Читать книгу A History of Geographical Discovery in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries - Edward Heawood - Страница 6

In the remarkable outburst of maritime enterprise which followed the discovery of America, it was the equatorial regions, with their real or supposed wealth in the precious metals and other valuable commodities, which above all stimulated the energies of such nations as, by their political influence or favourable geographical position, had been called upon to take part in these adventures. But, side by side with this principal current of activity, there had begun to flow, in the course of the sixteenth century, a subsidiary stream of enterprise in the direction of the inhospitable North—a stream which, though at first but feeble in comparison, was destined to lead to results of great importance for the widening of the geographical horizon. And as it was the more southern peoples of Western Europe who had gained the chief glory and profit from the earlier quest, so it was the hardy seamen of the north who, as an equally natural result of geographical position, carried off the laurels in the still more arduous task of seeking new routes through the frozen Arctic seas.

The first beginnings of enterprise in this direction belong to still earlier times than the search for a route to the Indies, and are in fact to a great extent lost in obscurity. Long before the Venetian and Portuguese navigators began to venture into the unknown wastes of the Atlantic, the seamen of the north had carried out voyages unsurpassed for their daring even by the more fruitful exploit of Columbus. Before the end of the tenth century the most northern point of Europe seems to have been rounded by Other in the voyage narrated by him to our King Alfred, while in the following century the Norsemen (who had already colonised Iceland) found their way to the distant shores of Greenland, where, according to the story, two separate settlements were founded and existed for some centuries. They even appear to have reached some part of Eastern Canada or Newfoundland. The supposed voyages of the Venetian noblemen, Niccolo and Antonio Zeno, in the fourteenth century, have been proved almost with certainty to have been mainly, if not entirely, fictitious; but that some glimmering of knowledge of these northern regions was possessed by the cartographers of the following century is shown by various maps that have come down to us, especially that of Claudius Clavus, the "earliest cartographer of the North." The rising spirit of maritime adventure found its first outlet in England in the voyages of the Cabots, father and son, though those of Sebastian, the son, have not yet been satisfactorily elucidated, and the idea once held that they reached as far north as the mouth of Hudson Strait rests on no sure foundation. The arguments put forward by Robert Thorne in 1527, as to the feasibility of a north-west passage, led to no immediate result, and it was some years later that the English merchants took the first important step towards securing a share in the benefits of distant trade, from which the jealousy of their continental rivals had hitherto excluded them.

Mainly through the agency of Sebastian Cabot, an association was formed for "the discovery of lands, countries, and isles not before known to the English", and this received a royal charter in 1549.^[1] At this time the thoughts of the merchants were directed chiefly to the opening up of trade with the East by way of Northern Russia, and for this purpose an expedition of three ships was fitted out in 1553 and despatched under the command of Sir Hugh Willoughby, with Richard Chancellor as "pilot-major." It was furnished with "letters missive" from King Edward VI to the potentates of the regions likely to be visited, and sailed from Ratcliffe on the Thames, full of high anticipation, on May 10, 1553. But it was doomed to meet with disaster. After sailing along the coast of Norway the ships encountered boisterous weather, and two of them, the Bona Esperanza and Bona Confidentia (the former Willoughby's own ship), were driven hither and thither, and though they sighted land in the latitude of 72° (probably on the south-west coast of Novaya Zemlya), were finally forced to take refuge in the haven of Arzina ^[2] in Lapland, where the whole of the crews perished miserably of cold and hunger. The third ship—the Edward Bonaventure, with Chancellor for captain, became separated from the others and succeeded in reaching the mouth of the Dwina in the White Sea, whence Chancellor and some of his companions travelled inland to Moscow, and were well received by the Emperor Ivan Vassilivich, thus paving the way for future trade relations between Great Britain and Russia. On his return Chancellor wrote a short account of the country and the manners and customs of its people—the earliest first-hand information on the subject which reached this country. He was drowned when returning from a later voyage in 1556.

[1 In the successive charters granted to this association of merchants, the title given to it varies considerably, giving rise to some confusion. It was for a time most generally known as the "Company of Merchant Adventurers", but this gave place in an act of parliament of 1556 to "The Fellowship of English Merchants for Discovery of New Trades", while the more commonly used title was that of the Russia or Muscovy Company.]

[2 The Varzina river debouches on the north side of the Kola peninsula in about 38½° E. It is already shown on Ortelius's map of Europe.]

In 1555 a second voyage was made, and trade definitely established, while in 1556 the Company despatched Stephen Burrough, in the pinnace Searchthrift, to explore still further east in the direction of the river Ob. Burrough reached Vaigatz Island on July 31, and soon afterwards entered the Kara Strait between that island and Novaya Zemlya, which has been sometimes known, from him, as Burrough Strait. He was unable however to advance any distance into the Kara Sea, but turned back on August 5, wintering at Kolmogro at the mouth of the Dwina.

Novaya Zemlya, showing entrances to Kara Sea.

The success of the trade with Russia diverted the energies of the merchants from the search for a north-east passage for some years, and it was not until 1580 that any serious attempt was made to prosecute discovery in this direction, attention having meanwhile been once more directed to the north-western route. Yearly voyages were however made to Kolmogro, and agents were regularly established in Russia to buy up commodities in readiness for the arrival of the ships, while some made their way on behalf of the Company as far as Persia and Central Asia. Hakluyt prints the commission issued in 1568 (given as 1588 by a misprint) to three servants of the Company—Bassendine, Woodcocke, and Browne—to explore eastwards beyond the Pechora, but nothing is known of the result. In 1580 the Company determined to renew their efforts for the discovery of a north-eastern route to Cathay, and commissioned two captains, Arthur Pet of Ratcliffe and Charles Jackman of Poplar, to sail for that purpose, in the barks George and William of London, the former of 40, the latter of 20 tons only. In spite of the ill-success of Burrough's attempt, it was still hoped that by passing through the strait between Vaigatz and Novaya Zemlya, a passage might be found to China in a generally eastward direction, as indicated on a chart which had been drawn by William Burrough. With our present knowledge of the difficulties to be encountered—difficulties so great that the wished-for passage was not made until three centuries after Pet and Jackman's time—we can only wonder at the sanguine spirit which regarded it as possible that China could be reached, in the small and frail vessels employed, during the same summer in which they set out, or at worst after one winter had been spent on the northern coast of Asia.^[1] It was only in case the land should be found to extend to 80° N., or even nearer the Pole, that the impossibility of the passage was thought probable. In such a case, after as much of the coast as possible had been explored during the first summer, the explorers were recommended to winter in the Ob, and ascend it the next summer to the "City of Siberia." In any case all possible care was to be taken to enter into friendly relations with the inhabitants, and lay the foundations of future trade. A point to be specially kept in view, either on the outward or return voyage, was the examination of "Willoughby's land", and its relation with Novaya Zemlya. Notes for the guidance of the voyagers were also supplied by William Burrough, Dr Dee, and Richard Hakluyt, the last dealing particularly with the commodities to be taken as specimens of English wares, and the points on which information was needed in regard to the countries visited.

[1 A representation of the northern coast of Asia current about this time, as seen in Mercator's map of 1569, was still to a large extent based on the old classical writers. It showed one decided promontory—Cape Tabin—running up into the Arctic Sea, but, beyond this, little further hindrance to a voyage to China in latitudes far lower than the reality. Cape Tabin still appears in the map of Barents's discoveries drawn by Hondius for Pontanus's History of Amsterdam (1611), of which a portion is shown on p. 26.]

Although the amount actually accomplished fell very far short of these expectations, the two captains made a determined fight against heavy odds, and only turned back after trying every means in their power of pushing east across the Kara Sea. The ships separated, after passing the "Wardhouse" (Vardoe), owing to the bad sailing of the William, but a rendezvous was arranged at Vaigatz. The first land sighted by the George seems to have been the south-west coast of Novaya Zemlya, but after vainly searching for a passage Pet went south and explored the mainland coast east of the Pechora, a part of which he took to be the island of Vaigatz. Going north again a meeting was happily effected with the William, and the two ships entered the Kara Sea either through Yugor Shar, the narrow strait between Vaigatz and the mainland, or through the broad opening north of Vaigatz already discovered by Burrough.^[1] They were constantly beset by ice and baffled by fog, till at length, after vain endeavours to make headway, the navigators turned their faces homewards, only escaping from the ice with much difficulty. Further dangers were encountered on the shoals of Kolguev Island, and the ships again separated, the George safely reaching Ratcliffe on December 26, 1580, while Jackman, in the William, after wintering on the coast of Norway, set out in the following February towards Iceland in company with a Danish ship, and was never again heard of.

[1 It has been generally held by English writers that the passage was made by Yugor Shar, which has therefore been often known as Pet's Strait, but reasons were put forward by Baron von Nordenskiöld for supposing that the route was to the west and north of Vaigatz.]

Pet and Jackman deserve great credit for the boldness with which they fought their way through the ice-pack of the Kara Sea, as well as for their judgment and resource in availing themselves of any opening which promised to afford a passage. The difficulties of this navigation have baffled many a voyager even in modern times, and it is no matter for surprise that with their small advantages they were unsuccessful in pushing further east. Little serious effort in this direction seems to have been made by the Muscovy Company for some years after this, though a rumour was current about 1584 that an English vessel had previously been lost at the mouth of the Ob, and its crew murdered; while information obtained in that year by Anthony Marsh, one of the Company's factors, points to a knowledge on the part of the Russians at this time of Matyuskin Shar, the strait between the two large islands of Novaya Zemlya.

The search for the north-east passage was now taken up with much zeal by the Dutch, whose heroic attempts to open up the much desired route must now be spoken of, before recurring to the efforts of the Muscovy Company. The first Dutch voyage to the extreme north of Europe seems to have been made in 1565, when a trading post was established at a spot to which the name Kola was given. It is but little after this that we first meet with Olivier (or Oliver) Brunei, a man who took no small part in the further prosecution of Dutch northern enterprise, though himself a native of Brussels. Having undertaken a voyage from Kola to Kolmogro on the White Sea, he was made prisoner by the Russians, apparently at the instigation of the English, and remained so for several years. Being at last liberated through the good offices of the Anikieffs, Russian merchants associated with the Strogonoffs, he made several journeys of exploration on their behalf in the direction of the Ob, visiting Kostin Shar on one occasion. He helped to establish mutual trade relations between Holland and Russia, and eventually secured the support of the famous merchant De Moucheron for a voyage of discovery. Brunei set out in a ship of Enkhuysen in 1584, but met with no success, being baffled in an attempt to pass through Yugor Shar, and losing his ship, with a cargo of furs, etc., in the mouth of the Pechora. He is said to have afterwards entered the service of the King of Denmark, and possibly took part in the voyage of John Knight to Greenland in 1606.

The town of Enkhuysen, which thus had the honour of leading the way in the Dutch voyages of northern discovery, was not long in organising another attempt in the same direction. Among its citizens were several men who had interested themselves in geographical and commercial matters, including the famous Linschoten (whose long residence in the East Indies made him the foremost authority on all matters connected with the eastern trade of the Portuguese) and Cornelis Nai, an experienced seaman. The Middelburg merchant De Moucheron continued to turn his thoughts to the north-eastern route, and the divine and geographer Peter Plancius was a zealous advocate of further enterprise. He did much to improve his countrymen's knowledge of navigation, and among his pupils were Willem Barents and Jacob van Heemskerk, each destined to play an important part in northern discovery. Both were capable seamen, especially Barents, who seems, like John Davis in England, to have been well versed in the science of navigation.^[1] In 1594 two vessels were fitted out—the Swan, commanded by Cornelis Nai, and the Mercury, by Brant Tetgales, both natives of Enkhuysen. With Tetgales Linschoten went as commercial agent. At the same time the merchants of Amsterdam decided to take part in the enterprise, and fitted out a third vessel—also named the Mercury—and this was placed under the command of Barents,^[2] with whom a small fishing-boat from Terschelling also sailed. The plans laid down by the Amsterdam adventurers differed from those of the men of Enkhuysen, the former considering that a route round the north coast of Novaya Zemlya would offer the greatest prospects of success, while the latter adhered to the idea of entering the Kara Sea through one of the straits separating the several islands. As we have seen, some knowledge of Matyuskin Shar seems to have been gained by the Russians before this date, but the greater part of the coasts of the northern island were certainly unknown, so that the attempt to sail round its northern end betokened great hardihood, though quite justified by the measure of success now and subsequently attained by this route.

[1 Either he, or a contemporary of like name, was author of a sailing directory for the coasts of the Mediterranean.]

[2 The full name of the navigator was Barentszoon, contracted by the Dutch to Barentsz, but the form Barents may conveniently be retained in English. Nai is sometimes spoken of merely as Cornelis Corneliszoon.]

Almost the whole of the voyage was made independently by the two parties, though all the vessels met at a rendezvous at Kildin, in Lapland, towards the end of June. On the 29th, Barents sailed for Novaya Zemlya, which was sighted on July 4 in 73° 25' N., and followed northward to Cape Nassau, which was reached on the loth. Now began a heroic struggle to advance through the ice, which was here encountered in great quantities. It has been calculated that the various courses run by Barents on this coast make up a total of over 1600 nautical miles, the furthest point reached (July 31) being near the Orange Islands. The men now grew discouraged, and seeing but slight probability of accomplishing the object of the voyage, Barents reluctantly agreed to turn back. On August 15 he reached the islands "Matfloe and Dolgoy" (Matthew Island and Long Island) to the S.S.W. of Vaigatz, and fell in with the other captains, who had likewise returned from an ineffectual attempt to push eastward to the Ob. They had sailed through Yugor Shar, to which they gave the name Nassau Strait, being the first navigators, with the doubtful exception of Pet, to pass through this passage into the Kara Sea. They claimed to have sailed eastward as far as the meridian of the mouth of the Ob, but as the distance given is only 50 to 60 Dutch miles (each equal to four geographical miles), this can hardly have been the case. All four vessels now sailed home together, reaching their respective destinations about the end of September.

The report made by Linschoten after the return of the voyagers estimated the chances of future success more favourably than was perhaps justified, and this encouraged the merchants to set on foot a more ambitious undertaking for the following year. Seven vessels took part in it, and this time the Amsterdam merchants were willing to combine with those of the other towns interested, their two ships being placed, like the rest, under the command of Nai, who was appointed admiral of the whole fleet. He sailed in the Griffin of Zeelandt, while Tetgales and Barents commanded, respectively, the Hope of Enkhuysen and the Greyhound of Amsterdam (both new war pinnaces), Barents also undertaking the post of chief pilot of the fleet. The chief commercial agents were Linschoten, who again represented the merchants of Enkhuysen, etc., and François de la Dale, who looked after the Moucheron interests. It was arranged that one of the smaller vessels, a yacht of Rotterdam, should return alone with the news, in case of a successful rounding of Cape Tabin, still supposed to be the crucial point of the whole navigation, the remainder of the passage to China being thought comparatively short and easy. As on the former voyage, a Slav named Spindler went as interpreter, to facilitate the hoped-for intercourse with the peoples of Eastern Asia. The fleet sailed on July 2, 1595, and on the 19th of the same month approached Yugor Shar, having the day before passed Matthew Island ("Matfloe"). The strait was blocked by immense masses of ice, and it soon became evident that its passage would be a matter of unusual difficulty, if not quite impossible. The ships anchored in a bay on the Vaigatz side, behind the point known to the Dutch as Idol Point (not to be confounded with the spot at which Samoyed idols were found by Burrough, which was at the northern end of Vaigatz), and thence an examination of the strait was made both by sea and land, but with little success. Barents appears to have been the most energetic of the captains in his efforts to find a passage, and he repeatedly renewed his attempts when the rest were ready to abandon the task as hopeless. But after immense exertions, which brought the ships only a small part of the way through the strait, the outcome of various councils was that the men of Amsterdam, whose obstinacy seems to have given some offence to their fellow-adventurers, at last agreed to turn back and joined in a protest signed by all the captains and the two commercial agents, declaring that all had done their utmost to fulfil their commission, and that the only course open to them was to sail homewards. Thus ended the voyage on which such great expectations had been built, but which had in reality met with much less success than many of the previous ventures, owing, it is true, to the unusual severity of the season, which had kept the ice in the Yugor Strait packed into a solid mass throughout the summer.

Boats' adventure with a polar bear. (From De Veer's narrative of Barents's Voyages.)

In spite of the ill-success of the expedition of 1595, the merchants of Amsterdam, encouraged no doubt by the ardour and sanguine spirit shown by Barents, were ready to make yet another attempt in the following year. It was the belief of Barents, founded on his experiences during the voyage of 1594, that the greatest chance of success lay with the route round the north of Novaya Zemlya, and in this he had the support of the opinion of Plancius. Being now independent of their former associates, the Amsterdam merchants were able to form their plans in accordance with these views. Two ships, the names of which are not recorded, were fitted out, and placed under the command of Jacob van Heemskerk and Jan Corneliszoon Rijp, who had been associated with Linschoten and De la Dale as commercial agents during the second voyage, Heemskerk having Barents with him as pilot and apparently leaving to him a large share in the direction of the voyage. The expedition sailed from Vlieland near Amsterdam on May 18, 1596, and in deference to the opinion of Rijp a course was steered further to the west than on the previous voyages, and this led to the discovery, on June 9, of Bear Island, long called Cherie Island by the English, being so named by Stephen Bennet seven years after its discovery by the Dutch. Here the voyagers landed, and gave the island its name from an encounter they had with a bear. Continuing their voyage towards the north, they reached the ice-pack on June 16, and after tacking to keep clear of it, found the latitude on the 17th to be 80° 10'. On the same day high, snow-covered land was sighted, which was evidently the coast of Spitsbergen, east of Hakluyt Headland (as the extreme N.W. point of the group was afterwards named by Hudson), this island group being thus brought to light for the first time in the history of discovery. Before the end of the month the west coast was explored, southwards, to 76° 50' N., the name still in use for the whole group being applied to the newly discovered land by reason of its sharp summits (though it was taken to be part of Greenland), while that of Vogel Hoek was given to the north point of the Foreland (the long island lying a little off the coast) on account of the multitude of birds there seen. The mouths of Ice Fjord and Bell Sound were also noted. Bear Island was once more reached on July 1, and here the two ships parted company, Rijp returning along the coast of Spitsbergen after a fruitless effort to push north through the sea to the east, while Heemskerk, yielding no doubt to Barents's persuasion, sailed for Novaya Zemlya.^[1] The farthest point of the voyage of 1594 was successfully passed, the north-eastern promontory of the group being rounded and a bay reached on the east coast which received the name of Ice Haven. Here the ship was beset, and the navigators were forced to spend the winter in great misery. A house was built of drift-wood, which gave them some shelter from the cold, but scurvy broke out and caused much suffering, Barents himself being one of those most severely attacked. Time wore on, but summer approached without any prospect of the release of the ship. It therefore became necessary to attempt the homeward voyage with no better resource than two open boats, in which, on June 13, they embarked, fifteen in all, Barents and another man being still very ill. On June 20, when with incredible difficulties they were making their way down the west coast of Novaya Zemlya, the indomitable navigator, who had done more than any other to keep alive the hope of effecting the north-east passage, breathed his last, and two others of his comrades soon shared his fate. The survivors at length reached open water, and having obtained some help from two Russian vessels met with on July 28, made their way to Kola, where they found three Dutch ships, one of them commanded by their old comrade Rijp, who took them home to Holland.

[1 See additional note on Rijp at the end of the volume.]

The feat thus accomplished ranks among the hardiest achievements of Polar exploration. For the first time a party of men had wintered far within the Arctic Circle, suffering all the hardships inseparable from such a first experience, without any of the comforts enjoyed by those who have since followed in their footsteps. No other navigator visited their desolate wintering place until nearly three centuries later, when, in 1871, Captain Carlsen landed there and found the hut still standing, and various relics which had been left in it when abandoned by the early explorers. The death of Barents—perhaps the most hardy and capable navigator ever produced by Holland—was a great loss to the cause of Polar discovery, and the small success achieved naturally led to a cessation, for the time being, of the Dutch search for a passage. The next attempt was to be made by the English in the person of Henry Hudson.

Part of Hondius's Map of 1611, showing Barents's Discoveries. Click on the map to enlarge it.

Of the early life of this enterprising seaman we know absolutely nothing, and doubts have even been thrown, though with no sufficient reason, on his English nationality. In 1607 we find him in command of one of the Muscovy Company's ships—the Hopewell—which was to renew the search for a northern route to the East, on which so much energy had already been expended by the Company. The idea seems to have been to attempt the passage right across the polar area, according to a suggestion made many years earlier by Robert Thorne. Thus instead of steering for Novaya Zemlya, or even for Spitsbergen, Hudson, who sailed from Gravesend on May 1, directed his course towards the east coast of Greenland, which was sighted on June 13. The southern part of this land had already been touched at more than once during the north-west voyages—which we shall have to consider presently—as well as by Cortereal in the 16th century. But even the point where it was first struck by Hudson was some way to the north, and a still higher latitude was attained during the further voyage; though the observations of the coast, hampered as they were by the ice, did not supply any clear idea of its configuration, the land being still shown in subsequent maps as it had been in that of the Zeni and others of its type. Hudson, however, did a useful piece of work in following the edge of the ice-barrier which extends between Greenland and the neighbourhood of Spitsbergen, and proving that there was little likelihood of a passage being found through it. Spitsbergen seems to have been struck near the Vogel Hoek of Barents, while during subsequent cruises a good part of the west and north-west coasts was examined, and the names Hakluyt's Headland, Collins Cape, and Whales Bay assigned to localities on the west coast.^[1] On July 23 an astronomical observation, as recorded in the journal of John Playse (practically the only authority for the voyage), gave the latitude as 80° 23', but the correctness of this is doubtful. In any case enough was done to show that no prospect offered of a passage through the ice-pack, and after sailing to and fro for some time, Hudson was forced to turn homewards, falling in accidentally during the voyage with an island (in Lat. 71°) which must have been that of Jan Mayen, but which was named by him "Hudson's Tutches" (Touches). Tilbury was finally reached on September 15. Besides the negative result as regards the wished-for passage, the voyage was important for the attention called by it to the great number of whales and walrus in the Spitsbergen-Greenland Sea, the capture of which formed the incentive for so many subsequent enterprises.

[1 Whales Bay was the opening in 79° just north of Prince Charles Foreland, Collins Cape being on its northern side.]

The failure of this attempt to pierce the northern ice-barrier did not deter the Company from renewing the search in the following year, when trial was once more made of the old route by Novaya Zemlya, Hudson being again in command, with Robert Juet as mate. Sailing from the Thames on April 22, and passing the North Cape on June 3, he navigated the sea between Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya, the first ice being seen on June 9, in 75° 29'. The day before, the change in the colour of the sea to a blue-black had been noted—a change which Hudson had already, in 1607, connected with the neighbourhood of ice, though the coincidence is now said to be purely accidental. For the greater part of this month the voyagers continued to beat about in this sea,^[1] constantly hindered by ice from making any advance northwards. As they increased their longitude easterly, they were, in fact, compelled to lose some of their northing, and when Novaya Zemlya was sighted on June 26 near the point called Swarte Klip by the Dutch, they were as low as 72° 25'. Some time was now spent on this coast, landings being effected on several occasions and observations made of the general nature of the country, which they found less inhospitable than previous accounts had led people to suppose. Bird life was plentiful, and many deer, bears, and a fox were seen, the sea also abounding with walrus. Still going southward, they came to Kostin Shar, an inlet with an island dividing it into two branches, which had been reached by Brunei, but placed too far north and corrupted by map-makers into Costing Sarch. Here the powerful set of the current outwards gave Hudson great hopes of finding a passage to the Kara Sea, but an exploration by boat proved them fallacious. Therefore being, as he says, "out of hope to find passage by the north-east," Hudson reluctantly gave up the attempt, being "not fitted to try or prove the passage by Vaigatz," though on the return he hoped to ascertain whether Willoughby's land "were as it is layd in our cards." He also had some idea of making an attempt by the north-west, hoping to be able to run a hundred leagues or so within the sound then known as Lumley's Inlet—which may either have been Hudson Strait itself or a passage further north—and the "furious overfall" which had been seen by Davis (see p. 35). But the time being now far advanced he considered it his duty to the Company not to run unnecessary risks, and returned home, reaching Gravesend on August 26.

[1 An occurrence often referred to in connection with this part of the voyage was the supposed sighting of a mermaid—in reality, no doubt, a seal]

It was not many months before the indefatigable navigator was once more negotiating with a view to a third northern voyage, but not now under the auspices of the English Company, which seems to have lost heart after such repeated failures. The circumstances attending the inception of Hudson's voyage for the Dutch East India Company are not fully known, but the main facts can be pieced together from scattered sources. Either at the end of 1608 or the beginning of 1609 he was invited to Amsterdam to give an account of his northern experiences, and had interviews with Plancius and others; but though the Company thought that a further attempt would be worth making, they came to no immediate arrangement. Meanwhile a scheme, favoured by Isaac Le Maire, had been set on foot for the establishment of a rival company under the patronage of Henry IV of France, and the employment of Hudson on a northern venture. This led the existing company to reconsider their decision, with the result that a ship or ships ^[1] were equipped at once, and were ready to sail by April 6, 1609. The greater part of the crew were Dutchmen, who seem to have been indisposed to accept Hudson's authority, for after sailing for Novaya Zemlya to make trial, as a last hope, of the passage by Vaigatz, he found disaffection existing, and, the ice giving no greater promise of success than in the previous year, he decided to search for a passage along the American coast, being encouraged to do this by letters and maps sent him from Virginia by Captain Smith.^[2] The result was the examination of a stretch of coast extending as far south as 37° 45', and the visiting and naming of the Hudson River. During the return dissension again prevailed, and on reaching Dartmouth on November 7, Hudson and the other Englishmen on board—among whom was Juet, to whom we owe the only detailed narrative of the voyage—were ordered by the English authorities not to leave England, but to remain to serve their own country. It was not long before arrangements were made for an English voyage to the north-west, but before speaking of this we must go back somewhat, and take up the thread of former attempts in this direction.

[1 The greater part of the voyage was made in the Half Moon, but according to statements in the minutes of meetings of the council of the Company, Hudson's ship was the Good Hope, and it has been thought that this may have sailed also, but it seems more probable that a confusion had arisen with the name of the ship in which he made his earlier voyage.]

[2 A renewed Dutch attempt by the north-east route, in 1611-12, is referred to at the end of the volume.]

The voyages of the Cabots, which led the way to the north-eastern coasts of America, were not, as we have seen, followed up for a number of years by any further efforts on the part of the British merchants. The chief credit of re-directing public attention to this route seems to belong to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, though there is little doubt that the idea of renewing the search where it had been broken off by Sebastian Cabot had been working in the minds of others, among them Martin Frobisher, to whom fell the actual task of carrying it out. In 1574 Gilbert wrote a learned discourse to show the probability that an easy route to India would be found by the north-west. While based to a large extent on mistaken premisses, it contained some shrewd ideas, and the argument for a north-west passage based on a study of oceanic circulation had in it something more than mere plausibility. In the then existing state of knowledge it was certainly more justifiable to conclude that an easy passage might be found on this than on the opposite side of the Atlantic; and that the Muscovy Company, which had all Cabot's experience at its disposal, should have so long persisted in its preference for the north-east route would be matter for surprise, were it not for the encouragement offered by the rapid development of trade with northern Russia. Gilbert's treatise was not printed till 1576, by which year Frobisher had already gained so much support, that he was able to sail from Ratcliffe on the Thames on June 7, the expedition consisting of the Gabriel, Frobisher's own ship, the Michael (Captain Matthew Kindersly), and a pinnace. The Queen had taken much interest in the preparations, and among the supporters were Michael Lok, a prominent merchant, Richard Willes,^[1] and others. Having reached Foula, the westernmost of the Shetland Islands, Frobisher sailed slightly north of west, and on July 11 sighted land, which was taken to be the Frisland of the Zeno map, the observed latitude of 61° corresponding to that assigned in this to the south end of Frisland. In reality it was the southern point of Greenland, and when this had been passed, a course somewhat north of west brought the ships to a new land, with much ice along its coast. On August 11, in 63° N., Frobisher entered what he took to be the desired strait leading to the Pacific, but which was really the bay, since known by his name, running into the south-eastern extremity of Baffin Land. This was explored during several days, and communication was opened with the Eskimo of that region, who are described as "like to Tartars." But it was found impossible to proceed to the end of the bay, and on the 26th the homeward voyage was begun, Harwich being reached early in October. The new land received, from the Queen herself, the name "Meta Incognita", or the Unknown Bourne.

[1 Willes, like Gilbert, wrote a treatise to prove the probability of a north-west passage, in which he endeavoured to answer the objections of those who took the opposite view. He states these with great clearness, but his own arguments seem hardly calculated to carry conviction.]

Frobisher renewed the search in the two succeeding years (1577 and 1578), in the latter with as many as 13 ships, but without materially adding to his discoveries. His ill-success in the primary object of his voyages made him catch at any chance of deriving a profit from the venture, and he brought home a cargo of a shining mineral which he thought to contain gold, but which proved quite worthless. The promoters naturally lost heart, and Gilbert was soon occupied with the colonising schemes in the more southern parts of North America, in the prosecution of which he lost his life in 1583. But the efforts put forth were not without their ultimate result, for it was not long before others came forward to renew the enterprise, for which the discoveries of Frobisher, scanty though they had been, supplied both incentive and encouragement.

Martin Frobisher.

John Davis, the able navigator who was to take up the task where it had been left by Frobisher, was the son of a yeoman landowner at Sandridge in the parish of Stoke Gabriel on the Dart. Here he was a neighbour of the Gilberts, and was likewise brought into the society of their half-brother, Sir Walter Ralegh. Having probably been accustomed to the sea from his early youth, his advice was naturally sought by the promoters of voyages of discovery, among whom Adrian Gilbert, the younger brother of Sir Humphrey, took a prominent place after his brother's death. Another associate was Dr John Dee, the mathematician. In 1585 a new scheme took shape, the necessary funds being provided by various merchants of London and the West Country, principally Mr William Sanderson, a wealthy and influential citizen of London, while the voyage had also the support of Sir F. Walsingham, Secretary to the Privy Council. Davis was placed in command, and sailed from Dartmouth on June 7, with two vessels, the Sunshine of London, a bark of 50 tons, and the Moonshine of Dartmouth, somewhat smaller. On the 28th they left the Scilly Islands—a survey of which was made during an enforced detention—and sailed across the Atlantic without sighting land until, on July 20, the east coast of Greenland was struck, some distance north of Cape Farewell. From its barren and inhospitable nature, the land received the name of Desolation, being considered a new discovery, distinct from the land sighted by Frobisher and by him identified with Frisland. Rounding the southern extremity and resuming his north-west course, Davis again sighted the coast just north of 64°, the extensive opening where Godthaab now is being named Gilbert Sound. Hence he crossed the strait which has since borne his name and examined the opposite coast north of, and within, Cumberland Gulf, which seemed to offer good hopes of a passage westwards. But finding it too late in the season to continue the survey, he decided to return to England and arrived at Dartmouth on September 30.

Davis soon persuaded the merchants to fit out another expedition, the men of Devon, especially the Exeter merchants, contributing the greater part of the cost. Four ships were made ready—the Mermaid, Sunshine, Moonshine, and the North Star, a pinnace—and sailed from Dartmouth on May 7, 1586. The Sunshine and North Star were sent under Captain Pope to survey the east coast of Greenland, while Davis with the other two vessels made his way to Gilbert Sound, where friendly intercourse was maintained with the Eskimo. The Mermaid was sent home hence, owing to sickness among the crew, while Davis in the Moonshine resumed his examination of the American shore of the strait, but without adding materially to his knowledge. He sailed south along the Labrador coast, and secured a large number of cod, which were salted and taken home, a way being thus suggested of recovering some at least of the expense incurred. The Sunshine had already arrived in safety, but the pinnace had unfortunately been lost in a storm.

Little had been done on this voyage in the way of exploration, and the Exeter merchants did not care to risk another venture. But Davis still found support from Walsingham, Gilbert, Sanderson, and others. Three ships were equipped for a third voyage in 1587, but two of these were to prosecute the fishery only, while Davis in the third attempted further discovery. They were the Elizabeth (of Dartmouth), the Sunshine, and the Ellen (a "clincher" or clinker-built pinnace of London). Davis seems to have sailed in the Elizabeth but to have afterwards transhipped into the Ellen. The voyage yielded greater geographical results than any of the previous searches for the north-west passage, and forms the best title to fame of the bold and skilful seaman who conducted it. Dartmouth was left on May 19, and though the start was in some ways unpropitious, the crossing of the Atlantic was successfully accomplished, and mountainous land was sighted on June 14. This was on the west coast of Greenland, for two days later communication was opened with the Eskimo who had been visited on former voyages, with whom the explorers now had some difficulties. The Ellen sailed north, alone, on June 21, and continued to follow the land (which they named London Coast), with an open sea to the west and north, up to 72° 12', when a course was shaped to the west. The highest point reached—a bold headland over 3000 feet high—had been named Hope Sanderson, in honour of the London merchant who had given Davis so much encouragement. While crossing the gulf since known as Baffin Bay, they fell in with the ice-pack, which for some time baffled their efforts to reach the western shore, forcing them southwards, so that when land was sighted they were near the narrows of Davis Strait. Making their way through this on a southward course they passed the mouth of an inlet between 62° and 63° N., which may have been that explored by Frobisher, but which they named Lumley's Inlet, and on the 31st came to a spot where the water was in great commotion, "whirling and overfalling as if it were the fall of some great water through a bridge." They noticed here a great gulf which can have been no other than Hudson Strait, and named the cape to the south Chidley's Cape. Reaching 51° without seeing anything of the other ships, they sailed homewards, and arrived at Dartmouth on September 15.

By this time the small likelihood of making the whole passage through to the Pacific in one voyage must have been fairly evident, and any results would be welcomed which, by extending the bounds of the known area, might pave the way for ultimate success. It was from this point of view that Davis's services were particularly valuable, for by his three voyages, especially the last, he had thrown more new light than any of his predecessors on the general outlines of land and sea in the far north-west. Yet there were not wanting those who blamed him for not accomplishing more, and the failure to find a passage discouraged the promoters from continuing the quest in the years immediately following. Although Davis had shown the great probability that openings existed in the American coast-line, in comparatively low latitudes, the next serious attempts, both of Dutch and English, were, as we have seen, by the north and north-east. Only when Hudson had proved by actual experience the hopelessness of finding a way to China by these routes did he in turn devote his energies to the north-west, where, in 1610, he took up the search almost from the point at which it had been left by Davis.^[1]

[1 The later voyages of Davis, to the East Indies by the Cape route, are spoken of in Chapter II. pp. 49, 53.]

Several voyages had, it is true, been made to the north-west in the interval between 1587 and 1610, but of these either the results were practically nil, or the objects were other than the search for a passage. In 1602 the English East India Company sent out George Weymouth, who quickly returned owing to a mutiny among his crew, and has left no clear account of the voyage, though it is probable that he entered Hudson Strait. The ill-fated voyage of 1606 under John Knight, supported both by the East India and Muscovy Companies, had still less result. Knight had the year before taken part in the earlier of two expeditions sent out from Denmark in search of the lost colonies of that nation on the coast of Greenland, the command of the whole being entrusted to a Scotsman, John Cunningham, while the important post of chief pilot was held by a Yorkshireman, James Hall, who subsequently commanded an English expedition to the same region. Hall went in the same capacity in 1606 (Cunningham also going as captain of one of the ships), and it is to him that any results of value seem to have been due. They consisted chiefly in a fuller examination than had been made by Davis of the west coast of Greenland.

We may now return to Henry Hudson, whose voyage of 1610 was supported by several of the merchant princes who did so much at this time to encourage geographical discovery. The most prominent of these were Sir Thomas Smith, a zealous member both of the Muscovy and East India Companies; Sir Dudley Digges, son of the noted mathematician Thomas Digges, and himself a man of great ability and determination; and Sir John Wolstenholme. A single vessel, which bore the name Discovery, since so honoured in the annals of exploration, was fitted out, the object, according to Purchas, being "to try if, through any of those inlets which Davis saw but durst not enter, any passage might be found to the other ocean called the South Sea." Robert Juet once more sailed as mate, and soon began to display the insubordination which had in the end such tragic consequences. Robert Bylot or Byleth, who later took a prominent part in Arctic exploration, was also of the number. Sailing on April 17, the voyagers passed in view of Iceland, where they saw Hekla in eruption, sighted Greenland, in about 65°, on June 4, and passed its southern point, "Desolation" of Davis, on the 15th. Sailing thence north-west and west, they entered Hudson Strait on the night of June 24-25. Continuing to sail west amid much ice, and sighting the land on either side from time to time, they passed the "Islands of God's Mercy", "Hold with Hope", "Salisburies Fore-land" (on Salisbury Island), and other points, and, after covering about 250 leagues, entered the narrow passage between Digges Island and Cape Wolstenholme which led into the broad waters of Hudson Bay, called by the explorer "the bay of God's great mercies." Keeping to the east side of the bay, they went generally south until further advance was barred on reaching the extremity of James Bay. The account written by Abacuk Prickett, the only at all complete narrative of the voyage that we possess, does not permit the further course of the Discovery to be followed in detail, but after beating up and down James Bay in the vain hope of finding a way out to the west the ship was frozen in on November 10, and it became necessary to pass the winter in this inhospitable region without a possibility of replenishing the fast-dwindling supplies. It was spent in great discomfort, the only resource afforded by the country being a limited quantity of fish and fowl. Discord also prevailed and, when the food was all but spent, open mutiny broke out. Hudson and a few who stood by him were placed in an open boat and mercilessly abandoned to their fate, while the mutineers sailed homeward in the ship, experiencing great difficulties owing to their lack of the necessary qualifications for navigating these all but unknown seas. Among them was Prickett, the writer of the narrative referred to, who though according to his own account not implicated in the mutiny, was kept on board by the ringleaders apparently with a view to his influencing his master, Sir Dudley Digges, in their favour.

Hudson Bay and its approaches.

Thus perished miserably one of the most persevering and meritorious of the old Arctic voyagers, but his important discoveries were followed up two years later by Sir Thomas Button, who, with Captain Ingram, was sent out in 1612 by the same enterprising adventurers, then incorporated as a company for the discovery of the north-west passage. Button reached the mouth of the Nelson river (where he wintered in much privation), thus defining approximately the limits of Hudson Bay to the west, though in spite of a renewed examination to the north of this in the ensuing spring the wished-for passage still eluded his search. Still less was achieved in 1613 by Captain Gibbons, who never advanced beyond the Labrador coast. In 1614 the Discovery was sent a fourth time with Robert Bylot or Byleth as master. He had taken part in the three previous voyages, and was a capable navigator, though his fame has been overshadowed by that of his better-known chief pilot, William Baffin, who is entitled to rank with seamen like Davis and Hudson.

Baffin had already been employed in responsible positions, and had made three voyages to various parts of the Arctic regions. We first hear of him in 1612, when James Hall—the Yorkshireman already referred to in connection with the Danish voyages, who had returned to England on their termination—induced Sir Thomas Smith and others to join in a venture to the west coast of Greenland, himself sailing as commander in the Patience, while a second ship, the Heart's Ease, had as master Andrew Barker. Baffin went as chief pilot in the Patience, and wrote the narrative of the voyage, of which a portion has been preserved by Purchas.^[1] The expedition sailed from the Humber on April 22, 1612, but was unfortunate, Hall being murdered by the Eskimo in retaliation for wrongs done by the Danes, with whom he had been associated. The Greenland coast, however, was examined for some distance north of Gilbert Sound. During the next two years Baffin took service under the Muscovy Company and did some good work in Spitsbergen, but, as we have seen, joined the north-west voyage of 1614 under Bylot.

[1 Another account was written by John Gatonby of Hull.]

In this voyage, Hudson Strait was again the line of approach to the unknown region, and though much hindrance was experienced from ice, certain new coast-lines were brought to light to the north-west of the strait, while careful observations of the tides were made throughout. The general set of the flood from the south-east was fully established, and though the navigators' hopes were temporarily raised when some distance north-west of Seahorse Point ^[2] on Southampton Island by its coming from the north, these proved fallacious, as it was soon found that further advance was blocked by land, ice, and shoal-water, which seemed to form an enclosed bay. It was therefore soon afterwards decided to sail home, and Plymouth was reached on September 8, without the loss of a single man.

[2 So named by Baffin from the number of walrus seen.]

During this voyage Baffin had done his best to obtain an accurate representation of the coasts sighted, by means of astronomical and other observations, and his carefully drawn map, which has come down to us, gives an excellent idea of the region of Hudson Strait. On one occasion he attempted—for the first time, so far as records exist—to put in practice the method of finding the longitude by means of lunar distance. As a general result of his observations, he gave it as his opinion (in which he was not far wrong), that any passage which might exist by way of Hudson Strait must be by means of a narrow inlet, while the main channel probably opened out of Davis Strait.

Accordingly when the Discovery was once more sent out by the same adventurers in 1616, Bylot and Baffin occupying the same respective positions, the search was renewed in the more northerly direction, and bore fruit in the discovery of the whole extent of Baffin Bay up to the entrance of Smith Sound in 78° N., or over 5° north of the furthest point reached by Davis. For a time the sea was filled with heavy pack-ice, but towards the end of June this rapidly disappeared, and good progress was made, giving the voyagers hopes of a passage. But after reaching Hakluyt Island, between Whale Sound and Smith Sound, the land was found to be closing in on the north, and the ship ran to the westward in an open sea with a stiff gale of wind. Bending round to the south, Baffin passed in succession the openings of Jones Sound and Lancaster Sound, but these seem to have offered no chance of a passage, being probably blocked by ice. The west coast, too, was much encumbered with ice, so that it was impossible to keep it in sight, and having come down to the latitude of 65° 40', Baffin finally abandoned all hopes of success.

It may be thought strange that, having seen the entrances to Jones and Lancaster Sounds, Baffin never considered the possibility of an advance through either of these. But it is evident that, as on the voyage of the year before, he was in search of a wide passage such as is afforded by Baffin Bay itself, narrow straits encumbered with ice being naturally considered unfit to supply a practicable commercial route to the Pacific. Having therefore proved that no such wide opening existed to the west, Baffin regarded the problem as virtually solved in the negative sense, and he held out no inducements to his employers to continue the enterprise. He had now seen his last of polar exploration, and the rest of his voyages were made in the service of the East India Company, in which he met his death during an attack on Ormuz in 1622.

Several more attempts were made by the Hudson Bay route before the search was given up—if not finally, at least for a century. In 1619 a Danish expedition was despatched under Captain Jens Munk, one of the most capable seamen in the Danish navy, who had previously had some Arctic experience in the Novaya Zemlya seas. A Danish East India Company had been formed in 1616, and had received warm support from King Christian IV, who likewise, three years later, encouraged the idea of a voyage in search of the north-western route, the command of which was entrusted to Munk. The locality which was thought to offer most likelihood of a passage seems to have been that part of Hudson Bay near the mouth of the river now known as the Churchill, where observations of the tide during Button's expedition had suggested the existence of some connection with the Pacific, and had been named Hubbart's Hope, after a member of that expedition. Munk (who had with him two Englishmen, one at least of whom may have been in Hudson Bay before) began by examining Ungava Bay, and then, after traversing Hudson Strait, of which he made a map, sailed south-west to a point near the Churchill, where he wintered. Misfortune soon assailed his party, the greater part of which succumbed to scurvy, while the survivors—Munk himself and two others—with difficulty made their way home in the smaller of their two vessels. Apart from some mapping of the coasts, the voyage had achieved little in the way of geographical discovery.

More was done by the English expeditions of Captains Luke Foxe and Thomas James, who both sailed in 1631, and examined the whole south-west shores of Hudson Bay, showing that continuous land blocked the way. Foxe was an experienced seaman, hailing from Hull, who had long been interested in Arctic discovery, and after many efforts succeeded in gaining the support of Sir John Wolstenholme, Sir Thomas Roe, and other influential men, the result being that the Charles, a pinnace belonging to the navy, was placed at his disposal. James was a man of more education, but less nautical experience, who persuaded the merchants of Bristol to fit out an expedition in rivalry to that of Foxe. The two vessels sailed almost simultaneously, and both carried out much the same programme, though they did not meet till well on in the season. Both traced the south-west shores of Hudson Bay until they linked their surveys with those of Hudson, but whereas Foxe then returned north and explored the channel now called after him, beyond the turning-point of Bylot and Baffin, James decided to winter in the bay which has ever since borne his name. He and his men suffered many hardships, and judging from his own account, he was unusually unfortunate in the difficulties from ice and other obstacles which he encountered. In 1632 he too searched for the northern channel out of the bay, but failed to find an outlet and returned home without accomplishing anything very important. The result of the two expeditions was, however, to show that no way out of the bay existed to the west, and though the possibility of a passage to the north-west was not disproved (Foxe seems on the contrary to have still felt confident that one existed), the patrons of discovery were not encouraged to make any more efforts. Both Foxe and James wrote accounts of their voyages, that of Foxe—which embodied also narratives of former attempts in the same direction—bearing the quaint title North-West Fox, or Fox from the North-West Passage. It contains a famous map, which shows the Arctic regions as then known with a remarkable degree of accuracy. A portion is here reproduced in facsimile. While Foxe's narrative was somewhat rugged in style, that of James, who was a man of some culture, possessed a good deal of literary merit, and from the first attracted some attention.

Part of Foxe's Map, 1635. Click on the map to enlarge it.

We must now return to Spitsbergen, to which the large number of whales and other marine animals reported by Hudson attracted adventurers of various nationalities in increasing numbers during the early part of the seventeenth century, leading incidentally to a considerable increase of geographical knowledge. The English were first in the field, though they were driven to seek the aid of the Biscayans as experts in the fishery. From 1610 onwards the Muscovy Company sent up vessels yearly, the earliest voyages being made under Captains Jonas Poole and Thomas Edge (1610-1612), who examined various bays on the west coast. An English interloper. Captain Marmaduke, was also hunting walruses in the Spitsbergen seas during these years, and in 1612 visited some of the bays on the north coast, besides going north to 82°. A Dutch and a Spanish ship—the former commanded by Willem van Muijden—also found their way there, piloted by Englishmen, former employés of the Muscovy Company. In 1613—a charter giving this company exclusive rights to the fishery having been obtained from King James—a fleet of seven vessels was despatched under Captain Benjamin Joseph, and this, as we have seen, had as chief pilot Baffin, who wrote the account of the voyage. The "Vice-Admiral" was commanded by Thomas Marmaduke of Hull. In the following year a still larger fleet was sent under Joseph and Edge, Baffin holding the same position as before. A narrative was written by Robert Fotherby, master's mate in the Thomasine (in which Baffin also sailed), who took a foremost part in the endeavour to explore new portions of the coast-line. Several attempts were made by himself and Baffin to trace the northern coast, and, pushing their way partly by boat partly on land, they at last succeeded in reaching the entrance to Wijde Bay, which they called Sir Thomas Smith's inlet. The ice was particularly close inshore during this year, and it was only at the close of the season that they were able to bring their ship round to the same point. The Dutch were also in full force, and established their claim to a share in the fishery, which had been successfully resisted by the English the year before. Two ships, in one of which was the pilot Joris Carolus, were specially set apart for discovery, but the ice apparently prevented them from effecting much. From a map drawn by Carolus, which shows land to the east of Spitsbergen, it has been thought that some exploration was done in this direction, but this is exceedingly doubtful.

From this time onward the Dutch, as represented by the "Noordsche Compagnie", were more and more active, and in time established a virtual monopoly of the fishery, their chief quarters being at Smeerenberg, at the south-east end of Amsterdam Island. The Muscovy Company continued to send ships for a time, and in 1616 Thomas Edge was active in the south-east, where the small Hope Island seems to have been already reached in 1613. Besides Edge Island, "other islands lying to the northwards as farre as 78°" are said to have been discovered in 1616, while in 1617 the adventurous explorers pushed still farther, reaching 79° or thereabout, probably by way of the Great Sound, afterwards called Wijbe Jans Water. The narrow passage by which this communicates at its upper end with the open sea to the east must have been visited, for it received the name Heley Sound from one of the most active captains in the Company's fleet. From some point in this neighbourhood the third large island of the group—North-east Land—seems to have been sighted. It was named Sir Thomas Smith's Island, and so appears in the map printed by Purchas in 1625, which is reproduced on the previous page. Some doubt exists whether the islands now called Kong Karl's Land were discovered in this year. Purchas states that an island was discovered, which Edge named Witche's Island (i.e. Wyche's, from Sir Peter Wyche, a leading member of the Muscovy Company), and this is marked on the map just alluded to as stretching from north to south for a long distance, to the east of Edge Island. The latitude here assigned is too low for Kong Karl's Land, so the idea that this was reached has been discredited, but it is possible that, though not actually visited, it was sighted, like North-east Land, from some point of vantage near the head of Wijbe Jans Water.

The Muscovy Company's Map of Spitsbergen, 1625. (From Purchas.) Click on the map to enlarge it.

As time went on the Dutch became more and more powerful relatively to the English, and the latter suffered much at their hands. The energies of all were concentrated on whaling operations, and few important additions to geographical knowledge were made for many years, though the coasts of the various islands became in course of time more accurately represented on the maps. Hinlopen Strait, between the two largest islands, must have been discovered fairly early, as it is named after a director of the Dutch Company who held office from 1617 onwards. Events worthy of mention were the accidental wintering of an English party (among whom was Edward Pelham) in 1630-31, and that carried out of set purpose, by a Dutch party under Van der Brugge, in 1633-34. The last event of geographical importance connected with the early whaling enterprise was the voyage of Cornells Gilies, or Giles, round the northern and eastern sides of the group in 1707. But this, as well as one or two isolated attempts at discovery in the direction of Novaya Zemlya towards the close of the 17th century, must be left for a later chapter (see p. 400).