Russia in Pacific Waters, 1715–1825: a Survey of the Origins of Russia’s Naval Presence in the North and South Pacific by Glynn Barratt (review)

254 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW navigablechannelat the mouthof the Mississippi; relationswith the Indian nations,andtheSpanish atPensacola; andtheoverridingproblemof healthin the mosquito-riddencoastalswamps. On 3 January •7o2 Iberville casually noted(•6o)'anabscess in mysidehaskeptmein bedsincemydeparturefrom St. Domingue;it requireda six-inch-long incisionthroughmy belly,which caused me agreatdealof pain.' Fortunately, thejournalswerenotwrittenbyIberville,whose schooling had beenmeagre,but weredictated byhim from hislogsto a scribe whohada giftedpen,asdoes thetranslator. Theyareadelighttoread.A spot check with PierreMargry's transcription oftheoriginal journalsindicates thatthetranslationisafaithfulrendition .The meticulous notes areatthefootofthepageand are an annotation of the text rather than mere reference notes. The editor has madeexcellent useoftheDictionary ofCanadian Biography toidentifythepersons mentionedin thejournals.He comparedthe originalmanuscript journalsto thetranscriptions byPierreMargry,indicating thelatter'sfrequent,andoccasionally glaring,errors.In onlyonenotedid thisreviewerfindthattheeditor had goneastray. On page•65, note22, he states that the Frenchreferredto cheapor inferiorfurs,suchasdeerskins andbuffalohides,asmenuespelleteries. In fact,menues pelleteries werethe morevaluablesmallfurs otherthanbeaver, suchasmartin,otter,squirrel,andmink.Two otherserious deficiencies must bementioned;a lackof adequate maps,thecontemporary onesincludedare greatlyreducedandmerelydecorative. Second, theintroduction byTennantS. McWilliams isan appallingtravesty of factualerrorsandmisconceived opinions . Despitethatlastglaringflawthebookhasconsiderable value,notleastfor studentswho will, in readingit, find themselves relivingthe past,viewing historythroughtheeyes of onewhomadeit. w.j.v.ccLv. sUniversity ofToronto Russia inPacific Waters, 1715-1825: aSurvey ofthe Origins ofRussia• NavalPresence in theNorthandSouth Pacific. G•.¾• B•,RR•,TT. Vancouver, Universityof British ColumbiaPress, •98•. Pp.xv,3oo,illus.$24-95. Althoughthe subtitleof thisbookincludesthe word 'survey,' it shouldbe emphasized thatthescholarship reflects agreatdealoforiginal research coveringa widetime-frame.Futhermore, theresearch isincreased in valuebythe joiningofsources fromwithintheSoviet Uniontothose oneassociates withthe generalpatterns of maritimehistory outside thatcountry. The authorofthisformidable compilation ofevidence does notalways make comprehension easyfor hisreaders.This ispartlybecause the singlemap is inadequate, partlyduetotheinevitable complications involved ingeographical description, andpartlytothefactthatthesocial, political, maritime, andstrategicaspects of ahundredyears' time-span makeextremely severe demands on REVIEWS 255 the modern naval historian. Balance is sometimes lost. For instance, the description ofJ. Billings's overlandmarchwestfrom the BeringStraitispresentedsothat the readerdoesnot knowwherehisjourney began,precisely. Nor arewetoldwhereheended- whetherit wasatsomepointonthe Kolyma Riveror atPetropavlovsk. A trip of twentyweeks' durationthroughover•5oo milesof semi-hostile northernSiberiasurelydeserves clearertreatment.Also, thisreviewer wentthroughthewhole bookwondering wheretheironpartsof the vessels built in Russia's eastern coast came from before the maritime route eclipsed thelandroute. Havingsaidthat,it mustbeemphasized thatsomeoverview doesemerge from thiswork,andthatit isarresting. Indeed,thegeneraldevelopment is surprisingly like thatof the RoyalNavyin the SouthPacific(seeJ.M. Ward, British Policy intheSouth Pacific, 1786-1893, Sydney•948) in itspatterns.One sees traderstraffickingwithindigenous people,withdisastrous results for thelocal groups.Then, at a certainstage,the desirefor more profitsby one or two emergentdominatingtrading companies, strategicplanning,and growing humanitarianconcerninducerigorousregulatoryresponses by governments andnavalofficers. In thisRussian example thenavalservice finallyemergedas thecontrolling elementin an areathatit hadnottheresources to maintain. Victorywasdefeat.Forthefactwasthat,beforetherailwayage,Russia's capacityfor maintaining armedships andfortsin theNorthPacific didnotexistin depth in the navy,in the colonialadministration, or in its overallfinancial capacity. Sitkawasthe keyto the North Americancommitment,but Sitkahad nohinterlandfrom whichtheRussians coulddrawstrength,andit wasmaintained by no dependablymilitary-navalsupply system- either overland throughSiberiaor viathe SouthAtlantic- thatwascapable of dealingwith bothlocalmenaces andEuropeaninterlopers. It wasallverytenuous. A countrywithouta merchantmarineof anyconsequence builtupthisnational-trading-naval enterprise whenpolicy-making at homelaggedbehindevents on the frontiersbytwoto fiveyears.It wasalso extraordinary,expeciallywhenone notesthat 19 August•8o6 marked the 'Conclusion ofthefirstRussian circumnavigation oftheglobe'- :•:•6 years after Drakehad donethe samefor England.Thesecontrasts are wellsetout by Professor Barratt. Finally,the inhumantreatmentof theAleutsisrecorded.It isof interestto notethattheconscience of Orthodoxywasrepresented morebyRussian naval officers thanbyRussian clergymen. Veniaminov, themissionary bishop tothe Aleuts,didnotbegintoworkuntilthetradingandnavalthrusts weresubsiding .This doesnot representa greatdeviationfrom the generalEuropean exploitation pattern. Altogether this book is an informative and significantcontributionto maritimehistory. D.•a.SCHUR•aA• Royal MilitaryCollege ofCanada ...