''Lydia'' was a US

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

that sailed on maritime fur trading ventures in the early 1800s. In December 1813 it was sold to the

Russian–American Company The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the United American Company. Emperor Paul I of Russia chartered the company in the Ukase of 17 ...

and renamed ''Il'mena'', also spelled ''Ilmena'' and ''Il'men''' (Russian: Ильмена). As both ''Lydia'' and ''Il'mena'' it was involved in notable events. Today it is best known for its role in an 1814 massacre of the

Nicoleño The Nicoleño were the people who lived on San Nicolas Island in California at the time of European contact. They spoke a Uto-Aztecan language. The population of the island was "left devastated by a massacre in 1811 by usso-Alaskan sea otter hun ...

natives of

San Nicolas Island San Nicolas Island (Spanish: ''Isla de San Nicolás''; Tongva: ''Haraasnga'') is the most remote of the Channel Islands, off Southern California, from the nearest point on the mainland coast. It is part of Ventura County. The island is current ...

, which ultimately resulted in one Nicoleño woman, known as

Juana Maria Juana Maria (died October 19, 1853), better known to history as the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island (her Native American name is unknown), was a Native Californian woman who was the last surviving member of her tribe, the Nicoleño. She live ...

, living alone on the island for many years. These events became the basis for

Scott O'Dell Scott O'Dell (May 23, 1898 – October 15, 1989) was an American people, American writer of 26 novels for young people, along with three novels for adults and four nonfiction books. He wrote historical fiction, primarily, including several chi ...

's 1960 children's novel ''

Island of the Blue Dolphins ''Island of the Blue Dolphins'' is a 1960 children's novel by American author Scott O'Dell, which tells the story of a girl named Karana, who is stranded alone for years on an island off the California coast. It is based on the true story of Ju ...

'' and the 1964 film adaptation ''

''. The vessel was a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

built in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

. In April 1809 ''Lydia'', under captain Thomas Brown, left

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

for the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

Coast. In 1810 Brown rescued the Russian survivors of '' Sv. Nikolai'' ("St. Nicholas"), which had wrecked on the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large peninsula in Western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

in November 1808. They were taken aboard ''Lydia'' and brought to Sitka, the capital of

Russian America Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

. In October 1811 Thomas Brown exchanged commands with James Bennett of ''Derby''. In late 1813 Bennett took ''Lydia'' to Sitka where the vessel was sold to the Russian–American Company (RAC) and renamed ''Il'mena''. As an RAC vessel ''Il'mena'', under captain William Wadsworth, brought

Aleut Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...

s with their

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

s and

baidarka The baidarka or Aleutian kayak (Aleut: iqyax) is a watercraft consisting of soft skin (artificial or natural) over a flexible space frame. Without primarily vertical flex, it is not an ''iqyax''. Its initial design was created by the Aleut peo ...

s to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to hunt

sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...

s along the coast of

, in 1814. During this time an altercation with the

resulted in a massacre of the Nicoleño. In addition some of the RAC employees were captured by the authorities of Spanish California, who considered their activity poaching. From September 1815 to April 1816 ''Il'mena'' was laid up at

Bodega Bay Bodega Bay () is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa, California, S ...

for repairs. The vessel was taken to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

in 1816, where it became involved in the Schäffer affair before leaving in June 1817 under captain George Young. By late June 1817 ''Il’mena'' was back at Sitka. In 1820 ''Il'mena'' wrecked at

Point Arena Point Arena, formerly known as Punta Arena (Spanish for "Sandy Point") is a small coastal city in Mendocino County, California, United States. Point Arena is located west of Hopland, at an elevation of . The population was 460 at the 2020 cen ...

on the coast of California. All the people and cargo on board were saved and taken to nearby

Fort Ross Fort Ross (, , Kashaya: ) is a former Russian establishment on the west coast of North America in what is now Sonoma County, California. Owned and operated by the Russian-American Company, it was the hub of the southernmost Russian settlemen ...

American vessel ''Lydia''

''Lydia'' was a

built in the

. By 1804 it was owned by Theodore Lyman and Associates of Boston. By 1809 Lyman was joined in ownership by James &

Thomas Handasyd Perkins Colonel Thomas Handasyd Perkins, also known as T. H. Perkins (December 15, 1764 – January 11, 1854), was an American merchant, slave trader, smuggler and philanthropist from a wealthy Boston Brahmin family. Starting with bequests from his grand ...

(J. & T.H. Perkins). Sources differ over the size of the vessel. Some sources say it was 200 tons, while others say 50 tons. In April 1809 the brig was sent from Boston on a maritime fur trade voyage to the

, under Captain Thomas Brown. ''Lydia'' spent 1810 to 1813 cruising the Northwest Coast, between about the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

and

Sitka Sound Sitka Sound is a body of water near the city of Sitka, Alaska. It is bordered by Baranof Island to the south and the northeast, by Kruzof Island to the northwest and by the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. During the early 19th century it wa ...

, trading with the

indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast The Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and prac ...

for

furs, which commanded a high price in China. In 1810 Captain Brown rescued the Russian survivors of '' Sv. Nikolai'' ("St. Nicholas"), which had wrecked near

Rialto Beach Rialto Beach is a public beach located on the Pacific Ocean in Washington state. It is adjacent to Mora Campground in the Olympic National Park near the mouth of the Quillayute River, and is composed of an ocean beach and coastal forest. The many ...

on the

on 1 November 1808. The survivors, led by

Timofei Nikitich Tarakanov Timofei Nikitich Tarakanov ( 1774after 1834), also written Timofey Tarakanov, was born into serfdom near Kursk, Russia. His owner, Nikanor Ivanovich Pereverzev, sold him to the Russian-American Company (RAC) shortly after the company was created in ...

, lived with the Hoh and

Makah The Makah (; Makah: ') are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast living in Washington, in the northwestern part of the continental United States. They are enrolled in the federally recognized Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah I ...

in a servile way until rescued by Brown. One of the Russian survivors from ''Nikolai'' was on board ''Lydia'', having been sold as a slave to the south and acquired by Captain Brown on the

. Later Brown visited the Makah village at

Neah Bay Neah Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Makah Reservation in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 935 at the 2020 census. It is across the Canada–US border from British Columbia. Europeans originally called ...

where on 22 May he arranged to purchase the Russians enslaved there. They were taken aboard ''Lydia'' and brought to Sitka, the capital of

. Sometime in 1811 Captain Thomas Brown exchanged commands with James Bennett of the ''Derby'', another Boston–based maritime fur trading vessel, also owned by J. & T.H. Perkins along with James Lamb and Thomas Lamb (J. & T. Lamb Company), William F. Sturgis, and others. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

American captains in the

, worried about the possibility of British warships, sold the maritime fur trading vessels ''

Atahualpa Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa or Ataw Wallpa ( Quechua) ( 150226 July 1533), was the last effective Inca emperor, reigning from April 1532 until his capture and execution in July of the following year, as part of the Spanish conquest of the In ...

'' and ''Lydia'' to Alexander Baranov, governor of the

Russian-American Company The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the Shelikhov-Golikov Company, United American Company. Emperor Paul I of Russia chartered the c ...

(RAC). ''Lydia'' was sold to the RAC in December 1813 for 46,000 seal skins. About the same time ''Atahualpa'' was sold as well. The ''Lydia'' was renamed ''Il'mena'' (or ''Ilmena''), and the ''Atahualpa'' was renamed ''Bering'' (or ''Behring'').

Russian vessel ''Il'mena''

After agreeing to sell ''Lydia'' to Alexander Baranov and the RAC, James Bennett took ''Lydia'' to Sitka where in late December 1813 the sale was finalized and ''Lydia'' renamed ''Il'mena''.

''Il'mena'' in California

In 1814 Baranov sent ''Il'mena'', under the American captain William Wadsworth, with supplies to the Russian outpost of

in California. From there ''Il'mena'' spent the summer of 1814 engaged in poaching Californian sea otters, a practice that had been established several years earlier. For this purpose ''Il'mena'' had brought a party of about 50

hunters with their

s and

s, under the RAC ''

promyshlenniki The ''promyshlenniki'' (, промышленник, ''promyshlennik'') were Russian and Indigenous Siberian artel members, or self-employed workers drawn largely from the state serf and townsman class who engaged in the Siberian, mariti ...

'' overseers

and Iakov Babin. Also on board and serving as

supercargo A supercargo (from Italian or from Spanish ) is a person employed on board a vessel by the owner of cargo carried on a ship. The duties of a supercargo are defined by admiralty law and include managing the cargo owner's trade, selling the mer ...

and pilot was João Elliot de Castro, who had been physician to King

Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

of the

Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands. It was established in 1795 w ...

, but had gone to Alaska and was employed by Baranov because of his knowledge of Spanish and the

Spanish missions in California The Spanish missions in California () formed a List of Spanish missions in California, series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. The missions were established by ...

. At one point Tarakanov and eleven Aleuts were captured by Spanish authorities near San Pedro (today part of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

). The US fur trading vessels ''Pedler'' and ''Forester'' assisted the RAC hunters brought by ''Il'mena'', having been paid to do so by the RAC. The Russian hunters operated in multiple places over several years, focusing on the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

near Santa Barbara and

. A number of violent incidents were reported up the RAC chain of command. Among these incidents was the 1814 massacre of the

people of

by RAC Aleut hunters under Iakov Babin. This occurred during the summer of 1814, allegedly in revenge for the Nicoleño killing one of Babin's hunters. ''Il'mena'' spent the 1814–1815 winter at

, along with most of the otter hunters including Babin. Babin was held responsible for the massacre. In April 1815, at Bodega Bay, the chief hunting supervisor, Timofei Tarakanov, demoted then fired Babin, replacing him with Boris Tarasov. Babin was taken to Sitka and eventually required to go to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, the capital of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, to stand trial for the Nicoleño massacre. In late April 1815 a group of RAC sea otter hunters, under Boris Tarasov, were taken by the ''Forester'' back to San Nicolas Island to continue hunting otters. Tarasov was disappointed by the hunt and decided to move the group, using kayaks and baidarkas, to Santa Rosa Island, then Santa Catalina Island, then to the mainland. In September, near San Pedro (now part of Los Angeles) they were captured by Spanish authorities and taken to the

Pueblo of Los Angeles Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settleme ...

. Some of the hunters were imprisoned there, while Tarasov and others were taken to Santa Barbara and

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

. One of the hunters imprisoned in Los Angeles, Ivan Kyglaia, later provided eyewitness testimony of the torture and murder of fellow Aleut hunter Chukagnak, by order of a Spanish priest. Kyglaia said the priest wanted the Aleuts to renounce the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

and accept

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Although some Aleuts did so, Chukagnak and Kyglaia refused, leading to the torture and murder of Chukagnak. Kyglaia expected the same treatment but, according to Kyglaia, the priest received a letter and instead had Kyglaia transferred to Santa Barbara. Around the same time ''Il'mena'' was cruising among the Channel Islands with Alexander Baranov's son, Antipatr Alexandrovich Baranov, on board. Antipatr's journal and letters provide additional details about the events of 1815. He describes ''Il'mena'' sailing south from San Luis Obispo Bay to Santa Barbara, with stops at El Cojo and

Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio The Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio ("Ranch of Our Lady of Refuge") was a Spanish land grant to José Francisco Ortega in 1794 and is the only land grant made under Spanish and confirmed by USA in 1866 to Jose Maria Ortega under the US Suprem ...

. Despite being warned by José María Ortega not to come ashore due to the presence of Spanish soldiers, some of the crew of ''Il'mena'' landed at El Cojo where they were apprehended by Spanish troops. Captain Wadsworth and three others escaped but supercargo Elliot de Castro, Osip Volkov, and five others were taken to Santa Barbara, then Monterey. Although imprisoned, Elliot de Castro wrote letters to ''Il’mena'', which the Spanish delivered. Information passed between ''Il'mena'' and Elliot de Castro, but eventually it was clear that ''Il'mena'' could do nothing further and so sailed to retrieve the hunting parties on the Channel Islands, arriving at San Nicolas Island on 1 October 1815. This was the vessel's last visit to San Nicolas Island until 1819. After Chukagnak was killed in Los Angeles Kyglaia was transferred to Santa Barbara. He was imprisoned with another group of captured Aleuts. Kyglaia and another Aleut, Filip Atash'sha, managed to escape in a baidarka. They paddled to San Pedro, then among several Channel Islands until reaching San Nicolas Island. They found no RAC employees there, only the Nicoleño who had survived the 1814 massacre. With the help of the Nicoleño Kyglaia and Atash'sha lived on the island from about 1817 to 1819, hoping the ''Il'mena'' or some other friendly vessel would return. Atash'sha died before one came. In the spring of 1819 ''Il'mena'' visited the island again and rescued Kyglaia, who was taken to Fort Ross. There he was interviewed by

Ivan Kuskov Ivan Aleksandrovich Kuskov (; 1765–1823) was the senior assistant to Aleksandr Baranov, the Chief Administrator of the Russian-American Company (RAC). Biography He was a native of Totma, Russia, he served in the RAC for 31 years, attaining ...

, after which the story of Chukagnak's martyrdom spread. Kuskov sent Kyglaia's disposition to his superior, who in turn sent it to the RAC Main Office in St. Petersburg, where it gained the attention of

Emperor Alexander I Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russia during the chaotic period of the Napoleo ...

himself. The Emperor had the story of Chukagnak investigated. In time the Church believed Kyglaia's account to be truthful, leading to Chukagnak's

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

as Saint Peter the Aleut. Spanish records corroborate most of the events described by Russian sources, including most of Kyglaia's testimony and the deaths of some Aleuts, but are silent on the possibility of Spanish-ordered torture and murder. Years later, in 1835, a Mexican ship took the surviving Nicoleño from San Nicolas Island to Santa Barbara. One woman was left behind, who became known as

. In 1853 she was found and taken to Santa Barbara, but died within the year. Her story, semi-fictionalized, became well known due to the book ''

'' and subsequent film adaptation.

''Il’mena'' in Hawaii

While the various events in California, from 1815 to 1817, played out, ''Il'mena'' spent time in the Hawaiian Islands. In November 1815 ''Il'mena'' sailed from Bodega Bay for Sitka, but was damaged at the harbor entrance and returned for more repairs. ''Il'mena'' was laid up at Bodega Bay for repairs until April 1816. After the vessel departed Bodega Bay in April a leak was discovered and Captain Wadsworth decided to sail to the Hawaiian Islands for repairs, arriving there in May 1816. ''Il'mena'' remained at

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

for several months. This was during the 1815–1817 Schäffer affair, when RAC employee

Georg Anton Schäffer Georg Anton Schäffer (rarely russified as ''Yegor Nikolayevich'' or ''Egor Antonovich'' ''Sheffer''; ''von Schaeffer'' in Portuguese sources; 27 January 1779 – 1836) was a German physician in the employ of the Russian-American Company wh ...

attempted to conquer the Hawaiian Islands for the RAC and the

, during which time

Russian Fort Elizabeth Pāʻulaʻula State Historical Park is a National Historic Landmark and is administered as the Pāʻulaʻula State Historical Park just southeast of present-day Waimea on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. It is the last remaining Native Hawaiian f ...

was built at Waimea and Fort Alexander at Hanalei,

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

. Schäffer tried to build an alliance of Native Hawaiians to overthrow King Kamehameha I, but ultimately failed in the face of growing resistance of Native Hawaiians and American traders. In July 1817 Schäffer admitted defeat and left Hawaii. ''Il'mena'' remained at Honolulu from May 1816 to August 1816 while the Schäffer Affair continued under increasing difficulty. Other Russian vessels present in Hawaii around this time included ''Kad'iak'' (also spelled ''Kadiak'' and ''Kodiak''), under the American captain George Young, and the American schooner ''Lydia'' (different from the ''Lydia'' that had become ''Il'mena'') under Henry Gyzelaar, who had been hired by the RAC. In August 1816 Schäffer bought ''Lydia'' from Gyzelaar, who remained employed as captain. Shortly after the purchase, ''Lydia'' and ''Il'mena'', with Schäffer aboard the American ship ''Avon'', under captain Isaac Whittemore, sailed from Honolulu to

Hanalei Bay Hanalei Bay is the largest bay on the north shore of Kauaʻi island in Hawaii. The town of Hanalei is at the midpoint of the bay. Geography Hanalei Bay consists of nearly of beach, surrounded by mountains. In the summer, the bay offers excel ...

, Kauai, then Fort Elizabeth at Waimea, Kauai. There Schäffer bought ''Avon'' and gave Gyzelaar's ''Lydia'' to Kaumualii, King of Kauai, in exchange for the valley and port of Hanalei. ''Il'mena'' returned to Honolulu. Then on 12 September 1816 Schäffer began construction of Fort Elizabeth, on land donated by Kaumualii. During September 1816 in Honolulu there was trouble between the Russians and the Native Hawaiians and Americans. The crews of ''Il'mena'' and ''Kad'ak'' allegedly built a

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

in Honolulu, mounted cannons and raised the Russian flag. This alarmed the Native Hawaiians and soon Kamehameha sent a large force, causing the ''Il'mena'' and ''Kad'iak'' to leave for Kauai. On 24 September 1816 the American ship ''O'Cain'', under captain Robert McNeil, arrived at Waimea, Kauai, en route to Canton (

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

), China, from the Pacific Northwest Coast. On board as passengers were the experienced fur trading American sea captains Nathan Winship, William Smith, Richard Ebbets, and Henry Gyzelaar, and Doctor Frost. They tried to take down the Russian flag at Fort Elizabeth, but were thwarted by a guard placed by Kaumualii. Schäffer and Kaumualii, and other Hawaiian chiefs, entered into various agreements in late 1816, including a number of land grants. Schäffer and the RAC was granted Hanalei province. The RAC was given various tracts of land and villages near Waimea, mostly along the Waimea River. Tarakanov, of ''Il'mena'', was given a native village on the

Hanapēpē River The Hanapēpē River is a river on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It begins at the confluence of the Kō'ula River with the Manuahi Stream and flows generally south, with a total length of U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high- ...

, Kauai. In early December 1816 the brig ''Rurik'', under

Otto von Kotzebue Otto von Kotzebue (; 30 December 1787 – 15 February 1846) was a Baltic German naval officer in the Imperial Russian Navy. He commanded two naval expeditions into the Pacific for the purposes of exploration and scientific investigation. The fi ...

of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

, with Elliot de Castro on board, arrived at Honolulu. Elliot had been the commissioner of ''Il'mena'' until being captured by Spanish authorities in California. He was freed due to intercession by Kotzebue. Despite the presence of ''Rurik'' things were becoming increasingly difficult for Schäffer. Captain Wadsworth of ''Il'mena'' told Kaumualii that Schäffer intended to arrest him. In retaliation Schäffer had Wadsworth arrested and appointed the pilot Voroll Madson, also an American, to command ''Il'mena''. In addition Native Hawaiians at Hanalei killed a Russian–American Aleut and burned the Russian distillery there. In January 1817 Schäffer received a letter from Governor Baranov, via the American ship ''Cossack'' under Thomas Brown (once captain of ''Lydia'' before it became ''Il'mena''). Baranov demanded the return of ''Il'mena'' and ''Kad'iak'' along with all the capital that had been entrusted to Schäffer, essentially ending Schäffer's work in Hawaii. His last hope lay in the Russian Naval officer Kotzebue and ''Rurik'', therefore he sent ''Il'mena'' to Honolulu. But on 6 February 1817 ''Il'mena'' returned to Kauai with the news that ''Rurik'' had departed. Kotzebue had learned from both Hawaiians, Americans, and others in Honolulu, about Schäffer's actions and decided not to provide Schäffer any support whatever. He sailed from Hawaii on 14 December 1816. Following this, opposition to Schäffer grew, although the details of how events played out are not entirely clear, but it probably involved Native Hawaiians and a number of American sea captains and merchants, such as Caleb Brintnell, Dixey Wildes, Isaac Whittemore, and William Heath Davis (father of William Heath Davis, Jr). On 8 May 1817, at Waimea, Schäffer was seized by Hawaiians and Americans, told that he and all other Russians must leave Kauai immediately, and forced to paddle out to ''Kad'iak''. He waited briefly in the harbor at Waimea, during which time Captain Wadsworth, still a prisoner on ''Kad'iak'', escaped to shore by jumping overboard. Schäffer and his men sailed ''Kad'iak'' and ''Il'mena'' around the island to Hanalei, hoping to make a stand at Fort Alexander. But it was futile and Schäffer had no choice but to leave. The ''Kad'iak'' was unseaworthy for a voyage to Alaska, so Schäffer gave Captain George Young command of ''Il'mena'' and sent him to Governor Baranov in Sitka. Most of the RAC employees in Hawaii left aboard ''Il'mena''. The brig left Hawaii in June and arrived at Sitka near the end of the month. Schäffer himself took command of ''Kad'iak'' and sailed to Honolulu where negotiations with the American and Hawaiian opposition ensued. On 7 July 1817 Schäffer sailed for Europe aboard the American vessel ''Panther'', under captain Isaiah Lewis. Tarakanov and 60–100 RAC employees remained in Honolulu to look after the stricken ''Kad’iak''. By January 1818 Tarakanov was back in Sitka. He had hired an American shipmaster to transport two Russians and 41 Aleuts from Oahu to Sitka, paying for their passage by hunting Californian sea otters on the way. Other RAC employees were not able to leave until later in the spring of 1818. The ''Kad'iak'' itself remained as a wreck in Honolulu Harbor, still visible in November 1818 when

Vasily Golovnin Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin (Russian: Василий Михайлович Головнин; , Gulyniki, Ryazan Oblast – , Saint Petersburg) was a Russian navigator, Vice Admiral, and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences ( ...

arrived on ''Kamchatka''.

Rescue of Kyglaia

In the spring of 1819 ''Il'mena'' sailed from Sitka to California, again bringing sea otter hunting parties. ''Il'mena'' stopped at San Nicolas Island to drop off a party of hunters, and Kyglaia was finally able to leave the island and return to RAC establishments, after being marooned there for over three years. Despite the massacre of most of the Nicoleño by Aleut hunters in 1814, Kyglaia reported that he and Atash’sha had been well treated by them, even saying that the Nicoleño were "happy of their arrival and their stay on the island". Kyglaia and Atash'sha arrived on the island in late 1815 and stayed until the spring of 1819, although Atash'sha died sometime in 1816. Kyglaia reported that two Spanish ships visited the island in the fall of 1818 and Spaniards came ashore, but the Nicoleño helped hide Kyglaia. The ships were likely not Spanish but rather the ''Santa Rosa'' and ''La Argentina'' of the French

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

Hippolyte Bouchard Hippolyte or Hipólito Bouchard (15 January 1780 – 4 January 1837), known in California as Pirata Buchar, was a French-born Argentine sailor and corsair (pirate) who fought for Argentina, Chile, and Peru. During his first campaign as an Arge ...

, who may have been flying Spanish flags as a ruse.

Fate

In 1820 ''Il'mena'' again sailed south from Sitka to California. On 19 June 1820 ''Il'mena'' wrecked at

on the coast of California, due to carelessness of Christopher Stevens, the vessel's American navigator. All the people and cargo on board were saved and taken to nearby Fort Ross.

References

External links

Primary Source, Chapter 1: RAC letter
National Park Service

National Park Service

National Park Service 19th century in California Age of Sail merchant ships of the United States Channel Islands of California Chumash Fur trade History of Hawaii History of Kauai History of the Pacific Northwest Maritime history of California Merchant ships of Russia Oregon Country Pre-Confederation British Columbia Pre-statehood history of Hawaii Russian colonization of North America Russian-American Company Ships of Russia Ships sunk with no fatalities Shipwrecks of the California coast Nicoleño