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The First Russian Antarctic Expedition took place in 1819–1821 under the direction of Fabian Bellingshausen and
Bellingshausen and Lazarev's Antarctic expedition was equipped around the same time as a similar expedition to the 
Krusenstern completely trusted Cook's authority and directly stated that the famous English navigator had "buried" the idea of
The Admiralty department made a list of all required books and instruments which were needed for the Bellingshausen and Vasiliev divisions. The ships’ libraries included Russian descriptions of the expeditions conducted by Sarychev, Krusenstern, Lisyansky, Golovnin. The French description of Cook's third voyage was also stored in the library since its first edition was absent from the Ministry of Sea Forces. The majority of descriptions of foreign voyages, including the one conducted by George Anson, were available in French translations. The crews also acquired
The functions of in circumnavigations usually spread over on all fields of knowledge which did not require the mathematical calculations made by astronomers or officers-navigators. The duties of expedition naturalist included not only the description of all new species of animals and plants, but also of cultures of primitive peoples, geology, and
On June 23 and 24, 1819, the Emperor and the Minister of Sea Forces visited the sloops ''Vostok'', ''Mirny'', ''Otkrytie'' and ''Blagonamerennyi'' as they were being equipped. On this occasion, workers stopped retrofitting work until the officials departed. On June 25, captains Bellingshausen and Vasiliev were called for an imperial audience in Peterhof.
The departure took place on July 4 at 6 pm, and was accompanied by a ceremony during which the crews shouted a fivefold "cheers" and saluted to the Kronstadt Fortress. Four ships sailed as a single squad until Rio. By July 19, the expedition had spent a week in Copenhagen, where the crew received additional instructions and found out that the German naturalists were not going to participate in the voyage. The head of the Royal Danish Nautical Charts Archive, admiral Poul de Løvenørn, supplied the expedition with necessary maps and advised them to buy a desalination machine. On July 26 the expedition arrived in
In October, the southern trade winds decreased the heat, and clear weather only favored astronomical observations. Besides Bellingshausen, Simonov, Lazarev, and Zavadovsky, no one on the board had skills for navigation and for working with the sextant. Thus, taking into consideration the abundance of instruments on board, all officers started to study navigation. On November 2, 1819, at 5 pm, the expedition arrived in Rio following the orienteer of Pan de Azucar mountain, the image of which they had in the sailing directions. Since no one from the crew spoke Portuguese, there were some language barrier difficulties. By that time, ''Otkrytie'' and ''Blagonamerennyi'' were already in the harbor since they did not go to the
The first time when Bellingshausen met with the governor of Macquarie
On July 20, the expedition reached
On January 24 (February 5), 1821, on the South Shetland Islands, 42-year-old Bellingshausen met with 21-year old
All foreign emissaries were supposed to follow the Portugal king after he moves to Portugal. For this reason, Bellingshausen suggested Russian consul that he stays on "Vostok" and travels to Lisbon with them. Akinfiy Borodovitsyn and Dutch representative settled on "Mirny". On April 23 at 6 am, the sloops set sails and headed for Lisbon. The expedition crossed the equator in the opposite direction on May 7 at 6 pm. The next day the crew organized a festive dinner for which the Russian envoy Baron de Theil granted two rams and a bottle of wine per person from his supplies. On May 27, the vessels reached
Bellingshausen concluded the description of his expedition with the following calculations:
In December 1819, Bellingshausen discovered south-western coast of the
According to historians, the small number of scientific personnel undoubtedly influenced the results and outcomes of the expedition. Bulkeley emphasized a big contrast with the that was conducted only four years before and was sponsored with private funds. The Kotzebue's crew included four scientists for whom an extended scientific program was prepared. If on "Rurik" oceanographic observations could be conducted for 318 days in a row, then Bellingshausen had to turn to oceanography and meteorology from case to case. Conducted data on
By 1824, Bellingshausen finished his description of the expedition; ten pages manuscript was presented to the Admiralty department. After the coronation of
Overall, there are six different descriptions of the journey and the most important discoveries, the authors of which were expedition participants and eyewitnesses of the events. For a long time, report that was sent in 1820 by Bellingshausen to Traversay from Australia, Lazarev's private letter that was written two months after the return to the homeland, and diary of sailor Kiselev which was filled with substantial breaks, remained in the status of manuscripts. The Simonov's journal of observations that depicted the events from 11 (23) December 1819 to March 25 (April 6) 1820, was promptly published – in terms of details, his later revised descriptions cannot be compared with. With a considerable delay, Bellingshausen's book was published. Novosilsky's description of the expedition came out 32 years after its completion. According to Bulkeley, none of the published works could be considered as reliable enough for restoring the expedition dating. For example, Kiselev's diary states that collision between "Mirny" and iceberg happened a week later than in the notes of Lazarev and Bellingshausen. Presumably, sailor filled his diary with a delay which is quite acceptable, taking into consideration the living and working conditions of the ordinary members of the expedition. If one takes into consideration descriptions of the events of January 1820, then out of six sources, only four are consistent. However, judging by the Lazarev's diary, observation of the main ice happened twenty days earlier than Bellingshausen, and Novosilsky noted. At the same time, there is a highly remarkable mistake in Lazarev's letter. He claimed that during the first expedition season there was no single loss, while three people died during the third and the last season. According to the official report on the personnel of the expedition that was compiled after the crew returned to Kronstadt, one sailor died from the disease on 9 (21) February 1820, while two others died on "Vostok" on 11 (23) May and 20 August (11 September) 1820. Lazarev also wrote about navigation mistakes made by Kotzebue, while contemporary coordinate measurements confirm data of Kotzebue and Bellingshausen. The same author was also inclined to speak vaguely about the time of certain events. In general, Lazarev' notes cannot be considered as a completely reliable source.
For both Russian and foreign scientists, one of the most challenging terms for interpretation is the phrase "materyi led" or "hard ice" (russian: матёрой лёд) that was used by Lazarev and Bellingshausen in their descriptions. In the post-1949 Soviet literature, the term was interpreted as "ice continent". Moreover, in his report to Traversay from Australia in April 1820, Bellingshausen used the term "materik l'da " or "continent of ice" (russian: континент льда). Tammiksaar argued that if navigators observed the ice shelf, they would not be able to understand and compare it with anything, since James Cook never faced with similar phenomena during his Antarctic expedition, while actual south polar glaciers were very different from the speculative hypothesis of Georges-Louis Buffon with which both Bellingshausen and Simonov were familiar with. Made by Bellingshausen ice descriptions, could be hardly adequately understood by his contemporaries. According to Koryakin, many of the passages from the report that Bellingshausen sent to Traversay, were much more understandable than texts from the 1831 edition that was subjected to literary editing. In the 1842 German version of the expedition description, interpreter skipped all descriptions of ice conditions, while in the English translation of 1915 phrase "materyi led" was translated as ''high icebergs'' or ''mother-icebergs'', in contrast to the terms of Wilkes (''verge of continental ice'') or Ross (''ice barrier''). In his book, Bulkeley used the notion of "main ice" that was first introduced by John Ross and going back to Buffon's and Scoresby 's terminology. Bulkeley also argued that Simonov knew about Buffon's hypothesis, however, while sailing in the Antarctic waters, he was not interested in ice. After comparing Simonov' conclusions with statements of other officers and even sailors, Tammiksaar questioned the actual status of the astronomer in the expedition. Perhaps, officers never accepted him to their circle, and he did not have a right to vote during general discussions in the mess. Consequently, his own ideas did not find the response from other members of the expedition. According to Tammiksaar, neither Bellingshausen nor Lazarev and Novosilsky used the term "mainland" for referring to the continent but rather used it for emphasizing an indefinitely large area covered by ice; including ice mountains.
Even though there were published expedition description by Bellingshausen and reports in German newspapers, the question of Russian priority in the discovery of Antarctica had not been raised until the first third of the 20th century. Only Novosilsky, when elected as a member of the
On August 9, 1948, discussion regarding the role of Russia in the discovery of Antarctica moved to a political dimension. At that day the USA officially urged countries that pretended on Antarctic territories (
In 1961–1963, the famous historian of polar expeditions published a series of studies on the Bellingshausen's report card. Thus, the new primary source that proved the Russian priority over Antarctic lands was released. The map was presumably made by the expedition officers for the report to Traversay, or even to Alexander I. In the 1980-1990s, Belov's argumentation was accepted by foreign specialists. The map included 15 pages and had coloured remarks on different ice conditions. According to Belov, every time when Bellingshausen used the phrase "sploshnoi led" it actually meant that the expedition faced not with ordinary ice fields but with the shores of the Antarctic continent. As Bulkeley calculated, Bellingshausen described meetings with "sploshnoi led" 12 times, using this term 16 times in the reports, and around 33 times in his book. According to Belov, the expedition simultaneously opened the continent, and conducted an extended research on it. Conclusions of Belov were repeated in the book of 
This point of view became conventional in the Soviet and Russian historiography. In the "Ocherki po istorii geograficheskikh otkrytii" (russian: «Очерках по истории географических открытий») by and the authors claimed (referring to the Lazarev's letter) that in January 1820 "Russians solved the problem that James Cook considered as impossible", and came less than 3 kilometres to the Princess Martha Shore. Consequently, the reporting map illustrated
Mikhail Lazarev
Admiral Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev (russian: Михаил Петрович Лазарев, 3 November 1788 – 11 April 1851) was a Russian fleet commander and an explorer.
Education and early career
Lazarev was born in Vladimir, a scion of ...
. The expedition aimed to reach the Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-smal ...
in order to prove or disprove the existence of a suspected seventh continent, Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
. The sloop '' Vostok'' was under the command of Bellingshausen, while Lazarev commanded the sloop '' Mirny''. Overall, the consisted of 190 people.
Due to extreme haste in equipping the voyage (the order was released on March 15, and the departure took place on July 4, 1819), it was impossible to assemble a science team. Thus, almost all scientific observations in the fields of geography, ethnography, and natural history were conducted by officers and the only scientist on board, associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
Overview
In the '' North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is ...
Ivan Mikhailovich Simonov
Ivan Mikhailovich Simonov (1794–1855) was a Russian astronomer and a geodesist.
Biography
He completed his studies and became a professor of physics at Kazan State University in 1816 where he was a close friend of Nikolai Lobachevsky. He was a c ...
, who taught at the Imperial Kazan University. A novice painter, , was hired to depict the events, landscapes, and biological species encountered during the expedition. His paintings of the South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...
were used in English sailing directions until the 1940s.
The Russian Antarctic expedition ended in complete success and became the second expedition to circumnavigate Antarctica after James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
's expedition a half century earlier. Of the expedition's 751 days, 527 were spent at sea; the overall length of the route was 49,860 nautical mile
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Tod ...
s. For 127 days the expedition was above 60° south latitude; the crew approached the Antarctic shore nine times, four times as close as from the continent. Around 28 objects were depicted on the map of Antarctica which emerged, and 29 islands in high southern latitudes and the tropics were discovered and named.
The results of the expedition were published in Russian in 1831 in two volumes with the drawings applied in an atlas. In 1842, a short report was published in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
. In 1945, a full English translation of Bellingshausen's only book was edited by polar explorer Frank Debenham
Frank Debenham, OBE (26 December 1883 – 23 November 1965) was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography, Cambridge University and first director of the Scott Polar Research Institute.
Biography
Debenham was born in B ...
and released. In connection with Norwegian annexation
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
of Peter I Island
Peter I Island ( no, Peter I Øy) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Bellingshausen Sea, from continental Antarctica. It is claimed as a dependency of Norway and, along with Bouvet Island and Queen Maud Land, composes one of the three ...
and the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
' suggestions on collective sovereignty over the whole continent in the 1930s and 1940s, a debate broke out about the precedence of Bellingshausen and Lazarev in having discovered the Antarctic continent. This conflict acquired "hyperpolitical" character (following the notion of historian ) during the Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
.
As a result, even in the 21st century, representatives of Russian, British, and American historiography have spoken both for and against Bellingshausen's priority. With increasing frequency, one can find statements in the literature that, in the period between 1819 and 1821, Bellingshausen, Edward Bransfield
Edward Bransfield (c. 1785 – 31 October 1852) was an Irish sailor who became an officer in the British Royal Navy, serving as a master on several ships, after being impressed into service in Ireland at the age of 18. He is noted for his par ...
, and Nathaniel Palmer
Nathaniel Brown Palmer (August 8, 1799June 21, 1877) was an American seal hunter, explorer, sailing captain, and ship designer. He gave his name to Palmer Land, Antarctica, which he explored in 1820 on his sloop ''Hero''. He was born in Stonin ...
simultaneously discovered Antarctica. Bellingshausen met Palmer on the South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...
and even invited him aboard the sloop ''Vostok''.
Planning and organization
Background
Bellingshausen and Lazarev's Antarctic expedition was equipped around the same time as a similar expedition to the Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
taken on by Mikhail Vasilyev and Gleb Shishmaryov on the sloops
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...
''Otkrytie'' and ''Blagonamerennyi''. In the 1950s, historians raised the question of who initiated the two Russian expeditions in the high north and south polar latitudes. The prevailing opinion at that time was that in the 1810s, Adam Johann von Krusenstern
Adam Johann von Krusenstern (also Krusenstjerna in Swedish; russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Крузенште́рн, tr. ; 10 October 177012 August 1846) was a Russian admiral and explorer, who led the first Russian circumnavigatio ...
, Gavril Sarychev, and Vasily Golovnin independently presented the two projects. On the contrary, English writers believed that the plan came from a minister of the , Jean Baptiste Traversay. This theory was promoted by Hugh Robert Mill
Hugh Robert Mill (28 May 1861 – 5 April 1950) was a British geographer and meteorologist who was influential in the reform of geography teaching, and in the development of meteorology as a science. He was President of the Royal Meteorologic ...
, a librarian of the Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
, and Frank Debenham
Frank Debenham, OBE (26 December 1883 – 23 November 1965) was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography, Cambridge University and first director of the Scott Polar Research Institute.
Biography
Debenham was born in B ...
, director of the Scott Polar Research Institute
The Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south ...
at the University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. Ivan Mikhailovich Simonov
Ivan Mikhailovich Simonov (1794–1855) was a Russian astronomer and a geodesist.
Biography
He completed his studies and became a professor of physics at Kazan State University in 1816 where he was a close friend of Nikolai Lobachevsky. He was a c ...
, astronomer and head of the Bellingshausen expedition, claimed that it was Emperor Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
The son o ...
who initiated the voyage.
According to Tammiksaar and T. Kiik, in 1818 Alexander I was highly interested in the results of Kotzebue's round-the-world voyage on the sloop ''Rurik''. In September, the Emperor requested a detailed report on the expedition. The report was prepared by Krusenstern, who also sent Traversay the manuscript of his article on the first attempt of Vasily Chichagov
Vasili Yakovlevich Chichagov (russian: Василий Яковлевич Чичагов; 28 February 1726 – 4 April 1809) was an admiral in the Russian Navy and an explorer. He was the father of Pavel Chichagov, a Russian admiral during the ...
in 1765–1766 to reach high Arctic latitudes. Traversay then managed to make the Emperor interested – Krusenstern reported on it on .
Krusenstern saw that the government's mood was favorable toward sending a state scientific expedition to Antarctica. Kotzebue's discoveries in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
provided a benchmark for reaching the Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
through the Bering Strait. In his report to Traversay, Krusenstern also mentioned Bellingshausen as a potential candidate for the head of the expedition. By January 1819, the Emperor approved this plan, although Gleb Shishmaryov was appointed as head of the expedition instead.
In this context, it is not clear how the expedition became global, and how the plan of also researching the south polar region appeared. In the 18th and 19th centuries, any attempt to reach the hypothetical southern continent was dictated by the geographical theories that were in vogue at that time. One popular theory held that the large landmasses of the Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
should be balanced in the Southern Hemisphere; otherwise, the Earth could tip over.
On January 17, 1773, James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
became the first navigator to cross the Antarctic Circle
The Antarctic Circle is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth. The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic, and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone. So ...
during his second circumnavigation. However, when he reached , he faced insurmountable sea ice
Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice, which has an even lower density). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's o ...
. In January 1774, Cook reached , but was again stopped by sea ice. Though Cook never denied the existence of a Southern continent, he thought that it was impossible to reach:
Krusenstern completely trusted Cook's authority and directly stated that the famous English navigator had "buried" the idea of Terra Australis
(Latin: '"Southern Land'") was a hypothetical continent first posited in antiquity and which appeared on maps between the 15th and 18th centuries. Its existence was not based on any survey or direct observation, but rather on the idea that ...
. Soon after Kotzebue's return, on , Krusenstern presented his project on researching the Pacific region in the belts at 20° north and south of the equator to the president of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
Sergey Uvarov
Count Sergey Semionovich Uvarov (russian: Граф Серге́й Семёнович Ува́ров; 5 September Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._25_August.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/> O.S._25_August">O ...
. The aim of the project was to explore undiscovered archipelagos and put an end to the Age of Discovery
The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafa ...
. He suggested that the project be implemented as a joint venture between the academy and the Ministry of Sea Forces. Krusenstern also mentioned this project in his foreword to the 1821 report on the Kotzebue expedition.
As a result of this history, Tammiksaar and Kiik concluded that in addition to the political aims, Traversay initiated this expedition in order to outperform the results of Cook's voyage. This has been indirectly shown by the fact that Traversay did not discuss the south polar project with any of the experienced ocean navigators that were subordinated to him. Also, some notes in French and Russian with extracts from the description of Cook's voyage and an estimate of the plan for sending two sloops – one to the Arctic and one the Antarctic – are stored in Traversay's personal papers in the . The minister later asked Sarychev, who had bad relations with Krusenstern and Kotzebue, to develop recommendations for a detailed plan. These anonymous notes do not mention such notions as "The North Pole" or "The South Pole".
On , Traversay met Tsar Alexander I. As of 2014, there were no documents on the initial stage of the double expedition project. The project may have been secret. Finally, on , the Emperor personally signed an order authorizing 100,000 rubles to finance the expedition. At the same time, Krusenstern sent a detailed letter to Traversay from Hagudi which implies that he was not informed about the negotiations taking place in high circles of power. According to Traversay's personal papers, the minister personally formulated the geographical objectives of both of the expeditions. Later, these items were included in the instructions published in Bellingshausen's report. Probably the main consultant was Sarychev.
Due to a lack of documentary evidence, it is almost impossible to determine why the expedition was equipped in such haste, why the funding was doubled, or why four ships were sent instead of two. On , Traversay signed the order forming the expedition on behalf of the Emperor. In Traversay's documents, units were called "divisions". According to the available data, Krusenstern's role in planning and forming the expedition was minimal.
Goals
The Vasilyev–Shishmaryov and Bellingshausen–Lazarev expeditions were respectively the third and fourth Russian circumnavigations to be organized and financed by the state. Both squads met inPortsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most d ...
with the sloop ''Kamchatka'', which was returning to St. Petersburg from the second circumnavigation under the command of Vasily Golovnin. Vasilyev's squad crossed the equator five days earlier than Bellingshausen.
Bulkeley later refuted the theory that the expedition was entirely scientific. According to him, differences between the aims of the Navy and the Merchant fleet were blurred. He claimed that Krusenstern's expedition carried commercial cargoes and specialists of the Russian American Company, even during the First Russian circumnavigation. Out of 23 circumnavigations that were carried out during the rule of Alexander I, half were commercial.
Bulkeley suggested that Russian circumnavigations significantly influenced Alaska development and the politics of isolationism
Isolationism is a political philosophy advocating a national foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality and opposes entangl ...
in Haijin and 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 a ...
. The Mulovsky expedition The Mulovsky expedition was a Russian naval expedition planned by Catherine II of Russia, to be led by Captain . The expedition never took place, due to the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War. Initial plans
In January 1787, the 22nd year of Catherin ...
that was initially planned under the rule of Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
was a reaction to the first voyage of James Cook
The first voyage of James Cook was a combined Royal Navy and Royal Society expedition to the south Pacific Ocean aboard HMS ''Endeavour'', from 1768 to 1771. It was the first of three Pacific voyages of which James Cook was the commander. The ...
in the northern part of the Pacific. Military-political goals determined the equipment of the Vasilyev and Bellingshausen expeditions. After the Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...
, Russian–British relations significantly worsened. Thus, Sir John Barrow
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1764 – 23 November 1848) was an English geographer, linguist, writer and civil servant best known for term as the Second Secretary to the Admiralty from 1804 until 1845.
Early life
Barrow was born ...
expressed concern in 1817 that Russia would be the first country to open the Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the ...
.
In 1818, there were rumors that Barrow planned a double expedition with four ships to reach the pole from both the Bering and the Davis Strait
Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Atlantic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer John ...
. When Alexander I heard about Barrow's plans, he ordered the sloops urgently outfitted and sent. However, counter admiral noted that Bellingshausen's expedition was explicitly scientific and did not imply the goals of territorial expansion. According to Bulkeley, the lack of political aims in the expedition program does not signify anything since neither the Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
instructions for the 1818–1819 British Arctic expedition of Frederick William Beechey, William Parry, and John Ross, nor Franklin's lost expedition
Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, and , and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sect ...
of 1845–1848, had any written political aims. Thus, Bulkeley claimed that without any political aims, the expedition would be much less effective.
The following passage in Bellingshausen's description was very remarkable:
The Ministry of Sea Forces published the instruction that was signed by the Emperor on . The most important points were:
*The sloops were to go through England and the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...
before continuing on to Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
;
*Heading to South Georgia Island
South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east ...
, the expedition was to round the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song_type =
, song =
, image_map = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in United Kingdom.svg
, map_caption = Location of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Oc ...
from the eastern side and advance as far south as possible;
*The expedition was then to "use all possible efforts and the greatest effort to achieve as close to the Pole as possible, to look for unknown lands, and not leave this enterprise otherwise than with insurmountable obstacles";
*After the end of the first Arctic summer, the expedition would reach Port Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman S ...
(Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
);
*From Australia, the expedition would sail to Pacific waters, explore the islands that Kotzebue was researching, and "conduct observations about other neighbors, of which the inhabitants of the first-mentioned";
*After a second visit to Australia, "head south again to distant latitudes; resume and ... continue their research on last year's example with the same determination and perseverance, and the other meridians will sail to make the way around the globe, turning to the very height from which the division set off";
*Finally, after successfully completing the task, the expedition was to return to Russia.
Equipment and staff
Commanders and crew
Judging by the available archival documents, appointing a commander was a very complicated process. Traversay constantly delayed his decision on the matter. On , orders of appointment of Shishmaryov and Lazarev were released. Lazarev was given command of the sloop ''Mirny''. Lazarev's brother served as a lieutenant on ''Blagonamerennyi''. Finally, on , Vasilyev was appointed as commander of the second division. Initially, Traversay wanted to appoint as head of the Southern (first) division. According to the order dated the beginning of May (which is stored at the Russian State Archive of the Navy), Ratmanov was supposed to head the Northern (second) division, but his name was later crossed out. Krusenstern claimed that Bellingshausen's appointment was entirely based on merit. However, Bellingshausen stated that he owed his place to Ratmanov's recommendation. At that time, Bellingshausen was serving as a Captain of the 2nd rank and commander of thefrigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...
' in Sevastopol
Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
. His order of appointment was released on May 4. He arrived in Saint Petersburg on May 23, presumably alone, on a tarantass. On June 16, he received instructions and took the sloop under his command. In addition to funds issued by the treasury for travel on mail horses and the railway, he also received a bonus of 1,000 rubles. After his appointment, Bellingshausen received the ship's treasury of 10,000 silver rubles for unforeseen expenses.
The expedition officers and crew were recruited as volunteers. However, there were strict selection criteria: perfect health, age not exceeding 35 years, knowledge beyond any specialty or shipboard skill, and, finally, the ability to shoot rifles well. There were six officers on board ''Vostok'', including , , , physician Jacob Berg, astronomer Ivan Mikhailovich Simonov
Ivan Mikhailovich Simonov (1794–1855) was a Russian astronomer and a geodesist.
Biography
He completed his studies and became a professor of physics at Kazan State University in 1816 where he was a close friend of Nikolai Lobachevsky. He was a c ...
, and painter . The expedition also included 36 non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
s, artillerymen and artisans (including 4 officers' batmen), and 71 sailors from the and . The ''Murny'' was staffed by five officers, including Mikhail Annenkov, Ivan Kupreyanov, physician Galkin, and hieromonk
A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church an ...
Dionysius, hired at the insistence of the Minister of the Sea Forces, as well as 22 non-commissioned officers, artillerymen, a servant, and 45 first and second article sailors.
The crew received a generous bonus – even before going to the sea, Bellingshausen received 5,000 rubles from the Emperor, Lazarev received 3,000, and all officers and privates were awarded an annual salary that "did not count". The Emperor ordered the salary increased by eight times, even though the standard salary of the sailor of the first article was 13 rubles 11 kopecks per year. However, Bellingshausen never mentioned concrete sums in his reports. Michman
( rus, мичман, p=ˈmʲit͡ɕmən, ) is a rank used by the Russian Navy and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in armies and air forces. Within NATO forces, the rank is rated ...
Novosilsky claimed that an increased salary was paid only two times, in silver; the other amounts were paid in assignation ruble
The Assignation ruble (russian: ассигнационный рубль; ''assignatsionny rubl'') was the first paper currency of the Russian Empire. It was used from 1769 until 1849. The Assignation ruble had a parallel circulation with the silver ...
s that increased allowance by 250%. Besides that, officers and scientists received 30 golden food installments per month, which was equal to 70 silver rubles.
Members
List of all First Russian Antarctic Expedition members: Crew of ''Vostok'' * Expedition leader and commander of ''Vostok'': second class captain Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen (russian: Фадде́й Фадде́евич Беллинсга́узен) * Lieutenant commander * Lieutenants: Ivan Ignatiev (Иван Игнатьев), , * Midshipman Dmitry Demidov (Дмитрий Демидов) * Astronomer professorIvan Mikhailovich Simonov
Ivan Mikhailovich Simonov (1794–1855) was a Russian astronomer and a geodesist.
Biography
He completed his studies and became a professor of physics at Kazan State University in 1816 where he was a close friend of Nikolai Lobachevsky. He was a c ...
(Иван Михайлович Симонов)
* Artist Pavel Mihailov (Павел Михайлов)
* Staff-doctor (russian: штаб-лекарь) Yakov Berh (Яков Берх)
* Navigator Yakov Poryadin (Яков Порядин)
* Clerk at officer rank (russian: клерк офицерского чина) Ivan Rezanov (Резанов)
* Reefer Roman Adame (Роман Адаме)
* Сelibate priest (russian: иеромонах) Dionisiy (Дионисий) ast name unknown* Non-commissioned officers: sub-navigators Andrey Sherkunov (Андрей Шеркунов) and Peter Kryukov (Пётр Крюков), skipper's assistant Fedor Vasiliev (Фёдор Васильев), first class doctor's assistant Ivan Stepanov (Иван Степанов)
* Quartermasters: Sandash Aneev (Сандаш Анеев), Alexey Aldygin (Алексей Алдыгин), Martyn Stepanov (Мартын Степанов), Alexey Stepanov (Алексей Степанов), fluterer (флейщик) Grigory Dianov (Григорий Дианов), drummer Leonty Churkin (Леонтий Чуркин)
* First class sailors (russian: матросы первой статьи): steersman Semen Trofimov (Семён Трофимов); topsailmen (russian: марсовые) Gubey Abdulov (Губей Абдулов), Stepan Sazanov (Степан Сазанов), Peter Maximov (Пётр Максимов), Kondraty Petrov (Кондратий Петров), Olav Rangopl (Олав Рангопль), Paul Jacobson (Пауль Якобсон), Leon Dubovsky (Леон Дубовский), Semen Gelyaev (Семён Гуляев), Grigory Ananin (Григорий Ананьин), Grigory Elsukov (Григорий Елсуков), Stepan Philippov (Степан Филиппов), Sidor Lukin (Сидор Лукин), Matvey Handukov (Матвей Хандуков), Kondraty Borisov (Кондратий Борисов), Eremey Andreev (Еремей Андреев), Danila Kornev (Данила Корнев), Sidor Vasiliev (Сидор Васильев), Danila Lemantov (Данила Лемантов), Fedor Efimov (Фёдор Ефимов), Christian Lenbenkin (Христиан Ленбекин), Efim Gladky (Ефим Гладкий), Martyn Lyubin (Мартын Любин), Gavrila Galkin (Гаврила Галкин), Yusup Yusupov (Юсуп Юсупов), Gabit Nemyasov (Габит Немясов), Prokofy Kasatkin (Прокофий Касаткин), Ivan Krivov (Иван Кривов), Matvey Lezov (Матвей Лезов), Mafusail May-Izbay (Мафусаил Май-Избай), Nikifor Agloblin (Никифор Аглоблин), Nikita Alunin (Никита Алунин), Egor Kiselev (Егор Киселев), Ivan Saltykov (Иван Салтыков), Ivan Sholohov (Иван Шолохов), Demid Antonov (Демид Антонов), Abrosim Skukka (Абросим Скукка), Fedor Kudryahin (Фёдор Кудряхин), Ivan Yarengin (Иван Яренгин), Zahar Popov (Захар Попов), Filimon Bykov (Филимон Быков), Vasily Kuznetsov (Василий Кузнецов), Alexey Konevalov (Алексей Коневалов), Semen Gur'yanov (Семён Гурьянов), Ivan Paklin (Иван Паклин), Ivan Grebennikov (Иван Гребенников), Yakov Bizanov (Яков Бизанов), Mihail Tochilov (Михаил Точилов), Matvey Popov (Матвей Попов), Elizar Maximov (Елизар Максимов), Peter Ivanov (Пётр Иванов), Grigory Vasiliev (Григорий Васильев), Mihail Tahashikov (Михаил Тахашиков), Peter Palitsin (Пётр Палицин), Denis Yuzhakov (Денис Южаков), Vasily Sobolev (Василий Соболев), Semen Hmelnikov (Семен Хмельников), Matvey Rozhin (Матвей Рожин), Sevast'yan Chigasov (Севастьян Чигасов), Danila Stepanov (Данила Степанов), Varfolomey Kopylov (Варфоломей Копылов), Spiridon Efremov (Спиридон Ефремов), Terenty Ivanov (Терентий Иванов), Larion Nechaev (Ларион Нечаев), Fedot Razgulyaev (Федот Разгуляев), Vasily Andreev (Василий Андреев), Kirill Sapozhnikov (Кирилл Сапожников), Alexander Bareshkov (Александр Барешков), Alexey Shilovsky (Алексей Шиловский), Afanasy Kirillov (Афанасий Кириллов).
* Workmen: metalworker Matvey Gubim (Матвей Губим), timmerman (senior carpenter) Vasily Krasnopevov (Василий Краснопевов), blacksmith Peter Kurlygin (Пётр Курлыгин), carpenter Peter Matveev (Пётр Матвеев), caulker Rodion Averkiev (Родион Аверкиев), sail worker Danila Migalkin (Данила Мигалкин), cooper Gavrila Danilov (Гаврила Данилов).
* Gunners: non-commissioned artillery officers Ilya Petuhov (Илья Петухов) and Ivan Kornil'ev (Иван Корнильев), bombardier Leonty Markelov (Леонтий Маркелов), first class gunners Zahar Krasnitsyn (Захар Красницын), Yan Yatsylevich (Ян Яцылевич), Yakub Belevich (Якуб Белевич), Egor Vasiliev (Егор Васильев), Vasily Kapkin (Василий Капкин), Feklist Alexeev (Феклист Алексеев), Semen Gusarov (Семён Гусаров), Stepan Yatsynovsky (Степан Яцыновский), Nikita Lebedev (Никита Лебедев), Gleb Plysov (Глеб Плысов) and Ivan Barabanov (Иван Барабанов).
Crew of ''Mirny''
* Lieutenants: Mikhail Lazarev (commander of ''Mirny''), Nikolay Obernibesov (Николай Обернибесов), Mikhail Annenkov (Михаил Анненков).
* Midshipmen: Ivan Kupriyanov (Иван Куприянов), Pavel Novosilsky (Павел Новосильский)
* Navigator at officer's rank (russian: штурман офицерского чина): Nikolay Ilyin (Николай Ильин)
* Surgeon: Nikolay Galkin (Николай Галкин)
* Boatswains and non-commissioned officers: botswain Ivan Losyakov (Иван Лосяков), battler at sergeant's rank (russian: баталер сержантского ранга Andrey Davydov (Андрей Давыдов), first class medical assistant Vasily Ponomarev (Василий Пономарев), metalworker Vasiliy Gerasimov (Василий Герасимов), skipper's assistant Vasily Trifanov (Василий Трифанов), navigator's assistant Yakov Harlav (Яков Харлав).
* Quartermasters: Vasily Alexeev (Василий Алексеев), Nazar Rahmatulov (Назар Рахматулов), drummer Ivan Novinsky (Иван Новинский).
* First class sailors: Abashir Yakshin (Абашир Якшин), Platon Semenov (Платон Семенов), Arsenty Philippov (Арсентий Филиппов), Spiridon Rodionov (Спиридон Родионов), Nazar Atalinov (Назар Аталинов), Egor Bernikov (Егор Берников), Gabidulla Mamlineev (Габидулла Мамлинеев), Grigory Tyukov (Григорий Тюков), Pavel Mohov (Павел Мохов), Peter Ershev (Пётр Ершев), Fedor Pavlov (Фёдор Павлов), Ivan Kirillov (Иван Кириллов), Matvey Murzin (Матвей Мурзин), Simon Taus (Симон Таус), Ivan Antonov (Иван Антонов), Demid Ulyshev (Демид Улышев), Vasily Sidorov (Василий Сидоров), Batarsha Badeev (Батарша Бадеев), Lavrenty Chupranov (Лаврентий Чупранов), Egor Barsukov (Егор Барсуков), Yakov Kirillov (Яков Кириллов), Osip Koltakov (Осип Колтаков), Markel Estigneev (Маркел Естигнеев), Adam Kuh (Адам Кух), Nikolay Volkov (Николай Волков), Grigory Petunin (Григорий Петунин), Ivan Leont'ev (Иван Леонтьев), Anisim Gavrilov (Анисим Гаврилов), Larion Philippov (Ларион Филиппов), Tomas Bunganin (Томас Бунганин), Danila Anohin (Данила Анохин), Fedor Bartyukov (Фёдор Бартюков), Ivan Kozminsky (Иван Козьминский), Frol Shavyrin (Фрол Шавырин), Arhip Palmin (Архип Палмин), Zahar Ivanov (Захар Иванов), Vasily Kurchaviy (Василий Курчавый), Philipp Pashkov (Филипп Пашков), Fedor Istomin (Фёдор Истомин), Demid Chirkov (Демид Чирков), Dmitry Gorev (Дмитрий Горев), Il'ya Zashanov (Илья Зашанов), Ivan Kozyrev (Иван Козырев), Vasily Semenov (Василий Семенов).
* Workmen: metalworker Vasily Gerasimov (Василий Герасимов), carpenters Fedor Petrov (Фёдор Петров) and Peter Fedorov (Пётр Федоров), caulker Andrey Ermolaev (Андрей Ермолаев), sail worker Alexander Temnikov (Александр Темников), cooper Potap Sorokin (Потап Сорокин).
* Gunners: non-commissioned senior artillery officer (russian: артиллерии старший унтер-офицер) Dmitry Stepanov; first class gunners Peter Afanasev (Пётр Афанасьев), Mikhail Rezvy (Михаил Резвый), Vasily Stepanov (Василий Степанов), Vasily Kuklin (Василий Куклин), Efim Vorob'yov (Ефим Воробьёв), Ivan Sarapov (Иван Сарапов).
Expedition vessels
Twosloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
s were equipped for the expedition, ''Mirny'' and ''Vostok''. There is not much available data on these vessels. In 1973, S. Luchinninov created abstract designs of both ships, based on surviving drawings from the 19th century. ''Vostok'' was built by shipbuilder , who worked at Petrozavod in 1818 under the command of . According to Bellingshausen, ''Vostok'' was an exact copy of the sloop ''Kamchatka'', the prototype of which, in turn, was a 32-gun frigate designed by French engineer . ''Vostok'' was launched on July 16, 1818, and had a displacement of 900 tons, a length of , and a width of . At the same time, the sloop had an excessively large mast: the mainmast from the keel was high.
The second vessel, ''Mirny'', was of the same type as ''Blagonamerennyi'' of the second division, and was created in Kronstadt
Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...
as a sea freight ship named ''Ladoga''. After renaming, the vessel was modernized for the needs of the expedition. Its length reached and its width . The ship had a displacement of 530 tons; it more looked like a vessel from Cook's expedition. Each sloop carried four or five open boats of various sizes, from a four-row boat to six or eight-row boats.
The ''Vostok'' was equipped with sixteen 18-pound guns installed on the battery deck and other twelve 12-pound carronades on the Spardek. In those days, it was believed that carronades were more effective for clashes with pirates or native canoes. ''Mirny'' had six carronades and 14 three-pound guns. While anchored in Britain, the gun deck of the battery deck was shut down. Most of the crew were accommodated for the night in tethered hammocks on the battery deck, while officer cabins and the crew company were located at the stern of the ship.
One of the main aims of Bellingshausen was to make sure that the sloops remained together during the expedition. The seafaring quality of the vessels was different, and Lazarev thought that ''Vostok'' was a ship which is "obviously not ready for such expedition due to its small capacity and a small amount of space as for officers, as for the crew". Bellingshausen claimed that Traversay chose ''Vostok'' only because ''Kamchatka'' had already completed a circumnavigation, even though its captain Golovnin reported on the unsatisfactory qualities of the ship. Besides the excessive height of the mast, the ''Vostok'' had an unsuccessful steering device, an insufficiently strong hull built of raw wood, coam hatches of low height on the upper deck, and other issues.
Just before sailing, the underwater part of ''Vostok'' was lined with copper sheets. Its hull turned out to be too weak for sailing in polar waters, and the crew constantly had to strengthen and repair it during the expedition. By the end of the voyage, the sloop was in such bad condition that Bellingshausen had to finish the expedition one month earlier than intended. Lazarev was responsible for equipping the sloops because Bellingshausen was appointed only 42 days before the departure. He chose for himself the ship ''Mirny'', presumably built by shipbuilder in Lodeynoye Pole
Lodeynoye Pole (russian: Лоде́йное По́ле, lit. ''the field of boats'') is a town and the administrative center of Lodeynopolsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Svir River (Lake Ladoga's basin) ...
and designed by . Lazarev was able to equip the underwater part of the ship with a second (ice) covering, to replace the pine wheel with an oak one, and to strengthen the hull further. The only drawback of the ship was its low speed.
Supplies and living conditions
Bellingshausen decided to take on board supplies for two years, even though military vessels usually only contained stocks for six months. According to the official reports, there were four tons of dried peas, seven tons of oats and buckwheat, 28 tons of corned beef, 65.8 tons of crackers (grained and pickled), a lot of sauerkraut (the report only provides the volume of the barrels), and 3,926 liters of vodka. Although it was initially planned to use a "dry broth" or soup concentrate, this was not possible because the concentrate did not dry out after the boiling. Bellingshausen named suppliers of dried bread, meat, and cabbage individually because of the high quality of their provisions. The number of provisions was not enough, and the crews had to buy an additional 16 tons of grain and rum inRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
. The expedition also replenished its stocks in Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
and Australia. They also bought 1.3 kilograms of tobacco per person, which corresponds to 1.5 modern cigarettes per day. Tobacco was replenished in Rio at the beginning and end of the expedition. There is no detailed description of the provisions for ''Vostok'' and ''Mirny'', but records exist for the ''Blagonamerennyi'' and ''Otkrytie''. Most likely the provisions were identical for both divisions.
According to Bulkeley, standard provisions in the British Royal Navy exceeded the Russian ones; however, in practice provisions were often reduced as much as possible. In 1823, the Royal Navy halved its provision amounts. Since Russian ships spent a lot of time in harbors, their commanders always bought fresh food. This practice was extensively documented in the official expedition reports. In Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...
in July 1819, Bellingshausen increased the meat ration to one inch of beef per day and one glass of beer per person, to improve military morale and physical abilities. To prevent a scurvy
Scurvy is a deficiency disease, disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, ch ...
outbreak, they brought malt broth, coniferous essence, lemons, mustard, and molasses. There were only 196 kilograms of sugar on board, and it was served on big holidays, such as Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
or the Emperor's Name day
In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a ...
. The regular daily crew drink was tea, with stocks refreshed in London and in Rio.
Ordinary members of the crew were supplied from the treasury. According to the inventory, every man received: a mattress, a pillow, a cloth blanket, and four sheets; four uniforms, two pairs of shirts and six pairs of linen pants, four sets of waterproof clothing (pants and jacket), overcoat, one fur hat and two caps, one nautical hat, three pairs of boots (one with flannel lining), eight pairs of woolen socks, and 11 linen and seven flannel sets of linen. Overall it cost 138,134 rubles to outfit the 298 crew members. Costs were shared equally between the Admiralty department and the Ministry of Finance. Bellingshausen cared about the health of the crew, and always bought fresh products in every port. The team washed regularly, and they tried to keep people on the upper deck until sunset, to ventilate and dry the crowded battery decks. Bellingshausen prohibited physical punishments onboard ''Vostok'', but there is no evidence whether the same was true for ''Mirny''.
Scientific equipment
Equipment and instructions
The Admiralty department made a list of all required books and instruments which were needed for the Bellingshausen and Vasiliev divisions. The ships’ libraries included Russian descriptions of the expeditions conducted by Sarychev, Krusenstern, Lisyansky, Golovnin. The French description of Cook's third voyage was also stored in the library since its first edition was absent from the Ministry of Sea Forces. The majority of descriptions of foreign voyages, including the one conducted by George Anson, were available in French translations. The crews also acquired Nautical almanac
A nautical almanac is a publication describing the positions of a selection of celestial bodies for the purpose of enabling navigators to use celestial navigation to determine the position of their ship while at sea. The Almanac specifies for eac ...
s for 1819 and 1820, guides on navigation, hydrography
Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the prima ...
and magnetism
Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particles ...
, as well as signal books. Money was also allotted to buy books in London, including the almanac for 1821, and maps from newly conducted voyages (including Brazilian ones). Bellingshausen also bought a world atlas that was released in 1817, and Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to ut ...
’ 1814 atlas of Australia. During their stay in Copenhagen, he also bought a book on magnetism by Christopher Hansteen
Christopher Hansteen (26 September 1784 – 11 April 1873) was a Norwegian geophysicist, astronomer and physicist, best known for his mapping of Earth's magnetic field.
Early life and career
Hansteen was born in Christiania as the son of ...
(1819). Based on this work, the crew carried out a search for the South Magnetic Pole.
Astronomic and navigation instruments were ordered in advance, but not everything had been delivered when Bellingshausen, Simonov, and Lazarev traveled to London in August 1819. Bellingshausen mentioned buying instruments by Aaron Arrowsmith
Aaron Arrowsmith (1750–1823) was an English cartographer, engraver and publisher and founding member of the Arrowsmith family of geographers.
Life
He moved to Soho Square, London from Winston, County Durham, when about twenty years of age, an ...
. It was decided to go beyond the budget boundaries, so the crews also bought two chronometers by inventor John Arnold (№ 518 and 2110), and two – by (№ 920 and 922), three- and four-foot refractors with achromatic lens
An achromatic lens or achromat is a lens that is designed to limit the effects of chromatic and spherical aberration. Achromatic lenses are corrected to bring two wavelengths (typically red and blue) into focus on the same plane.
The most comm ...
es, a 12-inch reflecting telescope
A reflecting telescope (also called a reflector) is a telescope that uses a single or a combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century by Isaac Newton as an alternati ...
, and for Simonov – a transit instrument
In astronomy, a transit instrument is a small telescope with extremely precisely graduated mount used for the precise observation of star positions. They were previously widely used in astronomical observatories and naval observatories to measu ...
and an attitude indicator. Repeating circle
Developed from the reflecting circle, the repeating circle is an instrument for geodetic surveying, invented by Etienne Lenoir in 1784, while an assistant of Jean-Charles de Borda, who later improved the instrument. It was notable as being the ...
s by Edward Troughton proved to be inconvenient for use at sea. For ‘Vostok’ they bought sextant
A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of ce ...
s by Troughton and Peter Dollond; officers bought some of the instruments with their own money. Thermometers were designed with the Réaumur scale used in Russia, but Simonov also used the Fahrenheit
The Fahrenheit scale () is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accounts of how he originally defined hi ...
temperature scale. Bellingshausen also mentioned an inclinometer
An inclinometer or clinometer is an instrument used for measuring angles of slope, elevation, or depression of an object with respect to gravity's direction. It is also known as a ''tilt indicator'', ''tilt sensor'', ''tilt meter'', ''slope ...
, which he used onshore. The captain bought a deep-sea thermometer. However, he could not get a Pendulum instrument for gravimetry
Gravimetry is the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field. Gravimetry may be used when either the magnitude of a gravitational field or the properties of matter responsible for its creation are of interest.
Units of measurement
G ...
research.
Problems with a naturalist
The functions of in circumnavigations usually spread over on all fields of knowledge which did not require the mathematical calculations made by astronomers or officers-navigators. The duties of expedition naturalist included not only the description of all new species of animals and plants, but also of cultures of primitive peoples, geology, and glaciological
Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice.
Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, cl ...
formations. Instructions by the Admiralty department mentioned two German scientists that were recognized as suitable candidates: medic Karl Heinrich Mertens, a recent graduate of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...
, and doctor Gustav Kunze
Gustav Kunze (4 October 1793, Leipzig – 30 April 1851, Leipzig)
was a German professor of zoology, an entomologist and botanist with an interest mainly in ferns and orchids.
Kunze joined the Wernerian Natural History Society in Edinburgh in ...
of Leipzig University
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...
. These scientists were to arrive in Copenhagen by June 24, 1819. Martens was to join Bellingshausen's division, and Kunze would be assigned to Vasiliev. However, when the divisions arrived in Copenhagen on July 15, it turned out that both scientists had refused to participate because of the short time "to prepare everything needed".
The instruments and guides the expeditions brought were of varying quality. Bellingshausen noted that after the death of astronomer Nevil Maskelyne
Nevil Maskelyne (; 6 October 1732 – 9 February 1811) was the fifth British Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811. He was the first person to scientifically measure the mass of the planet Earth. He created the ''British Nau ...
, the maritime almanac lost precision, finding no less than 108 errors in the 1819 volume. The chronometers recommended by Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
, who promoted the interests of John Arnold's family, were unsuitable. The same firm set up for James Cook "very bad chronometers" that were ahead by 101 seconds per day. Bulkeley called the quality of chronometers on ''Vostok'' "horrifying". By May 1820 the chronometers on ''Mirny'' were ahead by 5–6 minutes per day. In 1819, William Parry spent five weeks reconciling his chronometers in the Greenwich Royal Observatory
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in ...
, while Simonov dedicated no less than 40% of his observation time on the calibration of chronometers and establishing correct time. The deep-sea thermometer broke during its second use. However, Bellingshausen claimed that it was a fault of the staff. These issues led to no small confusion, not only on the expedition vessels but also in St. Petersburg. There is available correspondence between Traversay and the Minister of National Education, Count Alexander Nikolaevich Golitsyn, judging from which one can conclude that scientific team on ''Vostok'' should include naturalist Martens, astronomer Simonov, and painter Mikhailov.
The reasons why the German scientists did not join the expedition have been widely debated by historians. The late invitation may have been dictated by the conditions of secrecy in which the expedition was equipped. According to archival data, decisions regarding German scientists were taken four weeks before the deadline for their arrival, and a formal order was released only on July 10, 1819, when the expedition was already in the Baltic Sea. Also, Kunze defended his doctoral dissertation on June 22, 1819, and it is unlikely that he would agree and be able to be present in Copenhagen two days after that. In his preface to the publication of the expedition report, wrote that scientists "were afraid of the upcoming difficulties". Bulkeley mentioned that the main problem was the unpredictability of the Russian naval bureaucracy.
The main aims of the Bellingshausen expedition were to perform geographical research. Since Simonov was the only professional scientist on board, he also had to collect plant and animal samples in addition to his primary duties. As a result, Simonov passed along the collection activities and taxidermy
Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...
to Berg and Galkin, the expedition medics. Simonov was not always good at what he was trying to do. For instance, on October 5, 1819, Simonov got a severe burn while trying to catch a Portuguese man o' war
The Portuguese man o' war (''Physalia physalis''), also known as the man-of-war, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is considered to be the same species as the Pacific man o' war or blue bottle, which is ...
, even though Bellingshausen warned him.
According to Bulkeley, gravimetric and oceanographic observations were conducted more by Bellingshausen than by Simonov. For the captain, magnetic measurements were necessary as a significant aspect of navigation and geographical observations, and not for purely scientific purposes. For Simonov, journalistic and historiographic reasons may have been of equal importance. His travel journals became the first publications on the expedition, and a series on magnetic measurements were published much later. Approximately half of the measurement material was included in the article on magnetism.
Expedition
''All dates are provided according to theJulian calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandri ...
, the difference with the Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years d ...
in the 19th century constituted 12 days''
Sailing in the Atlantic (July – November 1819)
Kronstadt, Copenhagen, Portsmouth
On June 23 and 24, 1819, the Emperor and the Minister of Sea Forces visited the sloops ''Vostok'', ''Mirny'', ''Otkrytie'' and ''Blagonamerennyi'' as they were being equipped. On this occasion, workers stopped retrofitting work until the officials departed. On June 25, captains Bellingshausen and Vasiliev were called for an imperial audience in Peterhof.
The departure took place on July 4 at 6 pm, and was accompanied by a ceremony during which the crews shouted a fivefold "cheers" and saluted to the Kronstadt Fortress. Four ships sailed as a single squad until Rio. By July 19, the expedition had spent a week in Copenhagen, where the crew received additional instructions and found out that the German naturalists were not going to participate in the voyage. The head of the Royal Danish Nautical Charts Archive, admiral Poul de Løvenørn, supplied the expedition with necessary maps and advised them to buy a desalination machine. On July 26 the expedition arrived in Deal
A deal, or deals may refer to:
Places United States
* Deal, New Jersey, a borough
* Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* Deal Lake, New Jersey
Elsewhere
* Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia
* Deal, Kent, a town in England
* Deal, a ...
, and on July 29 reached Spithead in Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most d ...
. The sloop ''Kamchatka'' under the command of Golovin was already there, finishing its circumnavigation.
On August 1, Bellingshausen, Lazarev, officers, and Simonov hired a stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are dra ...
and went to London, where they spent 9 days. The main aim was to receive ordered books, maps, and instruments. As a result, not everything was acquired, and some items came only with the assistance of consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...
Andrei Dubachevskyi. The restructuring of ''Mirnyi'' and the purchase of canned vegetables and beer delayed the expedition in Portsmouth until August 25. On August 20, the transport ''Kutuzov'' of the Russian-American Company arrived in England. It was finishing its circumnavigation under the command of Ludwig von Hagemeister
Ludwig Karl August von Hagemeister (russian: Лео́нтий Андриа́нович Гагеме́йстер; Leontij Andrianovic Gagemejster;Baltic, Alix. ''The Baltic Connection in Russian America.'' Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas ...
.
On August 26, the expedition went to Tenerife
Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the Archipelago, archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitant ...
with the aim of stocking up on wine and fresh supplies. While being in England, three sailors from the sloop ''Mirny'' got a sexually transmitted infection
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and ora ...
. However, Dr Galkin's prognosis was favorable; there were no sick people on ''Vostok''. In the Atlantic, a working rhythm was established on the sloops: the crews were divided into three shifts. This system allowed sailors to wake up an already rested part of the team in the event of an emergency. In rainy and stormy weather, the watch commanders were instructed to ensure that the "servants" changed clothes, and the wet clothes were stored outside the living deck and dried in the wind. On Wednesdays and Fridays, there was a bath-washing day (in these days one boiler on the caboose
A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, dam ...
was used for these purposes, which allowed the use of hot water). The bunks were also washed on the 1st and 15th of each month. General deck cleaning was usually done on the move twice a week, and daily during the long stayings. The living deck was regularly ventilated and heated "to thin the air", and if the weather allowed, the crew took food on quarterdeck
The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...
s and forecastle
The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " ...
s, "so that decks do not leave damp fumes and impurities". On September 10, a vent pipe was put through the captain's cabin. This was to keep the constable and brotkamera dry. The constable was a room on the lower deck from the stern to the main mast – or the aft cabin on the middle deck – which contained artillery supplies, which the brotkamera was a room for keeping dry provisions, primarily flour and crackers. The vent pipe was necessary because the brotkamera leaked and the officers’ flour got wet and rotted.
Tenerife – Equator
At 6 am on September 15, the vessels entered the harbor atSanta Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its ad ...
, where they stayed for six days. Simonov went with four officers from both sloops to the foot of the volcano Teide
Teide, or Mount Teide, ( es, El Teide, Pico del Teide, , "Peak of Teide") is a volcano on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain. Its summit (at ) is the highest point in Spain and the highest point above sea level in the islands of the A ...
, explored the botanic garden with Dracaena draco
''Dracaena draco'', the Canary Islands dragon tree or drago, is a subtropical tree in the genus '' Dracaena'', native to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, western Morocco, and is thought to be introduced in the Azores. Its closest living ...
s, and visited the sisters of general Agustín de Betancourt
Agustín de Betancourt y Molina ( rus, Августин Августинович де Бетанкур, r=Avgustin Avgustinovich de Betankur; french: Augustin Bétancourt; 1 February 1758 – 24 July 1824) was a prominent Spanish engineer, who wo ...
. However, the main responsibility of the astronomer was to verify the chronometers. For this purpose, he used the house of Captain Don Antonio Rodrigo Ruiz. A stock of wine was taken aboard at a price of 135 thaler
A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...
for a butt.
The expedition sailed across the Atlantic at a speed of between 5.5 and 7 knots, using the northwestern trade winds
The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisp ...
. They crossed the Tropic of Cancer
The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towa ...
on September 22, fixing the air temperature at noon at 20 °Ré (25 °C). On September 25, Bellingshausen took advantage of the calm to change the topmast
The masts of traditional sailing ships were not single spars, but were constructed of separate sections or masts, each with its own rigging. The topmast is one of these.
The topmast is semi-permanently attached to the upper front of the lower m ...
on ''Vostok'' in order to decrease its speed and help keep the two ships together'. During this time, Russian sailors watched for flying fish
The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird d ...
, branching pyrosomes and gushing whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
s.
The hot calm started on October 7. The team was exhausted by heat: in the sleeping deck, the temperature was kept at a level 22.9 °Ré (28.6 °C). According to Bellingshausen, this was the same weather as in St. Petersburg. However, the night did not bring relief, and air temperatures exceeded the temperature of the water. On October 8, the crews conducted oceanographic measures: density of seawater and its temperature to a depth of 310 fathoms. They received a result of . However, Bellingshausen suggested that the water of the upper layers of the ocean had been mixed in the bathometer with the collected samples, which would distort the results. They also tried to measure the constant speed of the equatorial current. For that, they used a copper boiler of 8 buckets submerged 50 fathoms and got the result of 9 miles per day. On October 12 sailors were able to see and shoot birds " Northern storm petrel" which testified to the proximity of land.
On October 18, the vessels crossed the equator at 10 am after being at sea for 29 days. Bellingshausen was the only person on board of the ''Vostok'' who had previously crossed the equator, so he arranged a line-crossing ceremony. Everyone was sprinkled with seawater, and in order to celebrate the event, everyone was given a glass of punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pu ...
a, which they drank during a gun salute. Simonov compared this ceremony to a "small imitation "Maslenitsa
Maslenitsa ( be, Масленіца, russian: Мaсленица, rue, Фашенґи, uk, Масниця; also known as Butter Lady, Butter Week, Crepe week, or Cheesefare Week) is an Eastern Slavic religious and folk holiday, which has retai ...
".
The first visit of Brazil
In October, the southern trade winds decreased the heat, and clear weather only favored astronomical observations. Besides Bellingshausen, Simonov, Lazarev, and Zavadovsky, no one on the board had skills for navigation and for working with the sextant. Thus, taking into consideration the abundance of instruments on board, all officers started to study navigation. On November 2, 1819, at 5 pm, the expedition arrived in Rio following the orienteer of Pan de Azucar mountain, the image of which they had in the sailing directions. Since no one from the crew spoke Portuguese, there were some language barrier difficulties. By that time, ''Otkrytie'' and ''Blagonamerennyi'' were already in the harbor since they did not go to the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...
. On November 3, Consul General of Russia Georg von Langsdorff who was also a participant of the first Russian circumnavigation in 1803–1806, met the crew and escorted officers to the ambassador major general baron Diederik Tuyll van Serooskerken. The next day, the consul arranged for the astronomers to use a rocky island called Rados where Simonov, guard-marine Adams and artilleryman Korniliev set a transit instrument and started to reconcile the chronometers. Generally, Bellingshausen was not fond of the Brazilian capital, mentioning "disgusting untidiness" and "abominable shops where they sell slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
". On the contrary, Simonov claimed that Rio with its "meekness of morals, the luxury and courtesy of society and the magnificence of spiritual processions" do "remind him of southern European cities". Officers visited the neighborhoods of the city, coffee plantations, and Trizhuk Falls. On November 9, commanders of both divisions – Bellingshausen, Lazarev, Vasiliev, and Shishmaryov – received the audience with the Portuguese king John VI of Portugal
, house = Braganza
, father = Peter III of Portugal
, mother = Maria I of Portugal
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Queluz Palace, Queluz, Portugal
, death_date =
, death_place = Bemposta Palace, Lisbon, Portuga ...
, who at that time resided in Brazil. Before the ships departed, their crews filled the stocks and took for slaughtering two bulls, 40 pigs and 20 piglets, several sheep, ducks and hens, rum and granulated sugar, lemons, pumpkins, onions, garlic, and other herbs. On November 20, the chronometers were put back on board. On November 22 at 6 am, the expedition headed to the south.
On November 24, onboard ''Vostok'', lieutenant Lazarev and hieromonk Dionysius served a paraklesis to ask for successful completion of the expedition. The crew on ''Mirny'' received a salary for 20 months ahead and money for the food for officers, so "in the case of any misfortune with the sloop ''Vostok'' the officers and staff of ''Mirny'' would not be left without satisfaction". Lazarev received instructions to wait on the Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...
in case the vessels became separated. At the end of the designated time, the vessel was supposed to head to Australia. The sloops were to keep at a distance of 7 to 14 miles on clear days, and 0.5 miles or closer during fog.
First season (December 1819 – March 1820)
Subantarctic exploration
After November 29, 1819, the weather began to deteriorate markedly. On that day, there were twosquall
A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds. They are usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to the ...
s with rain and hail. Bellingshausen compared the December weather with Petersburg's weather "when Neva
The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , ...
river opens, and the humidity from it brings the sea wind to the city". The ships set sail toward South Georgia Island, from which Bellingshausen wanted to enter the Southern Ocean. After the departure from Rio, watch officers began sending observers to all three masts to report on the state of the sea and the horizon every half of an hour. This procedure was maintained until the end of the expedition.
On December 10, "warmth significantly decreased", and starting from this day the hatches on the upper deck were closed. On the mainsail hatch, the crew made a 4 square foot glass window, cast-iron stoves were permanently fixed, and their pipes were led into the main- and fore-hatches. The crew received winter uniforms consisting of flannel linen and cloth uniforms. On December 11, the crew noticed many seabirds and, particularly, southern rockhopper penguin
The southern rockhopper penguin group (''Eudyptes chrysocome''), is a species of rockhopper penguin, that is sometimes considered distinct from the northern rockhopper penguin. It occurs in subantarctic waters of the western Pacific and Indian ...
s. However, due to the birds' caution, the hunters and taxidermist could not get any sample. On December 12, temperature measurement showed the result of 3.7 °Ré (4.6 °C) at midnight, and in the living deck – 6.8 °Ré (8.5 °C).
The sloops reached the south-western shore of South Georgia on December 15, noticing the cliffs of Wallis and George at 8 am at a distance of 21 miles. Due to severe swells, the expedition rounded the island at a range of one and a half to two miles from the coast at a speed of 7 knots. Soon they were met by a sailing boat under the English flag. The English navigator mistook Russian vessels for fishing sloops. That same day, the crew of the sloops discovered Annenkov island
Annenkov Island is to the west of the main island of South Georgia. The Pickersgill Islands are to its southeast. It is irregularly shaped and long and high, lying off the south-central coast of South Georgia.
History
The island was discov ...
at 54°31' south latitude. The expedition then tacked to the east.
On December 16, the expedition vessels passed Pickersgill Island, which had been discovered by James Cook. At this point, the ''Mirny'' lagged behind the ''Vostok'' because Lazarev ordered his crew to procure penguin meat and eggs on the shore. The mapping of South Georgia was finally completed on December 17, ending the work begun by James Cook 44 years before. Sailor Kiselev mentioned in his diary that watches guards who noticed new islands received a bonus of five thalers which was put into the logbook.
On December 20, the travelers observed an iceberg
An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". The ...
for the first time. During their attempt to measure the sea temperature, they got a result of on a depth of 270 fathoms. However, the deep-sea thermometer from John William Norie
John William Norie (3 July 1772 in London – 24 December 1843),
was a mathematician, hydrographer, chart maker and publisher of nautical books most famous for his ''Epitome of Practical Navigation'' (1805) which became a standard work on navigat ...
broke. It was noted that this was the only deep-sea thermometer that was available.
On December 22, the crew discovered Leskov Island
Leskov Island is a small uninhabited island in the Traversay Islands group of the South Sandwich Islands. It is less than long, and lies west of Visokoi Island. It was discovered in 1819 by a Russian expedition under Fabian Gottlieb von Bell ...
, which was covered in ice and snow, and named it after Lieutenant Leskov, one of the participants in the expedition. The next day they discovered the mountainous and snowy Zavodovski Island
Zavodovski Island is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Traversay Islands subgroup of the South Sandwich Islands. It lies southeast of South Georgia Island. It is the northernmost of the South Sandwich Islands and the nearest to South Geor ...
, named after the captain-lieutenant, and Thorson Island, named after Lieutenant . Three newly discovered islands were named after Traversay, the Minister of Sea Forces. On December 24, the vessels approached the iceberg to cut some ice in order to replenish freshwater stocks:
On Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
, thermometer readings dropped to −0.8 °Ré (−1 °C) and the vessels had to maneuver with an opposite south wind. For Christmas, a priest was brought to ''Vostok'', and he served a rogation with kneeling on the occasion of "deliverance from Russia from the invasion of the Gauls and with them two hundred languages". Shchi
Shchi ( rus, щи, p=ɕːi, a=Ru-щи.ogg) is a Russian-style cabbage soup. When sauerkraut is used instead, the soup is called sour shchi, while soups based on sorrel, spinach, nettle, and similar plants are called green shchi (russian: зел ...
was a celebratory meal ("favourite meal of Russians") that was made of fresh pork with sour cabbage (on ordinary days they were cooked from corned beef), and pies with rice and minced meat. Private men were given half a mug of beer. They also received rum punch with sugar and lemon after lunch, which significantly improved the atmosphere on board. Lazarev and the ''Mirny'' officers also participated in the festive dinner.
The next day the crew continued describing Traversay Islands. On December 27, Bellingshausen tried to measure seawater temperature with an ordinary thermometer that was put to a homemade bathometer with valves. Water taken at depth did not heat up as it rose and did not distort the readings. Salinity and water density measurements from 220 fathoms showed an increase in salinity
Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...
with depth. On December 29, the expedition reached Saunders Island, which had been discovered by Cook.
Discovery of Antarctica
On December 31, 1819, the expedition reachedBristol Island
Bristol Island ( es, Isla Blanco or ''Isla Blanca'') is an island lying midway between Montagu Island and Thule Island in the South Sandwich Islands.
Its features include Harker Point, Fryer Point, Turmoil Point, Havfruen Peak, Trulla Bluf ...
, and survived the heaviest squall, followed with wet snow that decreased the visibility to 50 fathoms. At 10 pm the expedition ran into an impassable ice field and changed its course. Only the topsail
A topsail ("tops'l") is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails.
Square rig
On a square rigged vessel, a topsail is a typically trapezoidal shaped sail rigged above the course sail and ...
was to be remained, even though it was also covered in snow that the crew had to put the sloops directly under the wind and calm sails. Watch guards had to put snow out of decks constantly. Officers celebrated the new year of 1820 at 6 am, and Bellingshausen wished everyone in the mess
The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
get out of a dangerous situation and safely return to the fatherland. It was an organized celebration for sailors – morning formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
was in uniform; for breakfast, they received a rum for tea, after lunch, they got pork cabbage with sour cabbage, a glass of hot punch; for dinner – rice porridge and grog
Grog is a term used for a variety of alcoholic beverages.
The word originally referred to rum diluted with water (and later on long sea voyages, also added the juice of limes or lemons), which British Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon introduced ...
. The same day ''Vostok'' lost ''Mirny'' out of sight, and cannon signals were not heard due to the direction of the winds. By noon, the ships reunited. On January 2, 1820, the expedition passed Thule Island
Thule Island, also called Morrell Island, is one of the southernmost of the South Sandwich Islands, part of the grouping known as Southern Thule. It is named, on account of its remote location, after the mythical land of Thule, said by ancient ...
at 59° south latitude. The name was given by James Cook in 1775 because of the abundance of ice heading more to the south did not seem possible. Between January 5 and 7, the vessels slowly moved to the south between ice fields and dry cold weather allowed to vent and dry the clothes and beds. On January 7 the crew hunted penguins which were later cooked for both privates and the officers; more than 50 harvested carcasses were transferred to ''Mirny''. Penguin meat was usually soaked in vinegar and added to corned beef when cooking porridge or cabbage. According to Bellingshausen, sailors willingly ate penguin meat seeing that "officers also praised the food." On January 8, the vessels reached iceberg where they caught with seine fishing
Seine fishing (or seine-haul fishing; ) is a method of fishing that employs a surrounding net, called a seine, that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. Seine nets can be de ...
around 38 penguins and cut some ice. Alive penguins were locked in a chicken coop. Besides, lieutenant Ignatieff and Demidov got the first seal on the expedition, that they found looking like ringed seal living in Arkhangelsk Governorate
Arkhangelsk Governorate (russian: link=no, Архангельская губерния, ''Arkhangelskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 until 1929. ...
.
On January 9, ''Mirny'' collided with an ice field and knocked out four-pound ship gref. Strength of the construction and skills of lieutenant Nikolay Obernisov minimized damage, so the leak did not even open. On January 12 the expedition passed 8 icebergs and crossed 61 south latitude, the weather all that time was cloudy, and it was raining with snow. On January 15 the expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle at 66° south latitude and 3° west longitude. The next day Bellingshausen described his observations as "ices that we imagined as white clouds through the coming snow" that lasted from horizon to horizon. This was the first observation of ice shelf
An ice shelf is a large floating platform of ice that forms where a glacier or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface. Ice shelves are only found in Antarctica, Greenland, Northern Canada, and the Russian Arctic. The ...
s. The observation point was 69°21'28" south latitude and 2°14'50" west longitude – area of modern Bellingshausen's ice shelf near with Princess Martha Coast at Lazarev Sea
The Lazarev Sea (, ''More Lazareva'') is a proposed name for a marginal sea of the Southern Ocean. It would be bordered by two proposals from a 2002 International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) draft, a King Haakon VII Sea to the west and a R ...
. On January 17, for a short time the sun appeared, which made it possible to get closer to ''Mirny'', but then the weather worsened again. On January 21, participants of the expedition secondly observed "ice masses", the limits of which were not visible. One hundred four days passed from the departure from Rio, and living conditions were close to extreme. In the living deck and officer cabins, the stoves were heated daily (instead of heating pads, they used forcefully heated in fire cannonballs. However, the crew still had to clean condensation
Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapo ...
three times per day, which constantly accumulated. Due to constant wet snow and fog, the crew had difficulties with drying clothes and beds.
Since Arctic summer had not ended, it was decided to try once again to reach southern latitudes. On January 25, taking advantage of good weather and the lack of ice fields, Bellingshausen visited ''Mirny'' where he discussed with Lazarev further plans. Medical surgeon Galkin demonstrated stuffed by him seabirds that, following Bellinghausen's definition, "were quite good". On January 26, vessels moored to a giant table-shaped iceberg up to 200 feet height (around 60 meters), and saw large herds of sperm whale
The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...
s. The report from February 5 stated the following:
On February 5–6, at a point of 69°6'24" south latitude and 15°51'45" west longitude, the expedition reached the edge of "rocky mountain ice". Floating ice resembled those in the freezing bays of the Northern Hemisphere, the surface of the sea was covered with Grease ice
Grease ice is a very thin, soupy layer of frazil crystals clumped together, which makes the ocean surface resemble an oil slick. Grease ice is the second stage in the formation of solid sea ice after ice floes and then frazil ice.
New sea ice ...
. Even though February on the Southern Pole is considered as a summer month, thermometer recordings showed the temperature in −4 °R (−5 °C). Bellingshausen consulted with Lazarev and concluded that firewood stocks on both sloops are decreasing, and soon the crew would have to cut water and wine barrels. Nevertheless, it was decided to proceed further. To cheer the crew, during the last three days of , cooks baked pancakes, made out of rice flour. Besides a glass of punch, the crew was allowed to get a pint of beer made out of English concentrate "for those who do not know, cheerful spirit and pleasure strengthen health; on the contrary, boredom and dullness cause laziness and untidiness that lead to scurvy".
On February 14, Bellingshausen wrote in his journal coordinates 69°59' south latitude, and 37°38' western longitude:
Thus, for the third time the expedition came close to the edge of ice continent (Enderby Land
Enderby Land is a projecting landmass of Antarctica. Its shore extends from Shinnan Glacier at about to William Scoresby Bay at , approximately of the earth's longitude. It was first documented in western and eastern literature in February 18 ...
). On February 14, the route of the Russian expedition crossed with Cook's route that navigator followed in 1775. At that time there was a strong fog and a squall, the sloops got into ice fields while sails and instruments got frozen. This presented a large danger. On February 26 due to storms and ice fields, ship steering on ''Vostok'' was almost impossible, and any attempt of repair works failed.
By that time, shop gear and masts got damaged; while the health conditions of private soldiers were also unsatisfactory. On February 21, sailor Fedor Istomin died on ''Mirny''. According to doctor Galkin, he died of Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over severa ...
, though the Bellingshausen's report states that it was just a "nervous fever". On March 3, expedition participants observed significant noctilucent clouds: "On the south we first observed two white-blue pillars, looking as fosforic fire that went out of clouds at a speed of rockets; every pillar was three sun diameter width. Thus this shining took that amazed us expanded on the horizon for almost 120°, passing zenith. Finally, closer to the end of the phenomenon, the whole sky was covered with such pillars. On March 4, we observed a different picture: "all-sky, from the horizon at 12 or 15°, was covered with rainbow colored strips that as fast as a flash of lightning ran from south to north, and changed its color constantly"; this phenomenon allowed the crews to get away from a collision with iceberg. Sailors on ''Mirny'' even claimed that the "sky is on fire". On March 4, Mikhailov depicted the biggest icebergs that they met during the travel, the height of which reached 408 pounds (122 meters), that even exceeded the height of the [Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. This day it was decided that the sloops would part: ''Vostok'' will travel directly to Sidney, while ''Mirny'' would explore vast territory to the South of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). Since there were more people on ''Vostok'' than on ''Mirny'', for the period of Great Lent, Bellingshausen transferred to his board a priest who would have to return to Lazarev in Australia. As a result, the vessel lost topsails and staysails
A staysail ("stays'l") is a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward (and most often but not always downwards) from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit, or to another mast.
Description
Most staysails are t ...
. Sailor hammocks were put on shrouds to perform a function of storm sails. Besides, the ship was carried into cohesive ice fields. Further, the waves leveled upwind hooks, water backstay, and krambal backstay on bowsprit
The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay
A bobstay is a part of the rigging of a sailing boat or ship. Its purpose is to counteract the upward tensio ...
. The crew put a great effort to save the mast from collapse. At night, it was "very unpleasant to see the movement of parts of the sloop, and listen to its cracking". At 3 am on March 10 ''Vostok'' passed destroying iceberg by a miracle. The weather was so bad that on March 11 it was impossible to control the vessel, and the ship just followed the wind, and wet snow made it impossible to make any outdoor repairs. Only by midnight on March 12, the weather got a bit better, and on March 13 the crew saw its last iceberg on the way to Australia.
Sailing to Australia and Oceania (March–November 1820)
First arrival in Australia
Squalls continued until arrival in thePort Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman S ...
. On March 19, martin-geek was knocked down, and the sloop "Vostok" experienced both ship rolling and keel pitching which got stronger on March 21. Bellingshausen defined it as "horrible". At this day at 10 am the sloop laid on its side, and while saving the priest, navigator Poryadin broke his head of the wooden partition. Thanks to the skills of doctor Berg, he fully recovered in Australia. On March 24, sailors at 47° south latitude saw Tasmania], and on 27th – on the eve of Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...
– Australia that was at 37° longitude. The temperature increased to 13 °R (16,2 °C), and this made it possible to dry all sails and open all hatches. For the Easter Vigil, the whole crew was wearing ceremonial summer uniform. People fasted with Kuliches. At 8 pm, the vessels crossed the Botany Bay
Botany Bay ( Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...
. A day later, the "Vostok" anchored in Port Jackson. By the time vessel arrived in Sydney, only two sailors had shown signs of scurvy. Head physician Berg treated them with a decoction of pine cones, while Bellingshausen gave them half of the glass (29 millilitres) of lemon juice per day. Pigs and rams also suffered from the scurvy; when they were released ashore they could not eat fresh grass. Antarctic sailing lasted for 130 days, staying in Sydney – 40.
The first time when Bellingshausen met with the governor of Macquarie Lachlan Macquarie
Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, an ...
was on March 27. The captain could read English, but barely understood oral speech; thus, lieutenant Demidoff served as a translator. Macquarie mentioned Bellingshausen in his diary on April 11 (March 29 according to Julian calendar) as a "commander of the union of two ships that were sent to discover the south pole". Before that, on April 7, the expedition went to Macquarie Lighthouse
The Macquarie Lighthouse, also known as South Head Upper Light, is the first, and is the longest serving, lighthouse site in Australia. It is located on Dunbar Head, on Old South Head Road, Vaucluse in the Municipality of Woollahra local gover ...
– a new lighthouse that in the colony was considered almost like a world miracle. After "Mirny"'s arrival on 7 (19) April, captain-lieutenant Zavadovsky became the chief interpreter for Bellingshausen. Previously, Zavadovsky served with him on the Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
. Lazarev, who served in the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
of Great Britain, also facilitated successful negotiations. Macquarie himself visited Russia in 1807 and was even able to recall a few Russian words. The governor provided a free supply of water, firewood and business wood, and also provided them with a place in Sydney harbour where the crew could set transit instruments ().
Simonov' assistants were two sub-navigators and a non-commissioned artillery officer. They also opened a bathhouse on the shore, which officers and sailors willingly used. According to Barratt, "it was the first sauna
A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...
in Australia". First contacts with Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
were also quite successful – the crew contacted Cammeraygal
The Cammeraygal, variously spelled as Cam-mer-ray-gal, Gamaraigal, Kameraigal, Cameragal and several other variations, are one clan of the 29 Darug tribes who are united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and survived as skilled hunt ...
and its leader Bungari. On April 13, "Mirny" after unloading, was run aground, and the damage caused by Antarctic ice was repaired in three days. Russian sailors were impressed with courtesy and diligence of the merchant Robert Campbell and his colleagues.
Before that, in February 1820, the sloops "Otkrytie" and "Blagonamerennyi" also went to Australia, and by thus their commanders flagrantly violated the rules set by the "Admiralty" – they did not prepare an interim report on the first season of the expedition, which should have been transmitted to St. Petersburg. Bellingshausen sent the report on the second day after the arrival of "Mirny", but, due to several circumstances, mail to London was only sent on September 9 – 12 days before Bellingshausen's second arrival in Australia. As a result of all the difficulties, in the journal of the Ministry of the Sea Forces, Bellingshausen's report was registered only on April 21, 1821. Staying in Sydney was overshadowed with a victim in one of the last days – on May 2 (14) during repairs of the "Vostok" main mast, locksmith Matvey Gubin (who was called as "Gubin" in the captain's report) fell from the height of 14 meters, and after nine days died at sea from the injuries. On May 7, the expedition left Sidney, heading towards Society Islands
The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...
.
Researching New Zealand and Tuamotus
In the open sea, the crew found out that one sailor from "Vostok" and few from "Mirny" caught up a sexually transmitted disease in Port Jackson. This type of diseases was especially widespread in Australia which was at that time a place where convicts were sent from Britain. Vessels did not escape may storms, and the crew got used to pitchings and winds. However, the calm that suddenly established at 8 pm on May 19 provoked a strong lateral pitching, because of which "Vostok" scooped up so much water from the scavut netting that the water level in hold increased from 13 to 26 inches. Also, the stream of water in the mess crushed lieutenant Zavodskoy. Scattered gun cores that rolled from side to side made it difficult to repair the damage. Pitching continued for the next day as well. On May 24 at 7 am, travellers reachedNew Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
and anchored in the Queen Charlotte Sound to make contacts with Māori people
The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over severa ...
. Bellingshausen used Cook' maps and descriptions. Historian Barratt named the following events as "comparative ethnography session". These ethnographic observations turned out to be extremely important since the places that Russian sailors had visited were connection points between tribes of North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...
and South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
. In 1828 colonizers destroyed hapū
In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...
notes, and Mikhailov' depictions became historical sources of paramount importance.
The expedition left New Zealand on June 3. Since this time of the year corresponded to December of the Northern Hemisphere, by June 5 the sloops got to the epicentre of a strong squall with rains and hails, which calmed down only by June 9. Using ship forest that was made while the crew visited Māori people, on June 17, the crew started to repair ships in the open sea. They sewn up the sails, reduced the main yard on "Vostok" for 6 feet, set high coaming
Coaming is any vertical surface on a ship designed to deflect or prevent entry of water. It usually consists of a raised section of deck plating around an opening, such as a cargo hatch. Coamings also provide a frame onto which to fit a hatch cove ...
s on hatches, and etcetera.
On June 29, the expedition reached Rapa Iti
Rapa, also called Rapa Iti, or "Little Rapa", to distinguish it from Easter Island, whose Polynesian name is Rapa Nui, is the largest and only inhabited island of the Bass Islands in French Polynesia. An older name for the island is Oparo. The ...
. On July 5, the crew saw on the horizon Hao island that was also familiar to Cook. On July 8, Russians discovered Amanu. During their attempt to land, Bellingshausen, Mikhailov, Demidoff, Lazarev, Galkin, Novosilsky, and Annenkov, were attacked by locals who were quite hostile towards the foreigners. Overall, more than 60 warriors hindered the landing on the northern coast.
On July 10, the sloops reached Fangatau, on July 12 they discovered Takume and Raroia, on July 14 – Taenga, on July 15 – Makemo and Katiu
Katiu, or Taungataki, is an atoll of the central Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located west of Makemo Atoll's westernmost point. It measures in length with a maximum width of . Its total area, including the lagoon is and a l ...
, on July 16 – Tahanea
Tahanea Atoll is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located to the east of Faaite Atoll.
Tahanea Atoll measures in length with a maximum width of . The southern reef fringing the atoll is wider than the northern on ...
and Faaite
Faaite, or Faaiti is an atoll of the Tuamotus in French Polynesia. It is located to the north of Anaa Atoll. The total surface of the atoll is Its dry land area is . Its length is and its width . The total population is 401 inhabitants.
...
, on July 17 – Fakarava, on July 18 – Niau. Locals were hostile almost everywhere; thus Bellingshausen actively used artillery and salutes from coloured rockets launched at night, believing that fear would be the best guarantee against attacks. One of the few exceptions was Nihiru
Nihiru, or Nikia, is one of the Tuamotu atolls in French Polynesia. It is a relatively small atoll located 49 km to the east of Makemo Atoll and 30 km northeast of Marutea Atoll.
Nihiru Atoll is roughly triangular in shape. It measure ...
island that was first described on July 13. Islanders came close to ships on canoe and suggested pearl
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...
and fishing hooks, cut out of seashells. The eldest of locals was fed with dinner at the officers' table, was put in red hussar uniform, and given silver medal with the image of Alexander I on it. Bellingshausen asked native rower to bring a young woman on board, whom they gave earrings, mirror, and a piece of red cloth to which she immediately wrapped, while her clothes were left for ethnographic collection. Officers were surprised that woman hesitated while changing clothes since it directly contradicted European descriptions of Polynesian manners. Academic Mikhailov depicted the islanders against the backdrop of the coastal landscape, and at 4 pm they were returned to shore. The local climate was heavy: Bellingshausen noted that in the battery deck where the crew slept, the temperature increased to 28 °R (35 °C). However, the heat did not depress the crew. A number of discovered islands were proposed to be named as Russian islands. Barrett stated that at that time this decision was justified since Kotzebue described most of the islands while Bellingshausen and Lazarev systemized his discoveries. However, on an international level, Russian names have not been fixed, one of the reasons for that was the fact that the islands were part of a large archipelago Tuamato. On modern Western maps from those Russian names and surnames, only Raeffsky Islands
The Raeffsky Islands or Raevski Islands (french: Îles Raéffsky or ''Îles Raevski'') is a subgroup with just over 3000 people in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. They are located roughly in the central area of the main Tuamotu atoll clus ...
remained.
Bellingshausen and coral islands formation
In his commentaries to the English translation of the Bellingshausen's book,Frank Debenham
Frank Debenham, OBE (26 December 1883 – 23 November 1965) was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography, Cambridge University and first director of the Scott Polar Research Institute.
Biography
Debenham was born in B ...
mentioned that he was surprised that Russian sailor was able to ask and solve hard scientific questions. Long before Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
, he explained the process of coral island
A coral island is a type of island formed from coral detritus and associated organic material. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas, typically as part of a coral reef which has grown to cover a far larger area under the sea.
Ecosystem
...
s formation. He based his knowledge on Kotzebue' works, and his observations. Bellingshausen thought that all Pacific islands were peaks of seamounts, which edged with surrounded with coral reefs – a product of the slow creative activity of the smallest organisms. A typical example was island Niau:
Bellingshausen correctly explained a paradox that was noted by German naturalist Georg Forster
Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold ...
– a scarcity of Leeward islands
french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent
, image_name =
, image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis.
, image_alt =
, locator_map =
, location = Caribbean Sea North Atlantic Ocean
, co ...
near Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...
. He claimed that the reason for that could be a great depth (according to contemporary measurements – about 11000 meters), and lack of knowledge of coral growth conditions. Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz
Johann Friedrich Gustav von Eschscholtz (1 November 1793 – 7 May 1831)Sterling (1997) was a Baltic German physician, naturalist, and entomologist. He was one of the earliest scientific explorers of the Pacific region, making significant colle ...
, Adelbert von Chamisso
Adelbert von Chamisso (; 30 January 178121 August 1838) was a German poet and botanist, author of ''Peter Schlemihl'', a famous story about a man who sold his shadow. He was commonly known in French as Adelbert de Chamisso (or Chamissot) de Bonc ...
and Darwin agreed on Bellingshausen’ conclusions.
Tahiti
On July 20, the expedition reached Makatea
Makatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae, is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus, which is a part of the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia. It is located southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser gro ...
, and in two days vessels anchored in Tahiti. Barratt paid attention to the fact that Russians arrived on the island that, thanks to the activities of missionaries, was quite different from descriptions made by Foster or Louis Antoine de Bougainville
Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (, , ; 12 November 1729 – August 1811) was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he took part in the Seven Years' War in North America and the American Revolutio ...
. Bellingshausen understood how fragile local culture is. For example, in New Zealand, he described how potato farming had changed the diet and behaviour of local people, still following the ancient way of life. On Tahiti, Bellingshausen and his companions had to first endear participants of the British mission – subordinates of reverend Henry Nott, and only then make contacts with aborigens.
"Vostok" and "Mirny" anchored in the Matavai Bay, at the same place where the ship of Samuel Wallis had anchored. Russian ships got visited by hundreds of people, however, from all these new contacts, the most useful was New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
native Williams, who began to serve as Lazarev's interpreter. They also found an interpreter for "Vostok". Soon missionary Nott also visited the vessels, whom Bellingshausen defined as a royal messenger. Later, Bellingshausen and Simonov witnessed arguments between Pōmare II and the head of missionaries. For instance, when the king was prohibited from consuming alcohol (from which he died in 18 months after Russians' visit), or when he had to slam the door in front of the missionary's nose to remain alone with the captain (July 23). Most often, however, it was Nott who mediated between Pōmare II and Bellingshausen and Lazarev; it was the missionary who allocated Point Venus for Simonov' observations and Mikhailov' drawings. Bellingshausen who was a sincere monarchist and who did not have an opportunity to get into much details on how Polynesian society functioned, thought that the king was the leader of the island, and negotiated with him on the supply of sloops and other things. At the day of the arrival on July 22, Russians received a gift of four pigs, coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...
s, taro
Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afri ...
, yams, and many bananas, planed and mountainous. The gift was beneficial because of the depletion of Australian supplies. On July 26, procurement was carried out by exchanging goods and trinkets intended for this purpose by the Admiralty Department. The crew bought 10 barrels of lemons for each sloop and salted them instead of cabbage. The king got red cloth, woollen blankets, coloured chintz and shawls, mirrors, axes, glassware, and so on. He also received a medal with the profile of the Russian emperor. King granted Bellingshausen three pearls that were "slightly larger than peas". For the royal white robes, the captain donated several of his sheets. Despite the short stay, time in Tahiti fully cured several scurvy patients who had not fully recovered in Australia.
On July 27, travellers left Tahiti and on July 30 reached Tikehau
Tikehau (meaning ''Peaceful Landing'' in TuamotuanOfficial Tikehau Tourism Site< ...
correcting Kotzebue' navigation mistakes on their way. At the same day they discovered Mataiva, on August 3 – Vostok Island
Vostok Island is an uninhabited coral island in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the Line Islands belonging to Kiribati. Other names for the island include Anne Island, Bostock Island, Leavitts Island, Reaper Island, Wostock Island or Wostok ...
, on August 8 – Rakahanga
Rakahanga is part of the Cook Islands, situated in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. The unspoilt atoll is from the Cook Islands' capital, Rarotonga, and lies south of the equator. Its nearest neighbour is Manihiki which is just away. Raka ...
, after which the expedition headed towards Port Jackson. On August 16, vessels passed Vavaʻu
Vavau is an island group, consisting of one large island ( ʻUtu Vavaʻu) and 40 smaller ones, in Tonga. It is part of Vavaʻu District, which includes several other individual islands. According to tradition, the Maui god created both Tongata ...
. On August 19, they put on the map two small coral islands of Mikhailov and Simonov (21° south latitude, 178° longitude) in Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...
archipelago. On August 30, Filimon Bykov (in the report – "Filipp Blokov") who served as a sailor on "Vostok", fell from the bowsprit to the sea at the Emperor's name day. To save him, the crew launched the boat under the command of Lieutenant Annenkov; however, swell was too strong, and Bykov could not be found. The report of the Minister of the Sea Forces de Traversay indicated that there was a strong storm that day.
Second stay in Australia
On September 10, the sloops anchored in Port Jackson. The second stay in Sydney lasted until the end of October since "Vostok" required a serious corpus repair was needed – in particular, strengthening steps of the masts. Generally, the crew felt that they came back to "native places", that was especially important for young travellers, such as Simonov or Novosilsky. Officers were more involved in the social life of the colony; they were regularly invited to dinner parties, dinners or balls. In his notes, Simonov described one of such balls where he talked to a wife of local English authority. One of the topics that they discussed was a beauty ofKazan Tatars
The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after ...
:
Then Bellingshausen started to systematically study social and economic aspects of life in New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
colony. Barratt noticed that Bellingshausen's lengthy and informative notes published in the "Dvukratnyh izyskanijah" were based on observations and extracts made by half a dozen of his subordinates. Collected statistic data, including market price order, has the importance of a primary source. There is some evidence that doctor Stein who measured atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, ...
and geodesist
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equival ...
Hockley shared information with Russian sailors and professor Simonov. Painter Mikhailov depicted landscapes and portraits of aborigines. From the scientific point of view, botanic observations were especially notable – "Herbarium" on "Vostok" included no less than 25 types of South Walles endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...
. The crew gave to governor Macquarie and captain of the harbour John Piper some saccharum officinarum
''Saccharum officinarum'' is a large, strong-growing species of grass in the genus '' Saccharum''. Its stout stalks are rich in sucrose, a simple sugar which accumulates in the stalk internodes. It originated in New Guinea, and is now cultivated ...
, sprouted coconuts and taro from Tahiti and Fiji islands, for plant breeding. In Australia, educated Russian officers were mostly attracted by its "exotic", which was not surprising, since they visited this place the first and the last time in their lives. For instance, the crew took 84 birds on board, first of all, parrots (including cockatoo
A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the orde ...
and loriinae
Loriinae is a subfamily of psittacine birds, one of the five subfamilies that make up the family Psittaculidae. It consists of three tribes, the lories and lorikeets ( Loriini), the budgerigar ( Melopsittacini) and the fig parrots ( Cyclopsittini ...
), they also had pet kangaroo
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...
. By October 30, all repair works on "Vostok" were finished, and the boarding of supplies was completed. The next day the observatory and the forge were lifted aboard. On the last day, the crew took aboard sheep and 46 pigs for a tough Antarctic raid. The outgoing Russian division was escorted by a royal salute from ships and coastal batteries.
Second season of the expedition (November 1820 – August 1821)
Secondary Antarctic investigation
On October 31, Russian expedition left Sydney and continued to study the Southern Ocean. For a new trip to polar waters, the crew redistributed the cargo on "Vostok" – the cannons were removed and lowered into the hold, leaving only carronades, the spare mast was stored in the lower deck, beams were strengthened with pillars, lashes were put near with the masts. As was in the first voyage, the main hatch in the mess was equipped with a vestibule to save heat; all hatches were upholstered with canvas, the main hatch was glazed,spars
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve, also known as the SPARS (SPARS was the acronym for "Semper Paratus—Always Ready"), was the women's branch of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. It was established by the United States ...
were shortened for yards
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly ...
. On November 7, officers decided on the following plan: heading towards Macquarie island, and in case if the sloops part, wait for each other nearby South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...
, or in Rio. If one of the sloops disappear – follow the instructions. On November 8, a leak opened on the board of "Vostok", which could not be localized and caulked until the end of the voyage.
On November 17, 1820, travellers reached Macquarie where they observed rookery of elephant seal
Elephant seals are very large, oceangoing earless seals in the genus ''Mirounga''. Both species, the northern elephant seal (''M. angustirostris'') and the southern elephant seal (''M. leonina''), were hunted to the brink of extinction for oi ...
s and penguins. In their reports, expedition participants mentioned parrots, wild cats, and temporary dugouts industrialists from Port Jackson. The crew treated sea hunters with dried bread with butter and grog. The expedition was on the island until November 19, because they were expecting the production of carcasses of a sea elephant with a head for stuffingа. On November 27, the expedition reached 60° south longitude (n the northern hemisphere under this latitude lays Petersburg), and the next day came across close-knit ice fields, because of which, the movement to the south had to be stopped. The ship turned east since the "Vostok" corpus was too weak. On November 29, they passed five big icebergs, after which they made some ice. On December 6, travellers celebrated the day of Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Dem ...
with a prayer. For that, they transferred a priest from "Mirny". After the frosts had started, the team brewed ginger tea with the addition of rum. For a holiday, cooks prepared shchi
Shchi ( rus, щи, p=ɕːi, a=Ru-щи.ogg) is a Russian-style cabbage soup. When sauerkraut is used instead, the soup is called sour shchi, while soups based on sorrel, spinach, nettle, and similar plants are called green shchi (russian: зел ...
from fresh pork with sour cabbage or salted lemons (to save some cabbage), and added sago
Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is c ...
. Raw meat was prepared once or twice per week and was served to sailors together with porridge. Also, on holidays, sailors received a glass of vodka and a half mug of beer diluted from the essence. "By these methods we were able to satisfy staff so much, that many of them forgot about their ailments". On December 12, vessels passed a giant iceberg; Bellingshausen calculated that water stored in it would be enough for world population for 22 years and 86 days if every of 845 million would use only one bucket per day. Despite continuing bad weather, the crew set up a prayer for Christmas. At that day, vessels collided with a piece of sharp ice that shattered the anchor and ripped out underwater copper sheets for three feet. According to the captain's estimates, the crew was saved by a miracle, since the blow occurred during swinging down pitching. Otherwise, the ship would inevitably receive a hole and would be flooded. However, it did not destroy the festive mood of the crew:
Further sailing was challenging due to stormy weather and large ice fields. On January 1, 1821, there was fog and rain. For the New Year celebration, the crew was granted with a glass of punch for the emperor's health. To "differentiate this day from any other days", Bellingshausen ordered to make coffee with rum, and this "unusual for sailors drink pleased them, and they spent the whole day until evening in a cheerful mood". A large stock of dry firewoods, taken on board in Australia, made the everyday life of the crew more or less tolerable: at zero air temperature in the living deck, thanks to the continuous use of stoves, it was maintained +11 °R (13,7 °C).
On January 10, the expedition discovered the Peter I Island
Peter I Island ( no, Peter I Øy) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Bellingshausen Sea, from continental Antarctica. It is claimed as a dependency of Norway and, along with Bouvet Island and Queen Maud Land, composes one of the three ...
named after founder of the Russian Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
. However, ice fields that surrounded the island hindered the sloops from coming closer; thus, the landing did not take place. On January 17, the expedition noticed a shore with a high mountain located at 68° south latitude, 75° longitude; which was later named as Alexander Island
Alexander Island, which is also known as Alexander I Island, Alexander I Land, Alexander Land, Alexander I Archipelago, and Zemlja Alexandra I, is the largest island of Antarctica. It lies in the Bellingshausen Sea west of Palmer Land, Antarc ...
. In contemporary Western historiography, there is a prevailing opinion that was the largest achievement of the Bellingshausen's expedition even though island character of the land was discovered only 100 years later. On January 24, sailors reached Nova Scotia (South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...
), about which they had only vague ideas. An actual question at that time was if Nova Scotia was a part of the Southern mainland, or it is one of the subantarctic islands. When the last was revealed, the first island was named Borodino (now it is called "Smith"). The next day on January 25, travellers discovered Small Yaroslavets (Snow) and Theil Island (Deception). There the crew met the vessel of captain Nathaniel Palmer
Nathaniel Brown Palmer (August 8, 1799June 21, 1877) was an American seal hunter, explorer, sailing captain, and ship designer. He gave his name to Palmer Land, Antarctica, which he explored in 1820 on his sloop ''Hero''. He was born in Stonin ...
who hunted fur seal
Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family '' Otariidae''. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears (pinnae), relatively l ...
s. Then they put on the map islands Smolensk
Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...
(Livingston), Berezin (Greenwich), Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
(Robert) and Nelson. The islands were named so to perpetuate the victories of Russian weapons in Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
. The expedition described the King George Island to which two lieutenants were landed – Leskov and Demidov. On January 29, while heading northeast, travellers discovered Three Brothers (now called "Espeland", "O'Brien" and "Edie"), and then even bigger islands of north-eastern archipelago: Gibbs Island, Elephant Island
Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...
, Cornwallis Island and Clarence Island.
On February 3, Bellingshausen ordered divisions to count the third day of the month two days in a row, since the expedition rounded the world. On February 4, around 9 am, a heavy squall had started. During the storm, "Vostok" came under 10 knots even under the ship reefs. Because of the pitching, a lot of water got to the sloop, and the crew had to pump it out of the hold. Fortunately, repair of pumps was finished just a day before the squall.
Bellingshausen and Palmer
On January 24 (February 5), 1821, on the South Shetland Islands, 42-year-old Bellingshausen met with 21-year old Nathaniel Palmer
Nathaniel Brown Palmer (August 8, 1799June 21, 1877) was an American seal hunter, explorer, sailing captain, and ship designer. He gave his name to Palmer Land, Antarctica, which he explored in 1820 on his sloop ''Hero''. He was born in Stonin ...
who was at that time the head of local industrial sealers. As it turned out to be in the 20th century, this meeting was fateful. As later Bulkeley noted, it was similar to a rendezvous of Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to ut ...
and Nicolas Baudin
Nicolas Thomas Baudin (; 17 February 1754 – 16 September 1803) was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer, most notable for his explorations in Australia and the southern Pacific.
Biography
Early career
Born a comm ...
. Since original diaries and travel journals of "Vostok" had not been preserved, Bellingshausen's own evidence of a meeting with Palmer is on the 14th sheet of the report. On January 24, the sloop was in the strait between the islands Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American customs ...
and Deception
Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...
. According to Bellingshausen's description, the conversation was about fur seals' fishing prospects and anchors of Theil Island: "the strait in which we saw eight anchored vessels, was closed from all winds, has a depth of seventeen fathoms, soil – liquid sludge; from the quality of this soil ships often drift even from two anchors. Two English and one American vessel got torn from anchors and wrecked". In his diary, Novosilsky especially emphasized that Bellingshausen and Palmer did not talk about anything else. In the original of "Dvukratnykh izyskanii" (1831), Palmer's second name was misspelt as "Palmor", which was presumably a consequence of literary editing. On the contrary, Palmer's original journal (and others' sealers) is stored at the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
. In later American descriptions of the second half of the 19th century, Palmer was mentioned as the discoverer of Antarctica, which was primarily based on his own memoirs of 1876. At the same time, a highly controversial question was the exchange of information between Bellingshausen and Palmer. Frank Debenham
Frank Debenham, OBE (26 December 1883 – 23 November 1965) was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography, Cambridge University and first director of the Scott Polar Research Institute.
Biography
Debenham was born in B ...
suggested that Bellingshausen found out about the existence of the Southern continent from Palmer, but did not fully understand him due to the lack of knowledge of English language. Then, American researchers cast doubt on Palmer's memoirs, since Bellingshausen had a legal agreement to research Southern continent, and could not help but try to verify the information received from the industrialist. Palmer was not a good cartographer or navigator, and his claims on the meeting on the Deception islands are refuted by the Bellingshausen's report card, on which there are no signs of caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
.
The second visit of Brazil
On February 8, 1821, the expedition headed toRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
. For the first time for the last three months, the crew was able to open all the hatches and to air all living decks and holds. Taken biological samples (Australian birds and penguins from Nova Scotia) got sick, many of them died. On February 11, birds were first carried out into the air. The next day, there was a strong downpour that allowed the crew to wash all sailor beds and collect more than 100 buckets of water for domestic use. On February 19, the last fur seal taken from Nova Scotia died; he had been living on the board for 23 days. On February 23, one of the Australian cockatoo that was released from the cage, fell off to the sea from the tackle. However, "Vostok" went with low speed and the crew was able to lower a pole to water, to which the cockatoo was able to clung. Eventually, on February 27, travellers anchored in the Guanabara Bay
Guanabara Bay ( pt, Baía de Guanabara, ) is an oceanic bay located in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói a ...
, where vice consul Petr Kilhen met them. He stated that the kingdom adopted Spanish Constitution of 1812
The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy ( es, link=no, Constitución Política de la Monarquía Española), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz ( es, link=no, Constitución de Cádiz) and as ''La Pepa'', was the first Constituti ...
, and the court was preparing for moving to Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
. Bellingshausen instructed vice-consul to find a merchant who would set a bracket for strengthening the corpus of the vessel. On February 28, the captain travelled to the plenipotentiary ambassador baron Diederik Tuyll van Serooskerken with a report. On March 1, officers visited American frigate that was returning from Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...
. Bellingshausen prohibited his crew to communicate with Americans since an epidemic raged on their board. On March 2, one of the spare roars in "Vostok" was given to Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
frigate "Adler" that got damaged while transiting; it even did not need any repairment. Only on March 21, the crew was able to obtain oak knits through the naval port of Rio. Since in the Bellingshausen's crew there were nine professional Russian carpenters, it was decided to carry out all works by themselves. All repairs were finished only by April 2. After the Easter celebration, on April 11, the captain organized a common dinner and entertainment for officers and the crew. It was carried out on the board of "Mirny":
On April 14, the English squadron with King Joao on board departed for Portugal; on April 18, Crown Princess Maria Isabel of Braganza
Maria Isabel of Braganza (Maria Isabel Francisca de Assis Antónia Carlota Joana Josefa Xavier de Paula Micaela Rafaela Isabel Gonzaga; 19 May 1797 – 26 December 1818) was an Infanta of Portugal who became Queen of Spain as the second wife of ...
granted Bellingshausen with an audience. During the meeting, the regent was given ethnographic samples from Oceania and birds of Australia; in return, the Russians received minerals and shells of Brazil. The captain complained that he and the scientists were never allowed to visit the city museum.
Visit to Portugal and return
All foreign emissaries were supposed to follow the Portugal king after he moves to Portugal. For this reason, Bellingshausen suggested Russian consul that he stays on "Vostok" and travels to Lisbon with them. Akinfiy Borodovitsyn and Dutch representative settled on "Mirny". On April 23 at 6 am, the sloops set sails and headed for Lisbon. The expedition crossed the equator in the opposite direction on May 7 at 6 pm. The next day the crew organized a festive dinner for which the Russian envoy Baron de Theil granted two rams and a bottle of wine per person from his supplies. On May 27, the vessels reached Sargasso Sea
The Sargasso Sea () is a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre. Unlike all other regions called seas, it has no land boundaries. It is distinguished from other parts of the Atlantic Ocean by its charac ...
, and crossed it in almost 10 days. On June 10, travellers noticed Santa Maria Island
Santa Maria () is an island in the eastern group of the Azores archipelago (south of the island of São Miguel) and the southernmost island in the Azores. The island is known for its white sand beaches, distinctive chimneys, and dry warm weath ...
, however, it was decided not to go ashore, but use the island's location for the course clarification. Vessels anchored in the mouth of the Tagus
The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to e ...
river on June 17. The next day, the expedition sent an officer to the Belém Tower to notify local officials that none of the crew members was infected. The captain found out that the royal squadron had not yet arrived in the city. Portugal Navy Minister and commander of the British frigate HMS Liffey Henry Duncan Henry Duncan may refer to:
* Henry Duncan (minister) (1774–1846), Scottish minister, geologist and social reformer; founder of the savings bank movement
* Henry Duncan (naval officer, born 1735) (1735–1814), Naval captain and Deputy Comptroller ...
visited the vessels. The royal squadron appeared on June 21, and until June 24, Bellingshausen prohibited the crew from going ashore due to local rallies in the city.
Just before the departure, baron de Theil delivered a lot of fresh greens and fruits, 15 kinds of cheese and grape wine for three days on the sloops. He also issued bonuses: to each non-commissioned officer ten thalers, and to ordinary soldiers – 5 thalers. Upon departure, the Minister was honoured following the maritime charter. On June 28 at 8 am, the sloops reached the open sea, heading directly to Russia. Bellingshausen took correspondence from captain Duncan to England. Later, the sloops were in a strip of northwest winds and were able to enter the English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
on July 6; there they were caught up by the frigate of captain Duncan, who departed three days later; Bellingshausen returned the letters to him since he did not intend to go to Britain. On July 17, the sloops anchored on the outer raid of Copenhagen waited until the morning, and on the morning bought some fresh beef and greens, and then moved on with a fair wind. On July 24, 1821, the expedition saluted Kronstadt, being absent for 751 days.
Emperor personally visited sloops in Kronstadt and spent several hours with the crew. Bellingshausen was granted with a rank of , with the 3rd-degree Order of Saint Vladimir
The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...
, pension in 1200 rubles, and rent in the Courland Governorate
The Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland, Governorate of Kurland (german: Kurländisches Gouvernement; russian: Курля́ндская губерния, translit=Kurljándskaja gubernija; lv, Kurzemes guberņa; lt, K ...
in the amount of 1000 silver roubles. Lazarev was promoted to captain of the 2nd rank. Also, the state kept to pay him a lifelong extra salary for the rank of lieutenant, in which he was during the expedition. Lieutenants on "Vostok" and "Mirny" were awarded the 4th-degree order of St. Vladimir, and midshipmen – with the 3rd-degree order of Saint Anna
The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...
. All expedition participants, including lower ranks, were assigned with a double salary for the duration of active service. A day spent in the expedition was counted for two, and lower ranks received 3 additional years of long and meritorious service. Hieromonk Dionysius received a double lieutenant salary and lifetime pension, which he did not have time to use – he died in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alex ...
on October 9, 1821. In January 1822, Ivan Ignatieff who served as a lieutenant on "Vostok", died because of mental illness that, according to Lazarev, had started during the expedition.
Results
Geographic discoveries
Bellingshausen concluded the description of his expedition with the following calculations:
In December 1819, Bellingshausen discovered south-western coast of the South Georgia Island
South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east ...
. The map of the island, placed on page 5 of the "Atlas to the journey", remained the best for over a century. Later the expedition discovered the Annenkov Island
Annenkov Island is to the west of the main island of South Georgia. The Pickersgill Islands are to its southeast. It is irregularly shaped and long and high, lying off the south-central coast of South Georgia.
History
The island was discov ...
. Some scientists conclude that James Cook had already found this island and named it "Pickersgill", but Bellingshausen did not know about it and renamed the land honouring lieutenant Annenkov. Bulkeley matched English and Russian maps and came to the conclusion that Bellingshausen had the description of the second Cook's voyage and found the island "Pickersgill" where it was already described. Thus, Annenkov Island remained unnoticed among the British. In January 1820, the expedition discovered Traversay Islands
The Traversay Islands ( es, Archipiélago Marqués de Traverse) are a group of three islands— Zavodovski, Leskov and Visokoi—at the northern end of the South Sandwich Islands.
History
The group was discovered in November 1819 by a Russian ...
, which had not been described before the Bellingshausen's expedition; thus, Russian authority in this area is indisputable. Sailors on "Mirny" and "Vostok" finished descriptions of the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song_type =
, song =
, image_map = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in United Kingdom.svg
, map_caption = Location of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Oc ...
which Cook observed only from the western side and suggested that they constituted a subarctic archipelago.
Research organization
According to historians, the small number of scientific personnel undoubtedly influenced the results and outcomes of the expedition. Bulkeley emphasized a big contrast with the that was conducted only four years before and was sponsored with private funds. The Kotzebue's crew included four scientists for whom an extended scientific program was prepared. If on "Rurik" oceanographic observations could be conducted for 318 days in a row, then Bellingshausen had to turn to oceanography and meteorology from case to case. Conducted data on magnetic declination
Magnetic declination, or magnetic variation, is the angle on the horizontal plane between magnetic north (the direction the north end of a magnetized compass needle points, corresponding to the direction of the Earth's magnetic field lines) an ...
was not processed and not included in the final report on the expedition; it was published only in 1840 by request of Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...
. Moreover, most of the time that was spent on scientific observations, Simonov dedicated to the time-consuming process of reconciling ship chronometers. 70 out of 155 pages of Simonov's scientific report were dedicated to these calculations, which constituted 40% out of the total volume. Chronometers reconciliation took place in Rio, during stays in Sydney and the Cook Strait
Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A ...
. Only during the second staying in Rio, the crew was able to measure 2320 lunar distances; besides, these data should still be processed before calculating the magnitude of the correction and the daily movement of the chronometer. Simonov conducted observations in the open sea as well: on October 29 and 30, and on November 1, 1819, 410 lunar distances were measured. On March 18, 1820, instrumental observation of lunar eclipse
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. Such alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of the Ear ...
was carried out.
According to Lev Mitin, Simonov also engaged in meteorology. Defining diurnal course of Atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, ...
in tropical latitudes, he did 4316 hourly measurements. During the expedition, water samples were taken from the depths using a primitive bathometer made by ship means; experiments were performed with lowering the bottle to a depth; water clearance was defined with lowering a white plate to a depth; where the lead allowed, the crew measured depths (presumably, until 500 meters); there was an attempt to measure depth water temperature; scientists studied the structure of sea ice and the freezing of water of different salinity; there was a first attempt to define compass magnetic deviation
Magnetic deviation is the error induced in a compass by ''local'' magnetic fields, which must be allowed for, along with magnetic declination, if accurate bearings are to be calculated. (More loosely, "magnetic deviation" is used by some to mea ...
at different directions. Magnetic measurements conducted by Simonov were published in 1830 by "". Carl Gauss paid attention to this article and later translated it to German. Through Krusenstern, Gauss in 1840 requested from Bellingshausen all data on magnetic declination that the crew conducted during the expedition. These materials allowed Gauss calculating the exact position of the South Magnetic Pole, which was later confirmed by the Ross expedition
The Ross expedition was a voyage of scientific exploration of the Antarctic in 1839 to 1843, led by James Clark Ross, with two unusually strong warships, HMS ''Erebus'' and HMS ''Terror''. It explored what is now called the Ross Sea and disc ...
.
Simonov also conducted observations of Antarctic ice shields; however, V. Koryakin did not appreciate his expertise in this field. On the one hand, astronomer suggested that "the South Pole is covered with harsh and an impenetrable crust of ice, whose thickness, judging by the elevation above the surface of the ocean, can extend to 300 fathoms, counting from the lowest level at the sea depth, to the peak." Indeed, the marginal, peripheral part of the Antarctic ice sheet has an approximate height of 600 meters. However, judging by notes from January–February 1820, "research qualities refused Simonov to interpret what he saw, and a variety of ice, which differed both in form and origin, remained for him only ice." Koryakin even suggested that to a certain extent, the absence of sky luminaries during the midnight sun
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...
influenced Simonov's perception of the world. Simonov conclusions contracted with observations of officers Bellingshausen, Lazarev, Novosilsky and sailor Kiselev. Novosilsky and Bellingshausen even suggested their own classifications of Antarctic ice shields. On the report card of the expedition, each type of ice was indicated by conventional signs.
Besides, Simonov conducted ethnographic observations. More than 37 items from Oceanian islands are stored in the ethnographic museum of the Kazan Federal University
Kazan (Volga region) Federal University (russian: Казанский (Приволжский) федеральный университет, tt-Cyrl, Казан (Идел буе) федераль университеты) is a public research uni ...
. The collection includes tools, weapons, household utensils, jewellery, as well as samples of tapa cloth
Tapa cloth (or simply ''tapa'') is a barkcloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Futuna, Solomon Islands, Java, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea an ...
and linen from Ono island and New Zealand.
In 1963 Belov noticed the discrepancy between the scale of the expedition's achievements and the number of publications that followed on its results. Agreeing with Belov, Bulkeley concluded that scientific work in the Bellingshausen's expedition was not well thought out, equipped and financed, which consequently influenced the lack of sufficient publications on its matter.
Historiography
Sources and historiography
By 1824, Bellingshausen finished his description of the expedition; ten pages manuscript was presented to the Admiralty department. After the coronation of Nicholas I of Russia
, house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp
, father = Paul I of Russia
, mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire
, death_date ...
, Bellingshausen submitted a request to allocate money for publishing 1200 samples of the book. However, his request was ignored. Only in 1827, newly established ( was the head of it) supported Bellingshausen's request to publish at least 600 samples. The aim was to make the works public and to prevent the situation "when Bellingshausen’ discoveries (new lands, islands, lakes, and etcetera) because of being unknown, would serve the honour of foreign navigators, not ours". At the time when the decision was made, Bellingshausen was participating in the Russo-Turkish war
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...
on the Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
. Those responsible for publishing, changed the text as they wanted; this led to harsh criticism from Lazarev. Publishing costs constituted 38052 rubles (approximately 4000 pound sterlings), and the profit from the books was supposed to be sent to Bellingshausen. Description of the journey (2 volumes with atlas of maps and samples) was published in 1831 under the title "The journey of captain Bellingshausen in the Southern Arctic Ocean and around the world in the continuation of 1819, 1820, and 1821"(russian: Двукратные изыскания в Южном Ледовитом океане и плавание вокруг света в продолжение 1819, 20 и 21 гг., совершенные на шлюпах «Востоке» и «Мирном» под начальством капитана Беллинсгаузена, командира шлюпа «Восток». Шлюпом «Мирным» начальствовал лейтенант Лазарев. This edition remains to be the primary source on the results of the first Russian Antarctic expedition because the original manuscript has not been preserved. The book had rapidly become a bibliographic rarity. For instance, August Heinrich Petermann
Augustus Heinrich Petermann (18 April 182225 September 1878) was a German cartographer.
Early years
Petermann was born in Bleicherode, Germany. When he was 14 years old he started grammar school in the nearby town of Nordhausen. His mother wa ...
in 1863 was able to find one doublet sample that was stored in the library of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia (21 September 1827 – 25 January 1892) was the Emperor's Viceroy of Poland from 1862 to 1863.
Early life
Konstantin Nikolayevich was born as the second son of Nicholas I and his wife, Charlotte ...
. Part of the official correspondence between Bellingshausen and Minister of the Sea Forces was published in 1821–1823 in journals " Syn otechestva" and "Zapiskah Admiraltejskogo departamenta".
Besides published and unpublished documents of Bellingshausen, important information is stored in the materials of expedition astronomer Simonov. Sent by the Kazan University, he was obliged to report about the expedition to . Part of the official correspondence and the Simonov's "Short report" (russian: Краткий отчёт) was published in 1822 by "Kazansky vestnik". During his scientific career, Simonov was constantly returning to his expedition materials; however, he never finished its full description for a wider audience – his text '"Vostok" and "Mirny"' breaks off on a second visit to Australia. Simonov based his story on the published text "Dvukratnye izyskanija", supplementing it with extracts from his correspondence and diary. In 1903, Simonov's son gave the Kazan University 300 travel notes and bounded letters of his father; however, the diary was lost. Only in 1990 specialists of the and the Kazan University published Simonov' materials on his participation in the expedition. The volume included his assembly speech of 1822 "A word on the sailing success of the sloops "Vostok" and "Murny" around the world and especially in the Southern Ocean in 1819, 1820, 1821 years" (russian: «Слово об успехах плавания шлюпов „Востока“ и „Мирный“ около света и особенно в Южном Ледовитом море в 1819, 1820 и 1821 годах») (it was first reprinted in 1949 along with Kiselev's diary), and also Simonov' notes ‘"Vostok" and "Mirny"' from the Manuscript Department of the Kazan University Science Library. The location of the Simonov's scientific report remains to be unknown. In the Manuscript Department of the Russian State Library there is a noteworthy diary called by its author "The monument belongs to the sailor of the 1st article Yegor Kisilev" (russian: «Памятник, принадлежит матрозу 1-й статьи Егору Кисилеву»). It was sold to one of the Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...
bouquinistes
The Bouquinistes of Paris, France, are booksellers of used and antiquarian books who ply their trade along large sections of the banks of the Seine: on the right bank from the Pont Marie to the Quai du Louvre, and on the left bank from the Quai ...
and got preserved by a miracle. The diary was published in 1949.
Atlas of the journey included 19 maps, 13 different types of islands, 2 ice islands, and 30 different drawings. In 1949, the original sketching album of Pavel Mikhailov was discovered in the collection of the State Historical Museum
The State Historical Museum ( Russian: Государственный исторический музей, ''Gosudarstvenny istoricheskiy muzyey'') of Russia is a museum of Russian history
The history of Russia begins with the histories of ...
. It consisted of 47 pages, where the author depicted types of islands, landscapes, portraits of local citizens. Taking into consideration that there was no naturalist on board, Mikhailov was trying his best to depict samples of flora and fauna, fixing each feather in birds or fish flakes. In 2012, the Russian Museum
The State Russian Museum (russian: Государственный Русский музей), formerly the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (russian: Русский Музей Императора Александра III), on ...
in Saint Petersburg published bilingual (Russian and English) edition of reproductions of 209 watercolours and drawings by Mikhailov that related to both the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev, and to the expedition of and Friedrich von Lütke that was aimed to discover the shores of the Bering Sea
The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Am ...
and the central part of the Pacific Ocean in 1826–1829. According to Bulkeley, who was the author of the first generic English-language research on Bellingshausen, the Russian Antarctic expedition was "in the information vacuum". Only in 1928 Yuly Shokalsky reanalyzed the report of the head of the expedition. The second edition of the "Dvukratnye izyskanija" was released only in 1949 edited by Evgeniy Sjvede; however, the volume was abbreviated; the 1960 edition was also abridged, but the nature of the exemptions was different. In 1963 Mikhail Belov first printed an expedition report card, consisting of 15 sheets. In the preface to this publication, it was stated that neither Bellingshausen's final report to the Ministry of the Sea Forces nor his initial report had ever been released. In 2014 Bulkeley noticed that without any particular reason, historiographic interest to the expedition had decreased. Generalized publications on the course and results of the expedition ceased to be issued, and Soviet and Western researchers focused on the private aspects of Russian visits to Australia and the Oceanian islands. In 1988–1992 Barratt (University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thr ...
) published a 4-volume monograph "'Russia and the South Pacific, 1696–1840".
The first time "Dvukratnye izyskanija" was translated to English in 1945 by famous British polar explorer Frank Debenham
Frank Debenham, OBE (26 December 1883 – 23 November 1965) was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography, Cambridge University and first director of the Scott Polar Research Institute.
Biography
Debenham was born in B ...
and was published in two volumes at the Hakluyt Society
The Hakluyt Society is a text publication society, founded in 1846 and based in London, England, which publishes scholarly editions of primary records of historic voyages, travels and other geographical material. In addition to its publishing r ...
publishing house. In 2010, a facsimile
A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of ...
edition was released. In 2008, the publishing house "" published a series of sources on the Russian Antarctic expedition. Besides the Bellingshausen's "Dvukratnye izyskanija", summary publication included Lazarev's letter addressed to N. Shestakov, diary of sailor Kiselev, abridged Simonov' notes and his "Word on success" (russian: «Слово об успехах»), and also "From the notes of marine officer" (russian: «Из записок морского офицера») by Novosilsky. Bulkeley published a review on this summary where he criticized its concept – it was only a repetition of Soviet publications and did not have any new critical standpoint. Bulkeley also pointed out many limitations of the publication, such as lack of Bellingshausen and Lazarev' biographies, summary map of the expedition, recount of dates following the Julian calendar, and obsolete measures, scientific bibliography, and other things). Thus, even in the 21st century, there is no published contemporary scientific volume with primary sources on the Bellingshausen and Lazarev expedition.
Interpretation of sources
Overall, there are six different descriptions of the journey and the most important discoveries, the authors of which were expedition participants and eyewitnesses of the events. For a long time, report that was sent in 1820 by Bellingshausen to Traversay from Australia, Lazarev's private letter that was written two months after the return to the homeland, and diary of sailor Kiselev which was filled with substantial breaks, remained in the status of manuscripts. The Simonov's journal of observations that depicted the events from 11 (23) December 1819 to March 25 (April 6) 1820, was promptly published – in terms of details, his later revised descriptions cannot be compared with. With a considerable delay, Bellingshausen's book was published. Novosilsky's description of the expedition came out 32 years after its completion. According to Bulkeley, none of the published works could be considered as reliable enough for restoring the expedition dating. For example, Kiselev's diary states that collision between "Mirny" and iceberg happened a week later than in the notes of Lazarev and Bellingshausen. Presumably, sailor filled his diary with a delay which is quite acceptable, taking into consideration the living and working conditions of the ordinary members of the expedition. If one takes into consideration descriptions of the events of January 1820, then out of six sources, only four are consistent. However, judging by the Lazarev's diary, observation of the main ice happened twenty days earlier than Bellingshausen, and Novosilsky noted. At the same time, there is a highly remarkable mistake in Lazarev's letter. He claimed that during the first expedition season there was no single loss, while three people died during the third and the last season. According to the official report on the personnel of the expedition that was compiled after the crew returned to Kronstadt, one sailor died from the disease on 9 (21) February 1820, while two others died on "Vostok" on 11 (23) May and 20 August (11 September) 1820. Lazarev also wrote about navigation mistakes made by Kotzebue, while contemporary coordinate measurements confirm data of Kotzebue and Bellingshausen. The same author was also inclined to speak vaguely about the time of certain events. In general, Lazarev' notes cannot be considered as a completely reliable source.
For both Russian and foreign scientists, one of the most challenging terms for interpretation is the phrase "materyi led" or "hard ice" (russian: матёрой лёд) that was used by Lazarev and Bellingshausen in their descriptions. In the post-1949 Soviet literature, the term was interpreted as "ice continent". Moreover, in his report to Traversay from Australia in April 1820, Bellingshausen used the term "materik l'da " or "continent of ice" (russian: континент льда). Tammiksaar argued that if navigators observed the ice shelf, they would not be able to understand and compare it with anything, since James Cook never faced with similar phenomena during his Antarctic expedition, while actual south polar glaciers were very different from the speculative hypothesis of Georges-Louis Buffon with which both Bellingshausen and Simonov were familiar with. Made by Bellingshausen ice descriptions, could be hardly adequately understood by his contemporaries. According to Koryakin, many of the passages from the report that Bellingshausen sent to Traversay, were much more understandable than texts from the 1831 edition that was subjected to literary editing. In the 1842 German version of the expedition description, interpreter skipped all descriptions of ice conditions, while in the English translation of 1915 phrase "materyi led" was translated as ''high icebergs'' or ''mother-icebergs'', in contrast to the terms of Wilkes (''verge of continental ice'') or Ross (''ice barrier''). In his book, Bulkeley used the notion of "main ice" that was first introduced by John Ross and going back to Buffon's and Scoresby 's terminology. Bulkeley also argued that Simonov knew about Buffon's hypothesis, however, while sailing in the Antarctic waters, he was not interested in ice. After comparing Simonov' conclusions with statements of other officers and even sailors, Tammiksaar questioned the actual status of the astronomer in the expedition. Perhaps, officers never accepted him to their circle, and he did not have a right to vote during general discussions in the mess. Consequently, his own ideas did not find the response from other members of the expedition. According to Tammiksaar, neither Bellingshausen nor Lazarev and Novosilsky used the term "mainland" for referring to the continent but rather used it for emphasizing an indefinitely large area covered by ice; including ice mountains.
Question of priority in the discovery of Antarctica
Before 1948
Even though there were published expedition description by Bellingshausen and reports in German newspapers, the question of Russian priority in the discovery of Antarctica had not been raised until the first third of the 20th century. Only Novosilsky, when elected as a member of the Russian Geographical Society
The Russian Geographical Society (russian: Ру́сское географи́ческое о́бщество «РГО»), or RGO, is a learned society based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It promotes geography, exploration and nature protection wi ...
in 1855, claimed Russian priority in the discovery of Antarctica. That caused a sharp criticism from the president of the Society Friedrich von Lütke who emphasized that the expedition had no scientists, and after all European discoveries, scientific interest to Bellingshausen's legacy had decreased. Russian oceanographer Yuly Shokalsky shared the same view: that Bellingshausen's expedition did not lead to the discovery of Antarctica, and was not a stimulus for understanding this it as a continent.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the first Russian Antarctic expedition was almost forgotten. After returning from the Belgian Antarctic Expedition
The Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899 was the first expedition to winter in the Antarctic region. Led by Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery aboard the RV ''Belgica'', it was the first Belgian Antarctic expedition and is considered the firs ...
, navigator Frederick Cook
Frederick Albert Cook (June 10, 1865 – August 5, 1940) was an American explorer, physician, and ethnographer who claimed to have reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908. That was nearly a year before Robert Peary, who similarly clai ...
made one of the first attempts to revive the memory of the Bellingshausen's voyage. In his article that was released in 1901, American navigator mentioned that "Bellingshausen and Lazarev honoured their country with first discoveries beyond the Antarctic Circle". However, at that time the Southern continent was not commercially attractive, thus, the question of priority remained to be discussed only in the academic circles. First publications on Antarctica appeared in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
during the time of "Great Purge
The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secreta ...
", thus even high ranked polar explorers such as Nikolay Urvantsev preferred to concentrate on describing Soviet success in the Antarctic. In the preface to the first edition of the book by Douglas Mawson
Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader duri ...
"V strane purgi" (Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route
The Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route (russian: Главное Управление Северного Морского Пути , translit=Glavnoe upravlenie Severnogo morskogo puti), also known as Glavsevmorput or GUSMP (russian: ГУ ...
publishing house, 1936) it was stated that the discovery of Antarctica was made by Jules Dumont d'Urville
Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville (; 23 May 1790 – 8 May 1842) was a French explorer and naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. As a botanist and cartographer, he gave his nam ...
, James Clark Ross
Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and polar explorer known for his explorations of the Arctic, participating in two expeditions led by his uncle John Ross, and four led by William Edwa ...
, and Charles Wilkes
Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842).
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), he commanded ' during the ...
, while Bellingshausen and Lazarev only got to the polar waters.
From the other hand, in the 1920s Great Britain and the USA began striving to prove their priority in the discovery of Antarctica. According to Tammiksaar, for Britain, with its imperial status, it was impossible not to be considered as a power that discovered the continent (Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
discovered America, and the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
– Australia). In the 1900-1910s, British did the most to study inland Antarctic areas. Charles Wilkes also declared himself the discoverer of the Southern continent, which was contested and criticized by Dumont d'Urville and Ross. In 1902, the version was published that Nathaniel Palmer
Nathaniel Brown Palmer (August 8, 1799June 21, 1877) was an American seal hunter, explorer, sailing captain, and ship designer. He gave his name to Palmer Land, Antarctica, which he explored in 1820 on his sloop ''Hero''. He was born in Stonin ...
could be the first who saw the Antarctic shores on November 17, 1820. In 1925, there was an attempt to assign the discovery of Antarctica to Edward Bransfield
Edward Bransfield (c. 1785 – 31 October 1852) was an Irish sailor who became an officer in the British Royal Navy, serving as a master on several ships, after being impressed into service in Ireland at the age of 18. He is noted for his par ...
. During Americo-British discussions in the 1920-1930s, there were no question raised regarding the role of Russians. At the same time, when Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen
Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen (7 June 1890 – 3 June 1965) was a Norwegian aviation pioneer, military officer, polar explorer and businessman. Among his achievements, he is generally regarded a founder of the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
Background
Ri ...
in 1830 discovered the Princess Martha Coast that was initially described by Bellingshausen and Lazarev, nobody remembered about the expedition.
After 1948
On August 9, 1948, discussion regarding the role of Russia in the discovery of Antarctica moved to a political dimension. At that day the USA officially urged countries that pretended on Antarctic territories (Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
, Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
and Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
) to unite and create a condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
of eight powers. Soviet interests were not taken into consideration. On January 29, 1949, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee direct ...
decided to attract international attention to the Soviet claims to Antarctic territories. On February 10, 1949, Russian Geographical Society
The Russian Geographical Society (russian: Ру́сское географи́ческое о́бщество «РГО»), or RGO, is a learned society based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It promotes geography, exploration and nature protection wi ...
held a meeting where the president of the Society Lev Berg
Lev Semyonovich Berg, also known as Leo S. Berg (russian: Лев Семёнович Берг; 14 March 1876 – 24 December 1950) was a leading Russian geographer, biologist and ichthyologist who served as President of the Soviet Geographical S ...
read the report. The following resolution, based on his speech, was very discreet. It stated that Russian sailors just "discovered in 1821 the Peter I Island
Peter I Island ( no, Peter I Øy) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Bellingshausen Sea, from continental Antarctica. It is claimed as a dependency of Norway and, along with Bouvet Island and Queen Maud Land, composes one of the three ...
, Alexander Island
Alexander Island, which is also known as Alexander I Island, Alexander I Land, Alexander Land, Alexander I Archipelago, and Zemlja Alexandra I, is the largest island of Antarctica. It lies in the Bellingshausen Sea west of Palmer Land, Antarc ...
, Traversay Islands
The Traversay Islands ( es, Archipiélago Marqués de Traverse) are a group of three islands— Zavodovski, Leskov and Visokoi—at the northern end of the South Sandwich Islands.
History
The group was discovered in November 1819 by a Russian ...
, and others". Thus, the question was raised regarding the Soviet development of Antarctica and scientific research on the discovery of the Ice Continent.
Extended English translation of Bellingshausen's description of the expedition was published in 1946 and edited by Frank Debenham
Frank Debenham, OBE (26 December 1883 – 23 November 1965) was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography, Cambridge University and first director of the Scott Polar Research Institute.
Biography
Debenham was born in B ...
– the director of the Scott Polar Research Institute
The Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south ...
. Starting from the 1920s, Debenham was investigating the Russian impact on the discovery of Antarctica. The scientist took an objective position and very highly praised the qualities of Russian officers in observing and researching. According to Tammiksaar, because of Debenham' editorial notes, Soviet researchers were able to investigate Bellingshausen' discoveries more thoroughly. Commenting on the notes of January 16 (28) 1820, Debenham mentioned that "this day can be counted as unsuccessful for the expedition" because the vessels were no further than 20 miles from the Princess Martha's coast. Few hours of good weather could have led to its discovery 110 years earlier than was done by Norwegians.
In 1947, Evgeniy Sjvede published a review on the book translation, and later it played a large role in the Soviet discussions of 1949. Sjvede and Berg emphasized James Cook' claims on the impossibility of reaching the extreme southern latitudes, and that the hypothetical Southern continent will never be discovered. The preface to "Dvukratnykh izyskanii" that was published in 1949 contained overt political accusations. Sjvede also referred to the observations made by Soviet whale hunters on flotilla “”, matching them with notes by Bellingshausen, Lazarev and Novosilsky.
In 1961–1963, the famous historian of polar expeditions published a series of studies on the Bellingshausen's report card. Thus, the new primary source that proved the Russian priority over Antarctic lands was released. The map was presumably made by the expedition officers for the report to Traversay, or even to Alexander I. In the 1980-1990s, Belov's argumentation was accepted by foreign specialists. The map included 15 pages and had coloured remarks on different ice conditions. According to Belov, every time when Bellingshausen used the phrase "sploshnoi led" it actually meant that the expedition faced not with ordinary ice fields but with the shores of the Antarctic continent. As Bulkeley calculated, Bellingshausen described meetings with "sploshnoi led" 12 times, using this term 16 times in the reports, and around 33 times in his book. According to Belov, the expedition simultaneously opened the continent, and conducted an extended research on it. Conclusions of Belov were repeated in the book of Alexey Tryoshnikov
Alexey Fyodorovich Tryoshnikov (russian: Алексе́й Фёдорович Трёшников) (14 April 1914, Pavlovka, Karsunsky Uyezd, Simbirsk Governorate – 18 November 1991, Saint Petersburg) was a Soviet polar explorer and lea ...
, and in the research conducted by and "Russian geographic discoveries and studies from ancient times to 1917" (russian: «Русские географические открытия и исследования с древних времён до 1917 года») where the authors reproduced the map of the "ice shore" and ice classification compiled by Novosilsky.
This point of view became conventional in the Soviet and Russian historiography. In the "Ocherki po istorii geograficheskikh otkrytii" (russian: «Очерках по истории географических открытий») by and the authors claimed (referring to the Lazarev's letter) that in January 1820 "Russians solved the problem that James Cook considered as impossible", and came less than 3 kilometres to the Princess Martha Shore. Consequently, the reporting map illustrated Ice Shelf
An ice shelf is a large floating platform of ice that forms where a glacier or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface. Ice shelves are only found in Antarctica, Greenland, Northern Canada, and the Russian Arctic. The ...
that in 1960 was named after Lazarev. Describing the observations from January 15, 1821, Iosif and Vadim Magidovich claimed that Soviet scientists in the 1960s proved the Bellingshausen's right to the discovery of Antarctica since the discovered by him Alexander I Land is connected with the Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...
of George VI Ice Shelf
The George VI Ice Shelf () is an extensive ice shelf that occupies George VI Sound which separates Alexander Island from Palmer Land in Antarctica. The ice shelf extends from Ronne Entrance, at the southwest end of the sound
In physics ...
. Following their interpretation, Bellingshausen's expedition reached Antarctic shores nine times, four times being as close as 13–15 km from the continent.
In 2008, glaciologist Koryakin wrote:
In the 21st century
In the contemporary historiography, fundamental research on the events of the Bellingshausen and Lazarev' expedition and its interpretation in the Russian and Soviet science is conducted by Tammiksaar (Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
), Bulkeley (Great Britain), and Ovlashchenko (Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
). In 2014, Bulkeley published the first English-language book on the expedition, in which he ultimately stated that the expedition was poorly prepared. He also argued that Bellingshausen was not the first to observe the ice shelves of Antarctica. Earlier, in 2013, he published his conclusions in the Russian-language journal . His arguments could be summarized as the following:
*On February 7 (19), 1819, William Smith (mariner), William Smith while sailing cargo on the English merchant vessel "The Williams" observed the South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...
that are part of the Antarctic continent. On January 18 (30) 1820, the crew of the same vessel under the command of Edward Bransfield
Edward Bransfield (c. 1785 – 31 October 1852) was an Irish sailor who became an officer in the British Royal Navy, serving as a master on several ships, after being impressed into service in Ireland at the age of 18. He is noted for his par ...
in the presence of Smith observed the mainland Antarctica – Mount Bransfield in the very north of Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...
. Judging by the recorded evidence, Bransfield and Smith guessed that they observed the continent shore;
*Bellingshausen's crew observed land-like coastal ice shelves on February 5 (17), 1820. Lazarev claimed that it was on January 16 (28); however, Lazarev's data is incorrect and might appear because this day the expedition reached its southernmost point in the 1820 season.
Commenting on new evidence, Tammiksaar mentioned that involving the legacy of 19th century navigators in geopolitical arguments is "regrettable". His own point of view changed several times: if in the article for "Entsiklopedii Antarktiki" [Encyclopedia on Antarctica] (2007) he definitely claimed the Bellingshausen's priority in the discovery of the continent, then in his article (2016) on the reception practices of the Russian Antarctic expedition, he mentioned meaninglessness of defining one single discoverer of Antarctica since perceptions of the geography of the south polar regions had completely changed. Contemporary debates on priorities in the discovery of Antarctica exist in coordinates of national proud and political antagonisms. This problem needs to be resolved by analogy with the Antarctic Treaty System.
Bulkeley, supporting the position of the British priority, emphasized:
Ovlashchenko, who was a specialist in the admiralty law (an associated member of the Baltic International Academy, Riga) published three books on the discoveries of Antarctica in Russian and Soviet historiography in the pre-1960s period. He consistently criticized both Bulkeley and Tammiksaar. Bulkeley negatively reviewed his first book "Continent of Ice" (russian: «Материк льда»), also because it was published in the OmniScriptum, Palmarium Academic Publishing. I. Gan also reviewed it, but quite sympathetically. One of the reasons for a harsh criticism was that Ovlashchenko based on the large source material was aiming to demonstrate consistent usage of the Antarctic question in the geopolitical confrontation of the 1940-1950s, and conscious silencing of the Russian rights to Antarctica. From the other hand, he illustrated that Soviet researches had exceptionally various visions on the issue.
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;Primary sources * * * * * * * * * * * * ;Articles and monographs * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Antarctic expeditions Russia and the Antarctic