Description

By the mid-17th century, Russia had expanded across Siberia to the Pacific Ocean. By the end of the next century it had explored and begun to colonize Alaska. In becoming an Asian and Pacific power, Russia became interested in other Pacific countries, including Japan. By coincidence, the Russians had captured a group of Japanese fishermen who had been blown off course in 1782–83 and shipwrecked on Amchitka Island in the Aleutian Islands off the Alaska coast. The unofficial leader of this group was Daikokuya Kodayu, whom the Russians ultimately ...