Cotton Trade in the Establishment of Russian-American Relations (1765-1815)

The article examines the role of cotton in the establishment of Russian-American relations between 1765 and 1815. The relevance of the issues raised in the article reflects the growing interest in the history of Russian-American relations. So far little attention has been paid to this problem, so the goal of our research was to show how Russia grew interested in the cotton and how cotton gradually became the main export from the United States. Establishing diplomatic relations with the United States, Russia attached great importance to goods from the United States and furs from Alaska. Great Britain was the main rivals in this trade for Russia and the United States. The article draws on extensive Russian and foreign scholarly literature. The methodology used is based on the achievements of modern historical science. The article is conceived as the first in a series of proposed further publications to further study the role of cotton trade in relations between Russia and the United States. The author shows how cotton trade was an important factor in establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries, despite the changing international situation. The author analyzes the causes and consequences of cotton trade and provides examples from the history of the cotton trade between Russia and the US. It is argued that the cotton trade was an important stimulus and catalyst for the establishment of direct trade and diplomatic relations between Russia and the United States, which then continued to develop on a mutually beneficial basis.