Willem Barents
1550?-1597
Dutch Navigator
The name Willem Barents is almost as well known to Dutch children as Hans Brinker, hero of the famous finger-in-the-dyke folk story. Born around 1550, Barents went on to a naval career that brought him a permanent place in history for his deeds and heroism, for which the Barents Sea is named after him.
In the early 1500s both the Dutch and the English were interested in finding a northeast passage to China and the Indies to facilitate trade and commerce in these promising, fruitful areas. The newly established Muscovy Trading Company in London funded the first expedition in 1553 but, after 25 years without tangible results, the British settled for profitable trading with the northern Russians. This left the field wide open for the ambitious merchants in the Netherlands.
Because of his successful voyages to and from Spain, as well as numerous ports on the Mediterranean, Barents worked in Amsterdam with Dutch geographer Peter Plancius to create a navigational guide for those voyages. Barents was a cartographer and provided future historians with a now-famous introduction to the art of cartography as well as competent seamanship.
The initial voyage was sponsored by the Estates of Holland and left the island of Texel on June 5, 1594, to explore the possibilities of a northern passage to the Indies. They continued for a relatively short time before encountering a daunting sea full of ice floes and bergs of all sizes. Satisfied, for the time being, they returned home and made their reports.
The Estates decided to try again the following year and appointed another officer to command the expedition. Because of a later departure in July 1595, they found the ice fields even more treacherous and seas that had been previously navigable were now impossible to cross. In addition to these disappointments, several men were lost while trying to return to Amsterdam.
The third venture was undertaken and financed by the City of Amsterdam with Willem Barents in command. He was able to depart on May 15, 1596, along with two other ships. Surviving records show that Barents and one of his captains, Rijp, had a disagreement, which resulted in Captain Rijp's changing course, running into formidable ice fields, and returning home. Captain Heemskerk remained with his commander and both ships were caught in the deadly grip of the hardening ice that surrounded them. Eventually, both vessels were forced upward, out of the ice and were broken up by the inexorable forces that surrounded them.
By this time they had reached the icy shores of Nova Zembla, an island sometimes called Novaya Zemyla, off the Russian coast. Realizing they would be spending at least six months in the harshest of circumstances, the crew members and their officers began at once to salvage the ships' lumber to build a longhouse or cabin to house them and to store whatever they could recover from the wreckage.
Journals kept and brought back by survivors recount a tale of unbelievable hardship that they endured on Nova Zembla. Even with a wood fire kept burning at all times, the sheets on their makeshift beds would be frozen solidalong with whatever they would cook and try to eat or drink. They gave up trying to wash any clothing since it would start to freeze as soon as it left the warm water and could never be dried or worn again.
Since there was no outlet for the smoke from the fire, it settled in the cabin and made breathing not only unhealthy but almost impossible. It got so cold that their watches stopped and they used a 12-hour glass to keep time.
When the worst was over, they realized they had to try to leave the island or perish if they remained. They provisioned several longboats as best they could and started out on the 1,600-mile (2,575-km) journey home. Unfortunately Willem Barents did not survive the harrowing trip and died at sea. Those who made it back told of his inspiring leadership along with other accounts of the adventure, which are still told around Dutch fireplaces and remain relevant today. Willem Barents was close to 47 when he perished in 1597.
Confirming evidence of their incredible story was found in 1871, when another explorer discovered the remains of the Arctic dwelling they had built, along with the tools, instruments, and other artifacts they had left behind. These relics have been preserved and can be viewed in The Hague, Netherlands.
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