arrived with the news that the Russian government had approved Tarakanov's manumission from serfdom. A few years earlier he had petitioned for emancipation, probably with Baranov's support. The official ceremony that released him from serfdom had to wait until 1818 when Tarakanov was back in Sitka. After the Schäffer Affair and Baranov's dismissal, documentation about Tarakanov is sparse. Like many in the RAC, including Baranov himself, Tarakanov married an indigenous woman. She was a Koniag Alutiiq woman. Her Russian baptismal name was Alexandra. They were married in Sitka in 1818. Tarakanov's son Aleksey (also transliterated Alexei) was born in Sitka on 27 February 1819. Tarakanov continued to work for the RAC through 1819. One of his last jobs in North America was leading a hunting party of about 80 kayaks in the Cross Sound and Glacier Bay areas, assisted by the vessel Finlandiia. Since the Alexander Archipelago had been overhunted for decades, the results were poor, less than 300 otter skins. Whether Tarakanov decided to retire after this, or Hagermeister wanted to get rid of him, or possibly both, is not known. Whatever the case, after the 1819 hunt, Hagermeister sent Tarakanov to Saint Petersburg to report to the RAC directors about the Schäffer affair in Hawaii. The official dispatch noted "[Tarakanov] is of no use to us here". Very little is known about Tarakanov after this, except that he returned to Russia from Alaska in 1819–1820, and settled in Kursk, his original home. Little is known about his life after his return to Russia. Archives in Kursk show that he was ranked in the Kursk middle class society, no longer a serf. Kursk records also suggest he left Kursk sometime before 1834, without any indication of where he might have gone, how long, or why. ==See also==