sea otter trade

Within 20 years of the Franciscan padres setting foot in California to establish a chain of missions along the coast, merchant ships from Boston began appearing in Pacific waters. They were welcomed by the priests and small groups of

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Imperial Spain, who had long feared a Russian advance into their largely unguarded province of California, was in no position to resist when Czarist Russia decided to build an outpost above Bodega Bay. 

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