Breaking the Ice: A History of Alaska Quiz

Answer: The Panhandle

The Alaskan Panhandle (which today is the location of Sitka and Juneau) was the most heavily settled area by Native Alaskans. There are many reasons for this and the most important is the more temperate weather. The Panhandle also has large forested area that were perfect for lumber and less wild animals than other parts of Alaska.

The most populous group was the Tlingit who also settled into what is now British Columbia, Canada.

Answer: Sea otters

Shelikhov had already been an expert fur trader but the sea otters of Alaska had thicker and shinier fur than otters elsewhere and were more valuable. Previous settlers from Russia and elsewhere had a mixed relationship with the Native Alaskans. However, Shelikhov and his men were far more hostile. Hundreds if not thousands of indigenous people were killed and the Native Alaskans fought for their land by burning down Russian buildings and settlements.

Answer: Spain and Great Britain

Even in 1789, the Spanish believed they had a claim to Alaska (and other parts of North America) because of the 1493 papal bull Inter caetera. When word got out that the Russians were settling Alaska, Spain sent explorers there Russian hold on Alaska was relatively weak as the Russians never colonized the area to the extent Spain colonized its lands in the Americas. However, Spain did not wish to claim Alaska for itself but did try to claim British held territories in Canada, such as British Columbia.

Spain started seizing British ships and the two countries nearly went to war. However, the problem was solved in the Nootka Convention which allowed open waters in the region. As a result, Spain more or less withdrew its claims in the Pacific Northwest. The convention gave the British much more access to Russian trading posts in Alaska and to expand the small settlements James Cook had started there the decade before. Russia was still considered Alaska's owner.

Answer: American merchants were not allowed to conduct business north of the 54-40' line

The Ukase of 1821 had banned all foreign merchants in Russian held Alaska. The Russo-American treaty further banned Americans from doing business north of the 54-40 line, which more or less excluded Americans from all Russian economic activities. In 1825, Russia allowed the British to trade in Alaska as part of a deal to define the boundary between Alaska and British Columbia. Other boundary disputes in the Pacific Northwest had been solved in the 1819 Adams-Onis Treaty.

The Russo-American Treaty of 1824 was ignored by Americans and by Russian merchants who needed trading partners. The evasion of the treaty is considered to be the beginning of waning Russian influence in the region.

Answer: Gadsden's Gaffe

The purchase of Alaska by the United States was considered a huge mistake when it was done in 1867, with Seward's Folly being the most popular nickname given to it. Many Americans considered Alaska a useless land of nothing that was not worth buying. Secretary of State William Seward and President Andrew Johnson purchased Alaska for many reasons. One was the ongoing desire of Manifest Destiny that U.S. should control as much land as possible. Another was because American ownership of Alaska weakened Russia and Great Britain on the North American continent.

There is no such thing as Gadsden's Gaffe, though the Gadsden Purchase brought new lands in Arizona and New Mexico under U.S. control.

Answer: False

The Yukon or Klondike Gold Rush began in 1896 when gold was discovered in Canada. It was during that gold rush were people began flocking to Alaska and cities began to spring up. Alaska was considered more habitable than the harsh Yukon Territory. Settlers to Alaska began their own search for gold, which they found first in Nome in 1899.

Answer: Juneau Wharf

Soapy Smith was a notorious Alaskan outlaw active in illegal gambling and gold mines. Soapy and his gang had swindled a number of prospectors out of their gold and money. A vigilante committee was formed and demanded Soapy and his gang return the loot. Soapy arrived at a meeting on Juneau Wharf and an argument ensued.

He was shot and killed on the spot while he shot a guard, Frank Reid who died two weeks later. The incident is called Shootout on Juneau Wharf.

Answer: Islands occupied by the Japanese

Attu and Kiska are two of the Aleutian Islands. Attu and Kiska were the only part of the continental U.S. to be occupied by the Japanese or an Axis power. Japan invaded the islands in 1942 and occupied them for about a year. The small population of Native Alaskans who lived there were all sent to internment camps. During the successful American effort to reclaim the islands, the villages were bombed and destroyed the newly freed Native Alaskans had to be resettled elsewhere.

Answer: Lack of public support

There was significant public support to build the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline that would provide thousands of jobs and be a boon to the the Alaskan economy that lagged during the 1960s and 1970s. Oil had been discovered in Alaska but before the pipeline, there was no way to transport the oil for market.

Alaska is home to very mountainous terrain that is littered with fault lines. Building the pipeline could have sparked earthquakes, which in turn could damage the pipeline. The path for the pipeline also ran through protected wilderness areas where moose and caribou live and migrate through. In addition, many of the lands were claimed by Native Alaskans, who were paid nearly $1 billion dollars in exchange to ceding the rights to the land to the U.S. Government.

Answer: Bligh Reef

Bligh Reef lies in Prince William Sound and was the site of the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill that leaked almost 11 million gallons of crude oil. The Valdez Oil Spill was the largest oil spill in U.S. history until the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010.

The reasons for the Exxon Valdez spill are many but the chief among them is the fact that the radar system on the ship was broken and had been broken for over a year. Had it been working, the third mate would have realized the reef was approaching. Blame was also placed on the captain, Joseph Hazelwood, who was allegedly drunk at the time and sleeping it off in his cabin.