The Russian Empire had settlements in Alaska, Fort Ross in California, and Fort Elizabeth in Hawaii, as the U.K., French, Americans, Spanish, and Mexicans were each vying for territorial acquisitions in North America, I am curious as to why Russia did not more intensely pursue permanency. Territorial expansion was characteristic of the Russian Empire during the 1700s and 1800s, but appears more concerned about Europe and the withering Ottoman Empire. Did the Russian Empire simply deem North America to be useless? Did they not want to antagonize the other major powers in North America?
Thanks /r/askhistorians !
The most straightforward answer is that most activities in the Pacific and Russian America were the work of the Russian-American Company rather than the government directly. During the late 1700s and early 1800s, the government tended to work indirectly through the RAC. As the 19th century went on and the RAC's charter was renewed every 20 years, the government took increasing control of things.
But you're asking about early Russian America, at the end of the 18th century. Before the establishment of the Russian-American Company, the imperial government did intend to have a firm presence in North America.
In 1785, Catherine the Great ordered the creation of a naval squadron to conduct the first Russian circumnavigation of the Earth. This squadron, under the command of Captain First Rank Grigorii Mulovskii was to include four brand-new ships of the line and one transport. There were 34 officers and 639 crewmen, plus an impressive scientific corps that included members of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, four artists, geographers, naturalists and more.
The squadron's mission was not only to circumnavigate the world — it was to establish a firm claim on "that coast from the harbor of Nootka to the point where Chirikov's discovery begins," in effect everything from Vancouver Island northward. The squadron was ordered to escort foreign shipping out of the area, and any foreign shore operations were to be destroyed.
Mulovskii's squadron was supported by Joseph Billings, a veteran of Cook's voyages, who operated out of Okhotsk, the principal port on Russia's Pacific Coast. Billings, in cooperation with Mulovskii, was to improve Okhotsk, establish another port, and sail north of the Bering Strait as far as possible to investigate the American coast.
Natives were to be treated with kindness, and the use of weapons against them was strictly forbidden. Even if the Russians were attacked, the could defend themselves but not retaliate.
Mulovskii was scheduled to sale in late 1787, but in that year Turkey and Sweden went to war against Russia, and Mulovskii's squadron was needed in the fighting. On Oct. 28, 1787, Catherine canceled the expedition.
This would have far-reaching effects. In 1788, not having learned of the Russian voyage's cancelation, Spain sent two warships north from Mexico to assert its rights to the coast. In 1789, Esteban Jose Martinez and Gonzalo Lopez de Haro arrived in Nootka Sound and found American and British sea otter trading vessels. Martinez seized the British vessels, triggering the Nootka Incident, which was only settled when European negotiations set the Columbia River as the boundary between British and Spanish claims.
George Vancouver arrived on scene in 1792, ultimately completing the exploration that Mulovskii's squadron would have performed. The first Russian circumnavigation would not take place until the early 19th century, and it would be much smaller and less capable than Mulovskii's squadron. Nevertheless, its arrival came at an opportune time for the Russian-American Company, which needed its intervention to win the Second Battle of Sitka against the Tlingit.