Russia Sold Alaska for Just $7.2 Million 😳 | Map Wednesday Ep. 2

[00:00:00]Imagine owning a piece of land larger than India and then deciding to sell it.

[00:00:05]That's exactly what Russia did in 1867.

[00:00:09]That land, Alaska, and Russia sold it to United States for just $7.2 million.

[00:00:17]Today, it sounds unbelievable. But at that time, Alaska was remote, difficult to defend, and expensive to manage.

[00:00:24]Russia was also worried that if another war broke out, Britain would simply take it without paying anything. So, instead of risking that, Russia chose to sell it. At first, many Americans thought it was a terrible deal. Some even called it Seward's Folly. But later, Alaska was found with enormous reserves of oil, gold, and other natural resources. What looked like a frozen wasteland turned out to be worth of hundreds of billions of dollars. Not bad for just $7.2 million.