Jan Cornelisz Rijp (–) was a Dutch mariner best known for his involvement with
Willem Barentsz
Willem Barentsz (; – 20 June 1597), anglicized as William Barents or Barentz, was a Dutch Republic, Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer.
Barentsz went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northern Sea Route, N ...
in finding a route to the East, avoiding the Spanish and the Portuguese fleets in the South.
In May 1596, Rijp was named captain of the second of two ships commissioned to Barents by Dutch merchants to discover the fabled
Northeast Passage
The Northeast Passage (abbreviated as NEP) is the Arctic shipping routes, shipping route between the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, Pacific Oceans, along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Russia. The western route through the islands o ...
to the
East Indies
The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and aroun ...
.
[Verne, Jules and Leigh, Dora. ''Famous Travels and Travellers'', Scribner, 1892]
/ref> Jacob van Heemskerck
Jacob van Heemskerck (3 March 1567 – 25 April 1607) was a Dutch explorer and naval admiral.
Early life
Jacob van Heemskerck was born in Amsterdam in 1567. He is described as having delicate feature, large brown eyes, a thin high nose, ...
captained the first ship, and Barents served as its pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
. After discovering Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern N ...
, the ships encountered pack ice blocking the way. Barents decided to turn east and round the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island ...
, as he had successfully managed once before. When Barents urged Rijp to follow, he refused. Rijp insisted that the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya was far too dangerous and returned to the Netherlands.[''Ein heißes Bad in der Eiswüste'' in Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitungvom 2. Oktober 2011, Seiten 60 und 62 ]
Barents and his ship continued in the attempt to round Novaya Zemlya. He realized too late the wisdom of Rijp's decision and became trapped in the ice. Barents perished at sea in one of the two small tenders the crew used to escape to the Kola Peninsula
sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк
, image_name= Kola peninsula.png
, image_caption= Kola Peninsula as a part of Murmansk Oblast
, image_size= 300px
, image_alt=
, map_image= Murmansk in Russia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Murmansk Oblast ...
, unlike Rijp, who correctly assessed the risks of the Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a 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 ( Greenland), Finland, Iceland ...
and returned to pick up the remainder of Barents' crew—including van Heemskerk—near Murmansk
Murmansk ( Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. " Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ ...
on his next trip in 1597.
References
External links
*
16th-century Dutch explorers
16th-century explorers
Dutch polar explorers
Explorers of Svalbard
Explorers of the Arctic
Novaya Zemlya
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death unknown
{{Netherlands-bio-stub