1741 in Canada
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See also: 1740 in Canada, other events of 1741, 1742 in Canada and the list of 'years in Canada'.
Events
- Vitus Bering, in service of Russia, reaches Alaska; Russians soon trade with natives for sea otter pelts.
- Alexei Chirikof, with Bering expedition, sights land on July 15; the Europeans had found Alaska.
- Russians Vitus Bering and Aleksi Cherikov 'discover' Alaska and bring back fur skins (Bering shipwrecked on return and died); the Fur Rush is on.
- The lives of early Alaskans remained basically unchanged for thousands of years, until Russian sailors, led by Danish explorer Vitus Bering, sighted Alaska's mainland in 1741.
- The Russians were soon followed by British, Spanish, and American adventurers. But it was the Russians who stayed to trade for the pelts of sea otters and other fur-bearing animals, interjecting their own culture and staking a strong claim on Alaska. Once the fur trade declined, however, the Russians lost interest in this beautiful though largely unexplored land.