Catherine, admirer of the Enlightenment that she was, embraced its laissez-faire policies of government toward business. Perhaps she declined Shelikhov’s request on philosophy alone. Perhaps she had more pragmatic concerns and feared that a Russian trading monolith might heighten, rather than reduce, tensions with Britain, Spain, or others and serve only to involve Russia far more deeply in North American affairs than she cared to be. Whatever Catherine’s reasons, Shelikhov left without his monopoly. He and Golikov had to be content with gold medals, silver sabers, and imperial citations,
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