History of Vladivostok

L’histoire de Vladivostok peut être divisée en l’histoire du pays sur lequel

The history of Vladivostok can be divided into the history of the land on which Vladivostok is now located and the history of the city itself. The area that is now Vladivostok was settled by ancient peoples, such as the Mohe, the Goguryeo, the Balhaeand the later Liao and Jīn Dynasties. The area was ceded by China to Russia as a result of the Treaty of Aigun of 1858 and the Treaty of Peking of 1860.

Chinese influence

On Chinese maps from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Vladivostok is called Yongmingcheng [Yǒngmíngchéng], "city of eternal light"). During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) it was visited by Chinese expeditions, and a relic of that time (a Chongning stela) is displayed in the local museum. The 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk defined the area as part of China under the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Later, as the Manchus banned Han Chinese from most of Manchuria (including the Vladivostok region), it was only visited by shēnzéi , ginseng or sea cucumber thieves) who illegally entered the area seeking ginseng or sea cucumbers (ambiguous, since both words use the Chinese , shēn). From this comes the current Chinese name for the city, (Hǎishēnwǎi, "sea-cucumber cliffs"). A French ship which is believed to have visited the area around 1858 found several huts belonging to Han or Manchu fishermen. There is also the Udge, the Orochi, the Nanai, and the Mohe living in Vladivostok.

Russian control

During the summer of 1859 the governor-general of eastern Siberia, Nikolay N. Muravyov, visited the peninsula and bay (somewhat similar to the Bay of the Golden Horn in Constantinople) on the steam corvette Amerika. The peninsula was named Muravyov-Amursky in his honor. The first Europeans to visit the bay, later named the Golden Horn Bay, were the crews of the British warships HMS Winchester and HMS Barracouta in 1855.

Origins of the modern city

On June 20, 1860 (July 2 Gregorian style) the military supply ship Manchur, under Captain-Lieutenant Alexey K. Shefner, called at Golden Horn Bay to found the outpost of Vladivostok. Warrant officer Nikolay Komarov, with 28 soldiers and two non-commissioned officers under his command, were brought from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur by ship to construct its first buildings. They pitched camp, selecting a site where the entrance to Golden Horn Bay was always visible.

In 1862, under the leadership of Yevgeny Burachyok, Vladivostok became an official port. To encourage foreign trade, it was designated a free port for imports. In 1864, the Southern Harbors command was moved to Vladivostok from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur. A year later a shipbuilding yard was founded in the city, and the first settlers from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur began arriving. In 1871 the naval port, military governor's residence, and main base of the Siberian Military Flotilla moved from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur to Vladivostok, and the Great Northern Telegraph Company connected Vladivostok to Nagasaki and Shanghai by underwater cable.