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A Russian Visit to the Spanish Franciscans in California, 1836
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 December 2015
Extract
The History of the Early contacts between the Russians and the Spanish-speaking people in this hemisphere remains to be written. A few of these meetings are common knowledge. Miranda’s visit to the Russia of Catherine the Great has been treated frequently; Concepción de Argüello’s tragic love for the Russian Rezanov became a traditional theme. Obviously, in California, where the two civilizations met, contacts were numerous. With very few exceptions they were reported as incidents of friction. Bancroft’s History of California (XIX, Chapters 4, 14 and 28) and Engelhardt’s The Missions and Missionaries of California convey the impression that the Russians were aware of the military weakness of the Spanish outposts and that the Spanish, later Mexican, leaders were generally apprehensive of the designs of their neighbors to the North. On the other hand, the friendly reception accorded by the Spanish Franciscans to Rezanov’s companion, Langsdorff, and the latter’s favorable comments on the friars’ achievements are known. Another instance of peaceful relations whose record somewhat belies the concept of an early nineteenth-century “cold war” on the Pacific coast is almost unknown.
- Type
- In Memoriam
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1953
References
1 Cf. the serious, documentary treatment in Angel Grisanti’s Miranda y la Emperatriz Catalina la Grande (Caracas, 1928).
2 Cf. the poem “Concepcion de Arguello,” in The Poetic Works of Bret Harte (Boston, 1887).
3 H.Langsdorff, von, Voyage and Travels (London, 1813)Google Scholar, quoted by Engelhardt, The Missions and Missionaries of California (San Francisco, 1908–1916), II, 635–641.
4 According to a letter, received by the author, dated January 17, 1952.
5 According to a letter from the Director, Dr. Julio Jiménez Rueda, dated February 14, 1947, the San Fernando records go only as far as 1825.
6 By Sokol, A. E., The American Slavic and East European Review, XI (April, 1952), 85–105.Google Scholar
7 SirBelcher, Edward R.N., Narrative of a Voyage Round the World (London, 1843)Google Scholar. This author, who saw Veniaminov in 1837, described him as “a very powerful, athletic man, about forty-five years of age, and standing in his boots about six feet three inches; quite herculean, and very clever.” I, 98.
8 Chevigny, Hector, Lord of Alaska, Baranov and the Russian Adventure (New York, 1943)Google Scholar.
9 The Life and Works of Innocent, Archbishop of Kamchatka, the Kuriles and the Aleutian Islands and Later the Metropolitan of Moscow (San Francisco: S. F. Cubery & Co., 1897). Pp. 23.
10 Pp. 196 and 200. (The latter reference does not deal with the Franciscan contacts.)
11 They deal with the Aleut language, customs and history; with the meteorology, geography, natural history and ethnology of the area; the grammar of the native peoples, and religious instruction in their own language.
12 According to the aforementioned biography (note 9), the prelate was bom 1797 as John Popov; he was later given the name Veniaminov. He arrived in Alaska 1823, became bishop, under the name of “Innokendiĭ,” in 1840, archbishop in 1850; he was elevated to the vacant Metropolitan see of Moscow 1867 and died 1879.
13 The co-operation of the Bancroft Library is gratefully acknowledged. I also wish to express my appreciation of the advice given by L. Keithahn, of the Alaska Historical Library and Museum, and that of my former colleagues, the Slavists Dr. Kurt Klein and Sam Anderson of the University of Kansas. I understand that the Alaska Historical Library and Museum is planning to publish a complete translation of the original manuscript in the near future.
14 All dates are according to the Russian calendar which then was twelve days behind.
15 In the Bancroft Library transcription, prepared by Rev. Baranov in 1942, there is a blank. The name of the Franciscan was Quijos, according to the Kashevaroff letter.
16 Father Veniaminov, who had come to Russian America from Siberia, evidently had ignored the crossing of the date line in his calendar.
17 The italics stand for the Roman letters in the transcription—the rest is in Russian. According to the Kashevaroff letter the name was Joseph Maria a tern. González. The copyist apparently misinterpreted the Russian MS.
18 The unrest is confirmed by historical works.
19 It is interesting to note that the Russian schismatic ecclesiastic considered the three Spaniards “other priests.”
20 H. H. Bancroft states: “During Veniaminov’s administration a Lutheran clergyman was welcomed at Sitka and the same spirit of tolerance was extended later to the Jesuits, several Poles of that order being transferred from Canada.” (History of Alaska, p. 702.) Bancroft refers to Sir George Simpson’s Narrative of a Journey Round the World, II, 193. Note that according to the Catholic Encyclopedia and the National Catholic Almanac no permanent Catholic mission was found in Alaska prior to the cession to the United States.