Changes

Alaska became the 49th state of the United States in 1959. By 1859, control of Alaska had been held numerous indigenous and non-indigenous colonizer, first by the Russian Empire, and settled by non-indigenous populations since at least 1730s or earlier. Alaska was blessed with rich natural resources, and this wealth encouraged the US to purchase the land in 1867. During the Cold War, Alaska became a key component of US national defense.

After 1581, the Russian Empire sought to expand eastward across Siberia. By the early 1600s, it had reached the Bering Sea. Some sources claim that the first Russian settlement in Alaska was established by Semyon Dezhnyov, a Russian explorer who was the first Russian to cross the Bering Sea. The settlement may have been near the Koyuk River near Seward, Alaska. By the early 18th century, Peter the Great had begun to renew Russian expansion and colonization interests.