Martin Spangberg (?–1761), or Martyn Petrovich Shpanberg (Мартын Петрович Шпанберг), was a Danish naval lieutenant in Russian service who took part with his compatriot

Vitus Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering (baptised 5 August 1681 – 19 December 1741),All dates are here given in the Julian calendar, which was in use throughout Russia at the time. also known as Ivan Ivanovich Bering, was a Danish cartographer and explorer in ...

in both Kamchatka expeditions as second in command. He is best known for finding a sea route to Japan and exploring the

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...

(one of which, Shikotan, was renamed Shpanberg by the Russians in 1796). In 1738, Spangberg was in command of the first Russian naval squadron to visit the island of

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island ...

in Japan. The Russians landed in a scenic area which is now part of the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park. Despite ''

sakoku was the isolationist foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, for a period of 265 years during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and nearly ...

'', the prevalent isolationist policy in Japan, the sailors were treated with politeness if not friendliness. This was the first diplomatic encounter of the Russians with the Japanese. He also made voyages in 1739 and 1742 to survey the coasts of

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

, Japan and the Kuril Islands. Spangberg left a brief account of this expedition.

Honours

Shpanberg Island Shpanberg Island (russian: остров Шпанберга, ''ostrov Shpanberga''), sometimes Spanberg Island, is an island of the Nordenskiöld Archipelago in the Kara Sea, off the coast of Siberia. Administratively this island belongs to the K ...

in the Kurils and

in the Nordenskiöld Archipelago were named after him.

References

1761 deaths Explorers from the Russian Empire Danish explorers Explorers of Asia 18th-century Danish people Imperial Russian Navy personnel Great Northern Expedition Year of birth unknown Russian people of Danish descent {{Russia-bio-stub

Honours

See also

References