Editing Sitka, Alaska (section)

===Russian America===
[[File:New Archangel, 1805.jpg|thumb|left|New Archangel, 1805]]
[[File:View_of_New_Archangel,_1837.tif|thumb|left|The Russian-American Company's capital at Novo Arkhangelsk in 1837]]
[[File:1827 illustration of Castle Hill (Old Sitka, Alaska) by Postels.jpg|thumb|''{{lang|tli|<u>G</u>ajaa Héen}}'' (Old Sitka), {{Circa|1827}}. The new Russian palisade atop "[[Castle Hill (Sitka, Alaska)|Castle Hill]]" (''{{lang|tli|Noow Tlein}}'') that surrounded the Governor's Residence had three watchtowers, armed with 32 cannons, for defense against [[Tlingit]] attacks.]]

Russian explorers settled [[Old Sitka Site|Old Sitka]] in 1799, naming it Fort of Archangel Michael ({{langx|ru|форт Архангела Михаила}}, <small>[[transliteration of Russian|t]]</small> ''{{lang|ru-Latn|Fort Arkhangela Mikhaila}}''). The governor of [[Russian America]], [[Alexander Andreyevich Baranov|Alexander Baranov]], arrived under the auspices of the [[Russian-American Company]], a colonial trading company chartered by [[list of Russian tsars|Tsar]] [[Paul of Russia|Paul I]]. In June 1802, Tlingit warriors destroyed the original settlement, killing many of the Russians, with only a few managing to escape.<ref name=Khlebnikov>Khlebnikov, K.T., 1973, Baranov, Chief Manager of the Russian Colonies in America, Kingston: The Limestone Press, {{ISBN|0919642500}}</ref>{{rp|37–39}} Baranov was forced to levy 10,000 [[Russian ruble|rubles]] in ransom to Captain Barber of the British sailing ship ''Unicorn'' for the safe return of the surviving settlers.<ref name=Chevigny>{{cite book |last=Chevigny |first=Hector |title=Lord of Alaska: Baranov and the Russian adventure |year=1942 |publisher=Viking Press |location=Cornell University |page=320 |isbn=9780832304064 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qPg9AAAAYAAJ |access-date=March 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811114137/https://books.google.com/books/about/Lord_of_Alaska.html?id=qPg9AAAAYAAJ |archive-date=August 11, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Russians in Alaska|last=Black|first=Lydia|publisher=University of Alaska Press|year=2014|isbn=9781889963044|location=Alaska|pages=158–159}}</ref>

Baranov returned to Sitka in August 1804 with a large force, including [[Yuri Lisyansky]]'s ''[[Russian warship Neva|Neva]]''. The ship bombarded the Tlingit fortification on the 20th but was not able to cause significant damage. The Russians then launched an attack on the fort and were repelled. Following two days of bombardment, the Tlingit "hung out a white flag" on the 22nd, deserting the fort on the 26th.<ref name=Khlebnikov/>{{rp|44–49}}

Following their victory at the [[Battle of Sitka]] in October 1804, the Russians established the settlement "New Archangel", named after [[Arkhangelsk]]. As a permanent settlement, New Archangel became the largest city in the region. The Tlingit re-established their fort on the [[Chatham Strait]] side of [[Peril Strait]] to enforce a trade embargo with the Russian establishment. In 1808, with Baranov still governor, Sitka was designated the capital of Russian America.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The City & Borough of Sitka Alaska - About Sitka |url=https://www.cityofsitka.com/about-sitka |access-date=November 6, 2022 |website=www.cityofsitka.com}}</ref>

[[Saint Innocent of Alaska|Bishop Innocent]] lived in Sitka after 1840. He was known for his interest in education, and his house, the [[Russian Bishop's House]], parts of which served as a schoolhouse, has since been restored by the [[National Park Service]] as part of the [[Sitka National Historical Park]].

The original [[St. Michael's Cathedral (Sitka, Alaska)|Cathedral of Saint Michael]] was built in Sitka in 1848 and became the seat of the [[Orthodox Church in America|Russian Orthodox]] bishop of Kamchatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands, and Alaska. The original church burned to the ground in 1966, losing its handmade bells, the large icon of the [[Last Supper]] that decorated the top of the royal doors, and the clock in the bell tower. Also lost was the large library containing books in the [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]], and [[Aleut language|Aleut]] languages. Although the church was restored to its original appearance, one exception was its clock face, which is black in photographs taken before 1966, but white in subsequent photos.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Swaney |first=Deanna |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/794289670 |title=Alaska |date=2012 |publisher=DK |others=Inc DK Publishing |isbn=978-0-7566-9191-2 |location=London |pages=140 |oclc=794289670}}</ref>

Swedes, Finns and other nationalities of Lutherans worked for the Russian-American Company,<ref>[http://www.sitkalutheranchurch.org/archangel.htm Sitka Lutheran Church] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602012055/http://www.sitkalutheranchurch.org/archangel.htm |date=June 2, 2013}}</ref> which led to the creation of a Lutheran congregation. The [[Sitka Lutheran Church]] building was built in 1840 and was the first [[Protestant]] church on the [[Pacific coast]]. After the transition to American control, following the purchase of Alaska from Russia by the United States in 1867, the influence of other Protestant religions increased, and [[St. Peter's by-the-Sea Episcopal Church (Sitka, Alaska)|Saint-Peter's-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church]] was consecrated as "the Cathedral of Alaska" in 1900.<ref name=NRHP>{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=78000538}}|title=NRHP nomination for St. Peter's Church|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=October 24, 2014}}</ref>