Dutch explorer Willem Barents(Novaya Zemlya) took part in two unsuccessful Arctic voyages before his memorable discovery. In 1592 Jan Huyghen van Linschoten of Enkhuizen returned from a voyage to Goa with a Portuguese fleet and wrote a widely read Itinerary. This stimulated Dutch interest in the Orient, though at the time it seemed dangerous to contest the Portuguese monopoly of the route around the Cape of Good Hope. In 1595 Amsterdam merchants, undiscouraged by the English failure to find a Northeast Passage 40 years earlier, decided to resume the search. They prepared two ships, placing one under Jacob van Heemskerck and the other under Jan Corneliszoon Rijp. Barents, who as pilot sailed with Heemskerck, became the acknowledged leader of the expedition. The ships left Vlieland, a small port near Amsterdam, on May 18, 1596, and about three weeks later discovered Bear Island, south of the then-unknown Spitsbergen; they so named the island because of an encounter with a polar bear whose hide did not prove vulnerable to Dutch blunderbusses. Pressing northward, the Dutch ships came on June 17 to Spitsbergen, uninhabited islands. During the rest of June the Dutch explored the western coast of the main island, thinking it a part of Greenland. After a return to Bear Island, the ships separated, Rijp to resume exploration of Spitsbergen, and Barents and Heemskerck to cross the Barents Sea to Novaya Zemlya, previously discovered but not explored to its northern limit. Barents and Heemskerck rounded the northernmost point, naming it Hook of Desire, and sailed eastward, at first believing, from the open water encountered, that they had discovered the Northeast Passage. By November, however, the ice had grown thick and it finally imprisoned the ship. Barents and Heemskerck were 81°N at their highest latitude, beyond any point previously reached. Still close to Novaya Zemlya, realizing that they must build a solid shelter ashore in order to survive, they made one of logs and driftwood and moved into this "Safe House" in October. They lived there until June 1597, suffering but at first in good spirits, calling themselves "burghers of Novaya Zemlya." At Epiphany they had a cheerful party on their remaining liquor and crowned one man "king" of Novaya Zemlya. Conditions then deteriorated; the firewood gave out, and the ship was crushed by ice. The men began to construct two small boats. Scurvy had been present for months, and one of the worst sufferers was Barents. He left with the rest as they slowly worked down Novaya Zemlya, but he grew so weak that he could take no part in manipulating the craft. Barents died at the end of June, soon after asking Gerrit de Veer, chronicler of the expedition, to lift him up for a final look at Novaya Zemlya. Heemskerck and the other survivors reached the Kola Peninsula and were rescued there by Rijp, who had returned to Holland and come back for trade.
5 Comments
Elsie #gounion
10/10/2017 01:04:42 pm
this was sad Willem Barents died on his own expedition and never made it home. but he was amazing. i like polar Bears
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Justin
10/10/2017 05:32:25 pm
They managed to quickly build a cabin and survived for months. Sadly he died but his team learned a lot from that adventure.
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sebastian
10/11/2017 05:14:53 pm
Him and a crew plus another ship set out on a journey to find a shorter route to china. Their journey was hard because they encountered a polar bear which delayed the journey so long, that ice blocked the direction they were going. The 2 captains disagreed the way to go so they went in separate directions. Williams crew faced challenges so they stopped at a small island. Cannibals were also at that island so after a cabin was built and they lasted 8 months on the island, they ate William. The rest of the crew continued and set sail for home.
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jishnu
10/12/2017 03:05:35 pm
I can't believe that even though they get get stuck on ice they persevered through the winter and managed to make it home.
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larry
10/22/2017 07:34:50 am
They must have been very brave and smart if they were able to survive on ice for that long.
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