The idea of circumnavigating the world in Russia has been floating around for quite some time. However, the first project for a trip around the world was developed and prepared only at the end of the 18th century. The team of four ships was to be led by Captain G.I. Mulovsky, however, due to the war with Sweden, Russia canceled this expedition. In addition, its potential leader died in battle.
It is noteworthy that on the battleship Mstislav, whose commander was Mulovsky, young Ivan Kruzenshtern served as a midshipman. It was he, who became the leader of the implementation of the idea of Russian circumnavigation, who would later lead the first Russian circumnavigation. At the same time as Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky, his classmate, sailed on another battleship, which also took part in naval battles. Both sailed in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Having fought on the side of the British against the French and returning to their homeland, both received the rank of lieutenant commander.
Krusenstern presented his project for a circumnavigation of the world to Paul I. The main goal of the project was to organize fur trade between Russia and China. However, this idea did not evoke the response that the captain had hoped for.
In 1799, the Russian-American Company was founded, the goal of which was to develop Russian America and the Kuril Islands and establish regular communications with overseas colonies.
The relevance of circumnavigation was due to the urgent need to maintain Russian colonies on the North American continent. Supplying food and goods to the colonists, providing settlers with weapons (the problem of frequent raids by the indigenous population (Indians), as well as potential threats from other powers) - these were pressing issues facing the Russian state. It was important to establish regular communication with the Russian colonists for their normal life. By this time it became clear that passage through the polar seas was postponed for an indefinite future. The journey by land, through all of Siberia and the Far East off-road, and then across the Pacific Ocean, is a very expensive and time-consuming “pleasure.”
From the beginning of the reign of Paul I's son Alexander, the Russian-American Company began to be under the patronage of the royal house. (It is noteworthy that the first director of the Russian-American Company was Ustyug resident Mikhail Matveevich Buldakov, who actively supported the idea of circumnavigation financially and organizationally).
In turn, Emperor Alexander I supported Kruzenshtern in his desire to explore the possibilities of communication between Russia and North America, appointing him head of the first Russian round-the-world expedition.
Captains Kruzentshtern and Lisyansky, having received two sloops under their command: “Nadezhda” and “Neva”, carefully approached the preparation of the expedition, purchasing a large amount of medicines and anti-scorbutic drugs, staffing the crews with the best Russian military sailors. It is interesting that all the cargo on the ship “Neva” was managed by another Ustyuzhan (here it is - the continuity of generations of Russian explorers) Nikolai Ivanovich Korobitsyn. The expedition was well equipped with various modern measuring instruments, since its tasks included scientific purposes (the expedition included astronomers, naturalists, and an artist).
At the beginning of August 1803, with a large crowd of people, Kruzenshtern's expedition left Kronstadt on two sailing sloops - Nadezhda and Neva. On board the Nadezhda there was a mission to Japan led by Nikolai Rezanov. The main purpose of the voyage was to explore the mouth of the Amur and neighboring territories to identify convenient places and routes for supplying goods to the Russian Pacific Fleet. After a long stay near the island of Santa Catarina (the coast of Brazil), when two masts had to be replaced on the Neva, the ships crossed the equator for the first time in the history of the Russian fleet and headed south. On March 3, they rounded Cape Horn and separated three weeks later in the Pacific Ocean. From the island of Nuku Hiva (Marquesas Islands), the sloops proceeded together to the Hawaiian Islands, where they separated again.
"Neva" came to Kodiak Island on July 1, 1804 and remained off the coast for more than a year North America. The sailors helped the inhabitants of Russian America defend their settlements from the attack of the Tlingit Indian tribes, participated in the construction of the Novo-Arkhangelsk (Sitka) fortress, and carried out scientific observations and hydrographic work.
At the same time, “Nadezhda” arrived in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in July 1804. Then Krusenstern took Rezanov to Nagasaki and back, describing the northern and eastern shores of Terpeniya Bay along the way.
In the summer of 1805, Kruzenshtern for the first time photographed about 1000 km of the coast of Sakhalin, tried to pass in the south between the island and the mainland, but could not and mistakenly decided that Sakhalin was not an island and was connected to the mainland by an isthmus.
In August 1805, Lisyansky sailed on the Neva with a cargo of furs to China, and in November arrived at the port of Macau, where he again connected with Kruzenshtern and Nadezhda. But as soon as the ships left the port, they lost each other again in the fog. Following independently, Lisyansky, for the first time in the history of world navigation, navigated a ship without calling at ports or stops from the coast of China to Portsmouth in England. On July 22, 1806, his Neva was the first to return to Kronstadt.
Lisyansky and his crew became the first Russian circumnavigators. Only two weeks later the Nadezhda arrived here safely. But the fame of the circumnavigator mainly went to Krusenstern, who was the first to publish a description of the journey. His three-volume book “A Journey Around the World...” and “Atlas for a Journey” was published three years earlier than the works of Lisyansky, who considered his duties to be more important than the publication of a report for the Geographical Society. And Kruzenshtern himself saw in his friend and colleague, first of all, “an impartial, obedient person, zealous for the common good,” extremely modest. True, Lisyansky’s merits were nevertheless noted: he received the rank of captain of the 2nd rank, the Order of St. Vladimir of the 3rd degree, a cash bonus and a lifelong pension. For him, the main gift was the gratitude of the officers and sailors of the sloop, who endured the hardships of the voyage with him and gave him as a souvenir a golden sword with the inscription: “Gratitude of the crew of the ship “Neva.”
The participants of the first Russian round-the-world expedition made a significant contribution to geographical science by erasing a number of non-existent islands from the map and clarifying the position of existing ones. They discovered inter-trade countercurrents in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, measured water temperature at depths of up to 400 m and determined its specific gravity, transparency and color; found out the reason for the glow of the sea, collected numerous data on atmospheric pressure, ebbs and flows in a number of areas of the World Ocean.
During his travels, Lisyansky collected an extensive natural and ethnographic collection, which later became the property of the Russian Geographical Society (one of the initiators of which was Kruzenshtern).
Three times in his life Lisyansky was the first: the first to commit Russian flag trip around the world, the first to pave the way from Russian America to Kronstadt, the first to discover an uninhabited island in the central waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The first Russian round-the-world trip by Kruzenshtern-Lisyansky turned out to be practically a standard in terms of its organization, support and execution. At the same time, the expedition proved the possibility of communication with Russian America.
The enthusiasm after the return of the Nadezhda and Neva to Kronstadt was so great that in the first half of the 19th century, more than 20 circumnavigations were organized and completed, which is more than France and England combined.
Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern became the inspirer and organizer of subsequent expeditions, the leaders of which were, among other things, members of the crew of his sloop Nadezhda.
Midshipman Thaddeus Faddeevich Bellingshausen traveled on the Nadezhda, who would later discover Antarctica in 1821 on a circumnavigation of the world in high southern latitudes.
Otto Evstafievich Kotzebue sailed on the same sloop as a volunteer, under whose leadership 2 circumnavigations were carried out.
In 1815-18, Kotzebue led a round-the-world research expedition on the brig Rurik. At Cape Horn, during a storm (January 1816), a wave washed him overboard; he saved himself by grabbing a rope. After an unsuccessful search for the fantastic “Davis Land” west of the coast of Chile, at 27° S. latitude. in April-May 1816 he discovered the inhabited island of Tikei, the atolls of Takapoto, Arutua and Tikehau (all in the Tuamotu archipelago), and in the Ratak chain of the Marshall Islands - the atolls of Utirik and Taka. At the end of July - mid-August, Kotzebue described the coast of Alaska for almost 600 km, discovered Shishmarev Bay, Sarychev Island and the vast Kotzebue Bay, and in it - the Bay of Good Hope (now Goodhope) and Eschscholtz with the Khoris Peninsula and Shamisso Island (all names are given in honor of the participants in the voyage). Thus, he completed the identification of the Seward Peninsula, begun by Mikhail Gvozdyov in 1732. To the northeast of the bay, he noted high mountains (spurs of the Brooks Range).
Together with the naturalists of Rurik, for the first time in America, Kotzebue discovered fossil ice with a mammoth tusk and gave the first ethnographic description of the North American Eskimos. In January-March 1817, he again explored the Marshall Islands and discovered seven inhabited atolls in the Ratak chain: Medjit, Votje, Erikub, Maloelap, Aur, Ailuk and Bikar. He also mapped a number of atolls whose coordinates his predecessors had identified incorrectly and “closed” several non-existent islands.
In 1823-26, commanding the sloop Enterprise, Kotzebue completed his third circumnavigation of the world. In March 1824 he discovered the inhabited atoll of Fangahina (in the Tuamotu archipelago) and the island of Motu-One (in the Society archipelago), and in October 1825 - the Rongelap and Bikini atolls (in the Ralik chain, Marshall Islands). Together with naturalists on both voyages, Kotzebue made numerous determinations of the specific gravity, salinity, temperature and transparency of sea water in temperate and hot zones. They were the first to establish four features of near-surface (up to a depth of 200 m) oceanic waters: their salinity is zonal; the waters of the temperate zone are less salty than those of the hot zone; water temperature depends on the latitude of the place; Seasonal temperature fluctuations appear up to a certain limit, below which they do not occur. For the first time in the history of ocean exploration, Kotzebue and his companions made observations of the relative transparency of water and its density.
Another famous navigator was Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin, who, having traveled around the world on the sloop "Diana", in 1817 led an expedition on the sloop "Kamachtka". Many members of the ship's crew in the future became the colors of the Russian fleet: midshipman Fyodor Petrovich Litke (later captain of the circumnavigation), volunteer Fyodor Matyushin (later admiral and senator), junior watch officer Ferdinand Wrangel (admiral and Arctic explorer) and others. In two years, "Kamchatka" passed the Atlantic Ocean from north to south, rounded Cape Horn, visited Russian America, visited all significant groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean, then passed the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope, and returned to Kronstadt through the Atlantic Ocean.
Fyodor Litke two years later was appointed head of the polar expedition on the ship Novaya Zemlya. For four years, Litke explored the Arctic, summarizing the rich expedition materials, published the book “Fourfold Journey to the Northern Arctic Ocean on the military brig “Novaya Zemlya” in 1821-1824.” The work was translated into many languages and received scientific recognition; sailors used the maps of the expedition for a century.
In 1826, when Fyodor Litka was not even 29 years old, he led an expedition around the world on the new ship Senyavin. The Senyavin was accompanied by the sloop Moller under the command of Mikhail Stanyukovich. The ships turned out to be different in their running characteristics (“Moller” is much faster than “Senyavin”) and almost throughout the entire length the ships sailed alone, meeting only at anchorages in ports. The expedition, which lasted three years, turned out to be one of the most successful and rich in scientific discoveries of travel, not only Russian, but also foreign. The Asian coast of the Bering Strait was explored, islands were discovered, materials on ethnography and oceanography were collected, and numerous maps were compiled. During the trip, Litke was engaged in scientific research in the field of physics; experiments with a pendulum allowed the scientist to determine the magnitude of the Earth's polar compression and make a number of other important discoveries. After the end of the expedition, Litke published “A Voyage Around the World on the Sloop of War “Senyavin” in 1826-1829”, gaining recognition as a scientist, and was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences.
Litke became one of the founders of the Russian Geographical Society, and for many years was its vice-chairman. In 1873, the society established the Great Gold Medal named after. F. P. Litke, awarded for outstanding geographical discoveries.
The names of brave travelers, heroes of Russian round-the-world expeditions are immortalized on maps of the globe:
A bay, peninsula, strait, river and cape on the coast of North America in the area of the Alexandra Archipelago, one of the islands of the Hawaiian archipelago, an underwater island in the Sea of Okhotsk and a peninsula on the northern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk are named after Lisyansky.
A number of straits, islands, capes in the Pacific Ocean, a mountain in the Kuril Islands are named after Krusenstern.
The following are named in honor of Litke: a cape, a peninsula, a mountain and a bay on Novaya Zemlya; islands: in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, Baydaratskaya Bay, Nordenskiöld archipelago; strait between Kamchatka and Karaginsky Island.
During circumnavigation of the world in the 19th century, expedition participants showed their best qualities: Russian navigators, military men and scientists, many of whom became the color of the Russian fleet, as well as domestic science. They forever inscribed their names in the glorious chronicle of “Russian civilization.”
O. E. KOTZEBUE'S CIRCUMSTANCES AND THEIR IMPORTANCE FOR GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. Part 1
The most important geographical problems that arose several centuries ago and occupied at the end of the 18th and early XIX V. Geographers and navigators from all countries of the world were the search for a continent in the countries of the South Pole and the discovery of the northern sea passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. One of the attempts to reach the “Southern Land” was the second voyage of J. Cook (1772-1775), he also undertook a voyage (1776-1779) to open the northwest passage. Both voyages did not solve the assigned problems, although they made a significant contribution to the geographical discoveries of the Earth.Almost continuous wars in Europe and the established opinion that it was impossible to open the Southern Continent and pass through the northwestern sea passage were the reasons why these tasks were temporarily abandoned. However, among some scientists the idea continued to develop that the northwest passage and the South Land existed.
Russian scientists and navigators were haunted by the idea of exploring the northern sea route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean (the northwest and northeast passages), as well as the search for the southern continent. The first problem was studied by O. E. Kotzebue’s voyages on the sloop “Rurik”, the expedition of M. N. Vasilyev and G. S. Shishmarev, the second was solved by F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev.
Otto Evstafievich Kotzebue (1788-1846) made three voyages around the world: the first as a cadet of the Naval Corps on the ship Nadezhda under the command of I. F. Krusenstern in 1803-1806, the second as commander of the ship Rurik (1815-1818) and the third - on the sloop of war "Enterprise" (1823-1826).
O. E. Kotzebue
If the first trip allowed him to prepare for scientific research and gain experience in maritime affairs, then two other expeditions, which Kotzebue himself led, occurred during the heyday of his scientific activity. Kotzebue proved himself to be an extraordinary organizer scientific research and an excellent naval officer.
Kotzebue's voyage on the Rurik was the fourth circumnavigation of the world by Russian sailors and took place shortly after Patriotic War 1812 The expedition was undertaken to solve the problem of the northwest sea passage from the Bering Strait. Its initiator and soul was Kruzenshtern, whose idea was supported by Count N.P. Rumyantsev, who took upon himself all the expenses of the expedition. Kruzenshtern studied the entire previous history of the study of the sea passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and convinced Rumyantsev of the advisability of repeating this enterprise. It was decided to equip two ships to explore the northwest passage. One was supposed to leave Russia and sail to the Bering Strait, from where, rounding North America, it should go east;
Another ship, chartered on the east coast of the United States, was supposed to begin exploring the “northwest passage” from east to west after the first ship had completed its voyage. Kruzenshtern and Rumyantsev understood well that even if the expedition did not solve the main problem - opening a route through the northwestern sea passage, then even then it could deliver important information for science and navigation. The mission of the expedition also included exploring the coast of North America south and east of the Bering Strait, penetrating the territory of modern Alaska into completely unknown inland areas, and exploring the islands in the central part of the Pacific Ocean. O. E. Kotzebue was appointed head of the expedition, and G. S. Shishmarev was appointed his assistant. Natural scientists Dr. I. I. Eshsholz and A. L. Shamisso were invited to join the expedition.
The expedition was equipped with advanced astronomical and physical instruments (masters Troughton, Massey, etc.), the latest editions of maps and atlases (collections of Garsburg, Arrosmith, Purdy, etc.), and geographical works. The commander of the ship "Rurik" O. E. Kotzebue received very detailed "Instructions": on navigation - from I. F. Kruzenshtern and on scientific observations - from I. K. Horner.
I. F. Kruzenshtern was working on the atlas of the Southern Ocean at that time and knew everything better than anyone else dangerous places for sailing, areas most interesting for exploration and geographical discovery. All this was reflected in the instructions. “I wish you to take a completely new course across the Southern (Pacific - B.E.) Ocean,” he pointed out, “on which it is almost impossible not to make new discoveries.” Kotzebue had to pay great attention to checking the dubious discoveries made at different times by other navigators: the Dutch (Schouten, Lehmer, Roggewijn), the British (Vancouver, Cook, etc.) and the French (Bougainville, La Perouse, Florier). Many open lands, especially islands in the Pacific Ocean, did not have precise geographic coordinates, or the same islands were mapped at different coordinates and had different names. “It may turn out,” Kruzenshtern noted, “the Russian sailor will be allowed to decide through his own observations on the spot, whose observations are more fair.”
Kotzebue had to start exploring the coast of North America from Norton Bay and describe not only the coast, but also collect information about the nature and population of the interior of Alaska, its rivers and lakes. Particular emphasis was placed on the need to describe the coast south of the bay as far as Unalaska, where no surveys had been taken before that time. J. Cook, in his last voyage (1776-1779), was unable to approach the coast in this area due to shallow water. Kotzebue had to do this using a canoe. In winter in the northern hemisphere, the expedition was supposed to explore the tropical part of the Pacific Ocean between the equator and 12° N. w. and 180-225° W. etc., while emphasizing that during the voyage it is necessary to pay attention to the Caroline Islands, which are still very poorly studied; when revisiting the northwestern coast of North America by kayak, continue exploring Norton Bay and Bristol Bay, delve deeper into the mainland, and study it geographically.
Dr. Horner recommended “carefully observing every extraordinary phenomenon and describing it in detail, especially measuring everything that can be measured” (Horner’s italics). The range of astronomical and physical observations included in Horner’s instructions was very wide. It included the determination of latitude and longitude, inventory of coasts and drawing up maps, measurement of mountain heights; studies of the inclination of the magnetic needle; observations of the state of the atmosphere (pressure, temperature, winds, etc.) and phenomena in the ocean (tides, currents, water temperature on the surface and at depths), determination of depths in the oceans, observations of the color and transparency of water, ice formation, etc. At the same time, Horner gave methodological Instructions and practical advice to carry out scientific observations, pointed out the significance that they could have for the development of science. He wrote that “in the sea it sometimes happens, as in the atmosphere, there is a current one above the other, and in different, mostly opposite directions,” and that the study of temperature conditions in the ocean “is extremely important for the general knowledge of the climates of our globe.”
Well-written instructions could not, of course, predetermine the results of the research. However, the good organization of the expedition, the experience of its leaders, their own knowledge, inventive mind and desire to serve science were the key to the success of the expedition.
Kotzebue's expedition headed to Kamchatka past the southern tip South America- Cape Horn. Research began when the ship entered the Atlantic Ocean, but the sailors were most pleased with discoveries and research in the Pacific Ocean. Trying to accurately follow all the points of Kruzenshtern’s instructions, Kotzebue, already at the first stages of the voyage from Chile, determined the position of the island of Sales and undertook a search for the islands seen by Schouten and Lemaire.
In the central part of the Pacific Ocean, Kotzebue discovered and explored numerous groups of coral islands, undertook a search for islands previously mentioned by sailors and plotted on maps, and determined the coordinates of previously discovered islands (Palizer and Penrhyn Islands). The expedition made significant corrections and additions to the map of the Pacific Ocean. New groups of islands bearing Russian names were marked on it. In 1816, in the northern part of the Tuamotu archipelago, Kotzebue discovered the atolls of Rumyantsev (Tikei) and Spiridov (Takapoto), the Rurik chain (Arutua), Krusenstern Island (Tikehau) and in the Radak chain (Marshall Islands) - the Kutuzov islands (Utirik or Betton) and Suvorova (Taka).
While exploring the islands, the expedition overcame great difficulties and was exposed to dangers. So, two sailors first reached the open Rumyantsev Atoll by swimming, and then Kotzebue and other expedition members using a raft. Usually, travelers walked around the islands (when they could not land) or crossed them by land (when they landed and if they were not particularly large).
The expedition began exploring the North Pacific Ocean in July 1816. Kotzebue sailed past Bering Island to the west coast of St. Lawrence Island, and then climbed north to the Bering Strait. He stayed close to the American coast, although sometimes he saw the shores of Asia. About the island of St. Lawrence, which had not yet been visited by any navigator, Kotzebue wrote: “The visible part of the island (the northern part, where Kotzebue landed] and naturalists - V.E.) ... consists of quite high! snow-covered mountains; there is not a single tree, not even a small bush, that would decorate the bare cliffs; occasionally small grass only breaks through the moss and a few skinny plants rise from the ground.” Kotzebue decided to describe Norton Bay on the way back. Having passed the latitude of Cape Prince of Wales, Kotzebue continued to describe the American coast. At this time, he saw the Gvozdev (Diomede) Islands and determined the geographical coordinates of some points and clearly saw a vast low-lying island. Following further to the northeast, Kotzebue discovered Shishmarev Bay and a small island in front of it, which he named Sarychev Island. “We were extremely happy about this discovery,” wrote Kotzebue, “for, although it was impossible to expect a passage to the Arctic Sea here, we nevertheless had the hope of penetrating quite far into the interior of the earth and collecting some important information for us.” Exploration of the bay and strait was hampered by many sandbanks and currents, so Kotzebue did not linger here, deciding to conduct an accurate hydrographic inventory next year on canoes (Fig. 5).
Soon the sailors saw the bay, which was named Kotzebue Bay at the general request of the crew. Individual islands, capes, and bays in the bay also received names (Shamisso Island, Eshsholza Bay, Cape Deception, Cape Espenberg, Bay of Good Hope, Cape Krusenstern, etc.). Kotzebue Bay and its coast have been carefully examined and described by travelers. Kotzebue wrote that the bay named after him “should in time provide considerable benefits to the fur trade, with which this country abounds,” and provide a good shelter for all travelers who might be caught in storms in the Bering Strait. Kotzebue proposed to establish several Russian settlements here. Fossil ice was discovered in Eschscholza Bay, covered with a cap of earth and overgrown with moss and grasses. “Having removed this turf cover, no more than 1/2 foot deep, the ground was completely frozen,” wrote Kotzebue. Many animal remains and mammoth bones were found in glacial deposits.
The study of the natural conditions of the North American coast, the life and customs of the American inhabitants aroused Kotzebue's interest in the opposite, Asian coast. He decided to conduct a comparative study of the coasts of two different continents - America and Asia, separated by the Bering Strait. The expedition headed west and reached the Eastern Cape of Asia (Cape Dezhnev). Kotzebue and naturalists made observations on land and met with the local population. First time done detailed description Cape Dezhnev.
A comparative study of two separated regions of Asia and North America allowed Kotzebue to express very interesting and scientifically remarkable ideas: about the geological similarity of the coasts of the two continents, about the kinship of the peoples living on both coasts.
Observing the external structure of the coast of Cape Dezhnev, Kotzebue wrote: “This destruction of terrible cliffs makes a person reflect on the great transformations that once followed in nature here; for the appearance and position of the coast gives rise to the belief that Asia was once connected to America; Gvozdev Islands (Diomede. - V.E.) are the remains of the former connection of Cape Vostochny (Cape Dezhnev. - V.E.) with Cape Prince of Wales (Welsh. - V.E.)." He pointed out the similar external features of the local inhabitants of Asia and North America and noted: “In general, I find the difference between these two peoples so insensitive that I am even inclined to consider them descended from the same tribe.” However, despite the common origin, as was later confirmed, the local residents of North America and Asia were strongly at enmity with each other and differed from each other in a number of customs.
From Cape Dezhnev and further south, to Cape St. Lawrence, the expedition carried out a systematic hydrographic inventory of the Asian coast, where new islands were discovered - Khromchenko and Petrov, named after the navigator students of the ship "Rurik" V. Khromchenko and V. Petrov, who performed the main hydrological work on the expedition. South of Cape St. Lawrence, an inventory was carried out earlier by Sarychev. Kotzebue described the Gulf of St. Lawrence for the second time (Fig. 6).
At the beginning of September 1816, having returned to Unalaska, Kotzebue turned to the ruler of the American Company with a request to prepare for him necessary equipment(special kayaks, etc.) and local residents (Aleuts) for the expedition to describe the western coast of North America north of the Alaska Peninsula next year. From here the expedition headed to San Francisco and then to the Hawaiian Islands. During their stay on the islands, scientists and sailors, taking advantage of the friendly disposition of the local residents and government, visited the interior, described a number of harbors and identified the main heights on the Owaigii Muke Islands. The highest mountain was Mauna Roa (2482.7 ft.) on the island of Owaigi. Kopebu described in detail the harbor of Gana-Rura (Honolulu) on the island of Wagu (Oahu). Russian people became acquainted with farming and the cultivation of various crops on the islands (taro root, bananas, sugar cane, etc.).
Cassock. 5. Kotzebue’s voyage on the Rurik in the Bering and Chukchi Seas
At the end of 1816 and the beginning of 1817, the expedition explored the Marshall Islands. At this time, several inhabited atolls were discovered. The discovered islands received Russian names: New Year (Medzhit or Miadi), Rumyantsev (Votje), Chichagov (Erikub or Bishop), Arakcheev (Kaven or Maloelap), Krusenstern (Ailuk), etc. Kotzebue called the entire group of islands under study with the native name Radak.
Many of the islands discovered by Copebu were well known to local residents. The natives quite accurately drew their relative positions on the sand and indicated the direction where the Others were located. The natives Kadu and Edoku provided great assistance to Kotzebue in finding the islands, as well as in drawing up a map of his archipelago of islands. From their words, the Ralik group of islands, belonging to the Marshall Islands and located to the west of the Radak group, was mapped. Kotzebue did not have time to examine it, since he had to return to the northern part of the Pacific Ocean.
Rice. 6. Map from the “Atlas” of G. A. Sarychev (1826), drawn from the map of O. E. Kotzebue
In addition to its practical significance, the study of this archipelago was also attractive from a scientific point of view. In their structure and origin, these islands differed from many found in the ocean. These were very low islands with unusual ring-shaped outlines, containing sea lagoons within themselves. The connection between the lagoon and the ocean occurred through one or several deep narrow channels.
Kotzebue not only discovered and described many of the coral islands, but also explained the nature of their formation. Considerable time was devoted to the study of Rumyantsev (Votje) Atoll. “The Vulture Islands,” Kotzebue wrote, “already arouse great curiosity by their nature, being formed solely by sea animals, and I decided to venture as far as possible before I abandoned the intention of penetrating this chain of islands.”
Exploring one island after another, Kotzebue and especially the naturalists of the expedition, Chamisso and Eschscholz, had already come to the correct explanation of their origin, that is, from “sea animals.” “Having examined the properties of the soil, we found,” Kotzebue wrote about one of the coral islands, “that this island (Goat Island - V.E.), like all the others, consists of destroyed coral; this animal builds its building from the depths of the sea upward and dies when it reaches the surface; From this building, gray limestone is formed from its constant washing by sea water, which, it seems, forms the foundation of all such islands.” Over time, plants settle on the islands, which then transform the soil and make the soil fertile. In terms of age, as Kotzebue noted, the islands are not the same. They are constantly changing and first acquire a closed ring with a lagoon in the center, and then the lagoons turn into land, forming one large island with the chain.
On the way from the tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean to Unalaska during a storm, the Rurik was damaged and Kotzebue was seriously wounded. However, illness did not stop Kotzebue from going and exploring the northern Bering Sea. Taking with him the prepared canoes and the Aleut, he left Unalaska to the north. Along the way, the islands of Akun and Akutan were described (May 1817), later seal rookeries were examined and the coordinates of Bobrovoy Island and others were determined. Having reached St. Lawrence Island, Kotzebue went ashore. Due to Kotzebue's illness, the expedition was forced to abandon further exploration of the northwestern coast of North America and return to their homeland. We returned to St. Petersburg along the Pacific Ocean through the Hawaiian, Marshall, Caroline and Mariana Islands and further around Asia and Africa. Kotzebue explored the Marshall Islands for the third time and on October 23, 1817, discovered the inhabited Heyden Atoll (Likiep), essentially completing the discovery of the Radak chain. The Russian sailors were struck by the desolation of the Mariana Islands, which were densely populated in the time of Magellan. The entire indigenous population of the islands was exterminated by the Spanish colonialists. “The sight of this beautiful land gave birth to sad feelings in me,” Kotzebue wrote; in former times, these fertile valleys served as an abode for the people, who spent their days in silence and happiness; Now there were only lovely palm forests standing here and overshadowing the graves of the former inhabitants. Deathly silence reigned everywhere.” Almost the entire chain of the Mariana Islands was uninhabited, only a few were inhabited by immigrants from Mexico and the Philippine Islands.
During the voyage, Kotzebue's expedition carried out meteorological and oceanographic observations. Measurements of the depths of the sea were carried out widely using a specially designed device, the temperature of the water at depth was measured, and samples of soil and sea water were taken. In 1815, Kotzebue made several depth measurements in the Atlantic Ocean (up to 138 fathoms); the next year in the Pacific Ocean, the lot dropped to a depth of 300 fathoms. The transparency of the water was noted using a simple method - lowering a white plate, which later formed the basis of a device for determining the transparency of sea water and called the Secchi disk. Transparency was uneven and ranged from 2 to 13 fathoms. On September 4, 1817, Kotzebue reached a record depth when measuring sea water temperature in the Pacific Ocean, at coordinates 35°51"N and 147°38"W. The village of Lotlin sank to a depth of 408 fathoms, and seven intermediate observations were made. The water temperature at the surface of the ocean was plus 72° F, and at the maximum depth - plus 42° F. The transparency of the water was 11 fathoms. When the thermometer was lowered to a depth of 500 fathoms, the cable broke and the experiment failed. On September 26, 1817, measurements of sea water temperature were taken at 12 points at different depths.
Returning to Russia, Kotzebue and his scientist companions undertook work to summarize the materials of the expedition. In 1822-1823 The essay “Journey to the Southern Ocean and the Bering Strait...” was published. Three books of work covered the preparation and progress of the expedition, the results of the research. The work contained: Kotzebue's report on the expedition (parts I-II), articles by Krusenstern (parts I-II), articles by I. Horner, A. Chamisso, I. Eschscholz and M. Engelhart (part III).
I. F. Kruzenshtern, in the article “Consideration of the discoveries made in the Great Ocean from the ship “Rurik”,” summed up Kotzebue’s geographical discoveries and gave them a fair assessment. Oi noted the outstanding significance of the discoveries for science and navigation, and compared what Kotzebue did with the achievements of the largest European navigators, such as Cook, Bougainville and Flinders. He exposed the attacks and mistrust of Kotzebue's discoveries on the part of some European scientists.
Kotzebue not only made extremely important discoveries, but also “closed” many problematic discoveries of earlier navigators (in the central part of the Pacific Ocean), examined and described groups of islands, information about which was quite approximate. For example, the Penrhyn Islands, discovered in 1788, were mistaken by the British for one island. Russian navigators counted 15 islands. Kotzebue was the first to accurately determine their latitude (9°1"30"N) and longitude (157°34"32"W). Kotzebue discovered six groups of islands, which he named by the common name Radak, and indicated the location and names of the islands in the neighboring Ralik archipelago.
The atlas compiled by Kotzebue contained plans and maps of the places, coasts and harbors he marked and described. It was widely used both in navigation and for compiling special maritime atlases.
As a result of Kotzebue's voyage, a description of the nature of the coral islands of the Pacific Ocean was given and a hypothesis about their origin was most clearly stated. Charles Darwin pointed this out more than once. In a study specifically devoted to this issue, in 1842, he wrote: “An older and more satisfactory theory (of the origin of coral islands - V.E.) was proposed by Chamisso: he believes that since the more massive species of corals prefer the surf, the outer parts of the reef are the first to reach the surface and therefore form a ring." A more detailed examination of the structure of coral islands and an explanation of their genesis was made by I. I. Eshsholtz in his special article “On Coral Islands” (Fig. 7). “The low-lying islands of the South and Indian Seas,” he wrote, “owe for the most part their origin to the industrious structure of various genera of corals... corals founded their building on sea shoals, or better said, on the tops of mountains under water. Continuing their growth, on the one hand, they are constantly getting closer and closer to the surface of the sea, and on the other, they are expanding the vastness of their structure (“Journey to the Southern Ocean...”, Part III, p. 381). When the island reaches the surface, the animal dies. Shells, mollusks, and physical weathering processes come into play to transform the solid surface. Then plants and birds appear, for which man comes. This is, in general terms, the picture of the formation and settlement of coral islands, according to the ideas of Russian scientists of that time.
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Everything is wider. But how can you prove that the Earth is round? Only by traveling around the world. It was necessary, having sailed to the west, to go around the globe and return home from the east. This idea was hatched by a Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan, entered the service of the Spanish king. He intended to go to the Spice Islands for pepper and cloves - Moluccas Islands- not by the eastern, but by the western route. These islands lay east of the Sunda Islands, and the Portuguese sailed to them, skirting Africa, through the Indian Ocean. Magellan wanted to sail west, try to go around South America, cross the unknown South Sea and come to the spice islands from the east.
Soon the ships sailed to Philippine Islands. Magel-lan realized that, having walked around the Earth, going around New World- America, he came to Old, to Asia and the spice islands are not far away. Material from the site
Ferdinand Magellan died after intervening in a fight among the warring Filipinos. The surviving sailors of Magellan burned one dilapidated ship, another ship and its crew were captured. And only one ship out of five under the command of El Cano continued sailing. He crossed the Indian Ocean, circled Africa and in 1522, four years from the start of the expedition, completed the journey around the entire Earth. The sailors, exhausted from work and illness, returned to Spain. The spices they brought were enough to cover all the costs of the trip.
The scientific results of Magellan's circumnavigation of the world were great. It proved the sphericity of the Earth. For the first time, the Pacific Ocean was crossed and it was proven that all oceans are connected to each other into a single World Ocean. It became clear that water occupies a larger area on Earth than land. Correct ideas about the size of the Earth were obtained. As a result of Magellan's expedition, new, much more accurate
Concept
The idea of the expedition was in many ways a repetition of Columbus's idea: to reach Asia by heading west. The colonization of America had not yet brought significant profits, unlike the Portuguese colonies in India, and the Spaniards wanted to sail to the Spice Islands themselves and benefit. By that time it had become clear that America was not Asia, but it was assumed that Asia lay relatively close to the New World. In 1513, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, having passed the Isthmus of Panama, saw the Pacific Ocean, which he called the South Sea. Since then, several expeditions have searched for the strait into the new sea. Around those years, the Portuguese captains Joao Lishboa and Ishteban Frois reached approximately 35°S. and discovered the mouth of the La Plata River. They could not seriously explore it and mistook the huge flooded La Plata estuary for the strait.
Magellan, apparently, had detailed information about the Portuguese search for the strait and, in particular, about La Plata, which he considered to be a strait to the South Sea. This confidence played important role in his planning of the expedition, but he was ready to look for other routes to India if this one turned out to be false.
Even in Portugal, Magellan's companion, astronomer Rui Faleru, played an important role in preparing the expedition. He created a method for calculating longitude and made calculations from which it followed that the Moluccas were easier to reach by going west, and that these islands lay in the hemisphere “belonging” to Spain under the Treaty of Tordesillas. All his calculations, as well as the method of calculating longitude, subsequently turned out to be incorrect. For some time, Faleru was listed in the documents for organizing the voyage before Magellan, but later he was increasingly relegated to the background, and Magellan was appointed commander of the expedition. Faleru drew up a horoscope, from which it followed that he should not go on an expedition, and remained on the shore.
Preparation
European merchants, who were unable to participate in the profitable trade with the East Indies due to the Portuguese monopoly, played a large role in equipping the expedition. Juan de Aranda, who was entitled to an eighth of the profits under the agreement with Magellan, is pushed away from the trough, declaring that this agreement “does not correspond to the interests of the nation.”
According to the treaty with the king of March 22, 1518, Magellan and Faleru received one fifth of the net revenues from the voyage, the rights of viceroyalty in the discovered lands, a twentieth of the profits received from the new lands, and the right to two islands if more than six islands were discovered.
The Portuguese tried to oppose the organization of the expedition, but did not dare to commit direct murder. They tried to denigrate Magellan in the eyes of the Spaniards and force them to abandon the voyage. At the same time, the fact that the expedition would be commanded by a Portuguese displeased many Spaniards. In October 1518, a clash occurred between the expedition members and a crowd of Sevilleans. When Magellan raised his standard on the ships, the Spaniards mistook it for a Portuguese one and demanded that it be removed. Fortunately for Magellan, the conflict was extinguished without any special casualties. To muffle the controversy, Magellan was ordered to limit the number of Portuguese in the expedition to five participants, but due to a lack of sailors, there were about 40 Portuguese in it.
Expedition composition and equipment
Five ships were preparing for the expedition with a supply of food for two years. Magellan himself personally supervised the loading and packaging of food, goods and equipment. The provisions taken on board were crackers, wine, olive oil, vinegar, salted fish, dried pork, beans and beans, flour, cheese, honey, almonds, anchovies, raisins, prunes, sugar, quince jam, capers, mustard, beef and rice In case of clashes there were about 70 cannons, 50 arquebuses, 60 crossbows, 100 sets of armor and other weapons. For trade they took cloth, metal products, women's jewelry, mirrors, bells and (it was used as medicine). The expedition cost more than 8 million maravedi.
| Ship | Tonnage | Captain |
| Trinidad | 110 (266) | Fernand de Magellan |
| San Antonio | 120 (290) | Juan de Cartagena |
| Concepcion | 90 (218) | Gaspar de Cassada |
| Victoria | 85 (206) | Luis de Mendoza |
| Santiago | 75 (182) | Joao Serran |
According to the staffing schedule, there were supposed to be more than 230 sailors on the ships, but besides them, the expedition had many supernumerary participants, among whom was the Rhodes knight Antonio Pigafetta, who compiled a detailed description of the journey. And also servants and slaves, including blacks and Asians, among whom it is worth mentioning Magellan’s slave Enrique, who was born in Sumatra and taken by Magellan as a translator. He will be the first person to return to his homeland after circumnavigating the globe. Despite the ban, several female slaves (probably Indians) ended up illegally on the expedition. Recruitment of sailors continued in the Canary Islands. All this makes it difficult to calculate the exact number of participants. Various authors estimate the number of participants from 265 to no less than 280.
Magellan personally commanded Trinidad. Santiago was commanded by João Serran, the brother of Francisco Serran, who was rescued by Magellan in Malacca. The other three ships were commanded by representatives of the Spanish nobility, with whom Magellan immediately began to have conflicts. The Spaniards did not like the fact that the expedition was commanded by a Portuguese. In addition, Magellan hid the intended voyage route, and this displeased the captains. The confrontation was quite serious. Captain Mendoza was even conveyed the king's special demand to stop bickering and submit to Magellan. But already in the Canary Islands, Magellan received information that the Spanish captains had agreed among themselves to remove him from his post if they considered that he was interfering with them.
Atlantic Ocean
Captain San Antonio Cartagena, who was the representative of the crown in the voyage, during one of the reports defiantly broke the chain of command and began to call Magellan not “captain general” (admiral), but simply “captain”. Cartagena was the second person in the expedition, almost equal in status to the commander. For several days he continued to do this despite Magellan's comments. Tom had to endure this until the captains of all the ships were summoned to Trinidad to decide the fate of the criminal sailor. Having forgotten himself, Cartagena again violated discipline, but this time he was not on his ship. Magellan personally grabbed him by the collar and declared him arrested. Cartagena was allowed to stay not on the flagship, but on the ships of captains who sympathized with him. Magellan's relative Alvaru Mishkita became the commander of San Antonio.
On November 29, the flotilla reached the coast of Brazil, and on December 26, 1519, La Plata, where the search for the supposed strait was carried out. Santiago was sent to the west, but soon returned with the message that this was not a strait, but the mouth of a giant river. The squadron began to slowly move south, exploring the coast. On this route, Europeans saw penguins for the first time.
Advancement to the south was slow, the ships were hampered by storms, winter was approaching, but there was still no strait. March 31, 1520, reaching 49°S. The flotilla stops for the winter in a bay called San Julian.
Mutiny
Family of Magellanic penguins in Patagonia
Having got up for the winter, the captain ordered a reduction in food supply standards, which caused a murmur among the sailors, already exhausted from the long, difficult voyage. A group of officers dissatisfied with Magellan tried to take advantage of this.
Magellan learns about the rebellion only in the morning. At his disposal are two ships, Trinidad and Santiago, which had almost no combat value. In the hands of the conspirators are three large ships San Antonio, Concepcion and Victoria. But the rebels did not want further bloodshed, fearing that they would have to answer for this upon arrival in Spain. A boat was sent to Magellan with a letter saying that their goal was only to force Magellan to correctly carry out the king's orders. They agree to consider Magellan as captain, but he must consult with them on all his decisions and not act without their consent. For further negotiations, they invite Magellan to come to them for negotiations. Magellan responds by inviting them onto his ship. They refuse.
Having lulled the enemy's vigilance, Magellan seizes the boat carrying letters and puts the rowers in the hold. The rebels were most afraid of an attack on San Antonio, but Magellan decided to attack Victoria, where many Portuguese were located. The boat, containing Alguacil Gonzalo Gomez de Espinosa and five reliable people, is sent to Victoria. Boarding the ship, Espinoza hands Captain Mendoza a new invitation from Magellan to come for negotiations. The captain begins to read it with a grin, but does not have time to finish reading it. Espinoza stabs him in the neck, and one of the arriving sailors finishes off the rebel. While Victoria's team was completely confused, another, this time well-armed, group of Magellan's supporters, led by Duerte Barbosa, jumped on board, unnoticed on another boat. Victoria's crew surrenders without resistance. Three of Magellan's ships: Trinidad, Victoria and Santiago stand at the exit of the bay, blocking the rebels' escape route.
After the ship was taken from them, the rebels did not dare to engage in open conflict and, waiting until nightfall, tried to slip past Magellan's ships into the open ocean. It failed. San Antonio was shelled and boarded. There was no resistance, and there were no casualties. Concepcion also surrendered after him.
A tribunal was created to try the rebels. 40 participants in the mutiny were sentenced to death, but were immediately pardoned, since the expedition could not lose so many sailors. Only Quesado, who committed the murder, was executed. Magellan did not dare to execute the representative of the king of Cartagena and one of the priests who actively participated in the rebellion, and they were left on the shore after the flotilla left. Nothing more is known about them.
A few decades later, Francis Drake will enter the same bay, who will also have to circumnavigate the world. On his flotilla the conspiracy will be revealed and a trial will take place in the bay. He will offer the rebel a choice: execution, or he will be left on the shore, like Magellan to Cartagena. The defendant will choose execution.
Strait
In May, Magellan sent Santiago, led by João Serran, south to reconnoiter the area. Santa Cruz Bay was found 60 miles south. A few days later, during a storm, the ship lost control and crashed. The sailors, except one person, escaped and found themselves ashore without food or supplies. They tried to return to their wintering place, but due to fatigue and exhaustion, they connected with the main detachment only after several weeks. The loss of a ship specially designed for reconnaissance, as well as the supplies on it, caused great damage to the expedition.
Magellan made João Serran captain of Concepción. As a result, all four ships ended up in the hands of Magellan's supporters. San Antonio was commanded by Mishquita, Victoria Barbosa.
Strait of Magellan
During the winter, the sailors came into contact with local residents. They were tall. To protect against the cold, they wrapped their legs a large number hay, therefore they were called Patagonians (big-footed, born with paws). The country itself was named after them Patagonia. By order of the king, it was necessary to bring representatives of the peoples that the expedition met to Spain. Since the sailors were afraid of a fight with tall and strong Indians, they resorted to a trick: they gave them many gifts, and when they could no longer hold anything in their hands, they offered them leg shackles as a gift, the purpose of which the Indians did not understand. Since their hands were busy, the Patagonians agreed to have shackles attached to their legs, taking advantage of this the sailors shackled them. So they managed to capture two Indians, but this led to a clash with local residents with casualties on both sides. None of the prisoners lived to be returned to Europe.
On August 24, 1520, the flotilla left the Bay of San Julian. During the winter, she lost 30 people. Just two days later, the expedition was forced to stop in Santa Cruz Bay due to bad weather and damage. The flotilla set off only on October 18. Before leaving, Magellan announced that he would search for a strait up to 75°S, but if the strait was not found, then the flotilla would go to the Moluccas around the Cape of Good Hope.
October 21 at 52°S. The ships found themselves at a narrow strait leading into the interior of the mainland. San Antonio and Concepcion are sent to investigate. Soon a storm arrives that lasts two days. The sailors feared that the ships sent for reconnaissance were lost. And they really almost died, but when they were carried towards the shore, a narrow passage opened in front of them, into which they entered. They found themselves in a wide bay, followed by more straits and bays. The water remained salty all the time, and the lot very often did not reach the bottom. Both ships returned with good news about a possible strait.
The flotilla entered the strait and walked for many days through a veritable labyrinth of rocks and narrow passages. The Strait was subsequently named the Strait of Magellan. The southern land, where lights were often seen at night, was called Tierra del Fuego. A council was convened at the "Sardine River". San Antonio helmsman Esteban Gomes spoke in favor of returning home due to the small amount of provisions and complete uncertainty ahead. Other officers did not support him. Magellan well remembered the fate of Bartolomeo Dias, who discovered the Cape of Good Hope, but gave in to the command and returned home. Dias was removed from the leadership of future expeditions and never made it to India. Magellan announced that the ships would go forward.
At Dawson Island, the Strait divides into two channels, and Magellan again separates the flotilla. San Antonio and Concepcion go southeast, the other two ships stay to rest, and a boat goes southwest. Three days later the boat returns and the sailors report that they saw the open sea. Concession soon returns, but there is no news from San Antonio. They search for the missing ship for several days, but everything is useless. It later turned out that San Antonio's helmsman Esteban Gomes rebelled, chained Captain Mishkita and went home to Spain. In March he returned to Seville, where he accused Magellan of treason. An investigation began and the entire team was put in prison. Magellan's wife was placed under surveillance. Subsequently, the rebels were released, and Mishkita remained in prison until the return of the expedition.
On November 28, 1520, Magellan's ships set sail. The journey across the strait took 38 days. For many years, Magellan will remain the only captain who passed through the strait without losing a single ship.
Pacific Ocean
Coming out of the strait, Magellan walked north for 15 days, reaching 38°S, where he turned northwest, and on December 21, 1520, reaching 30°S, he turned northwest.
Strait of Magellan. Sketch of a map of Pigafetta. North is down.
The flotilla traveled at least 17 thousand km across the Pacific Ocean. Such a huge size of the new ocean was unexpected for the sailors. When planning the expedition, we proceeded from the assumption that Asia was relatively close to America. In addition, at that time it was believed that the main part of the Earth was occupied by land, and only a relatively small part by sea. During the crossing of the Pacific Ocean it became clear that this was not the case. The ocean seemed endless. There are many inhabited islands in the South Pacific that could provide fresh supplies, but the flotilla's route took them away from them. Unprepared for such a transition, the expedition experienced enormous hardships.
"Continuing three months and twenty days, - the chronicler of the expedition, Antonio Pigafetta, noted in his travel notes, - we were completely deprived of fresh food. We ate crackers, but they were no longer crackers, but cracker dust mixed with worms that had devoured the best crackers. She smelled strongly of rat urine. We drank yellow water that had been rotting for many days. We also ate the cowhide covering the grotto to prevent the shrouds from chafing; from the action of the sun, rain and wind, it became incredibly hard. We soaked it in sea water for four to five days, after which we put it on hot coals for a few minutes and ate it. We often ate sawdust. Rats were sold for half a ducat apiece, but even for that price it was impossible to get them.”
In addition, scurvy was rampant on the ships. According to various sources, from eleven to twenty-nine people died. Fortunately for the sailors, during the entire voyage there was not a single storm and they called the new ocean the Pacific.
During the voyage, the expedition reached 10 °C latitude. and turned out to be noticeably north of the Moluccas, which she was aiming for. Perhaps Magellan wanted to make sure that the Southern Sea discovered by Balboa was part of this ocean, or perhaps he feared a meeting with the Portuguese, which would have ended disastrously for his battered expedition. On January 24, 1521, sailors saw an uninhabited island (from the Tuamotu archipelago). It was not possible to land on it. After 10 days, another island was discovered (in the Line archipelago). They also failed to land, but the expedition caught sharks for food.
On March 6, 1521, the flotilla sighted the island of Guam from the Mariana Islands group. It was inhabited. The boats surrounded the flotilla and trade began. It soon became clear that local residents were stealing everything they could get their hands on from ships. When they stole the boat, the Europeans could not stand it. They landed on the island and burned the village of the islanders, killing 7 people. After that, they took the boat and grabbed fresh food. The islands were named Thieves (Landrones). When the flotilla left, local residents pursued the ships in boats, throwing stones at them, but without much success.
A few days later, the Spaniards were the first Europeans to reach the Philippine Islands, which Magellan called the Archipelago of Saint Lazarus. Fearing new clashes, he searches for an uninhabited island. On March 17, the Spaniards landed on the island of Homonkhom. The crossing of the Pacific Ocean is over.
Death of Magellan
An infirmary was set up on the island of Homonkhom, where all the sick were transported. Fresh food quickly healed the sailors, and the flotilla set off on its further journey among the islands. At one of them, Magellan's slave Enrique, born in Sumatra, met people who spoke his language. The circle is closed. For the first time, man walked around the earth.
Brisk trade began. The islanders easily traded gold and food for iron products. Impressed by the strength of the Spaniards and their weapons, the ruler of the island, Raja Humabon, agrees to surrender under the protection of the Spanish king and is soon baptized under the name Carlos. Following him, his family, many representatives of the nobility and ordinary islanders are baptized. Patronizing the new Carlos-Humabon, Magellan tried to bring as many local rulers as possible under his rule.
Death of Magellan
Lapu-Lapu Monument on Cebu Island
Here's what the expedition's historiographer, Antonio Pigafetta, wrote about the death of the admiral:
...The islanders followed us on our heels, fishing spears that had already been used once out of the water, and thus throwing the same spear five or six times. Having recognized our admiral, they began to aim primarily at him; twice they had already managed to knock the helmet off his head; he remained with a handful of men at his post, as befits a brave knight, without attempting to continue the retreat, and so we fought for more than an hour, until one of the natives managed to wound the admiral in the face with a reed spear. Enraged, he immediately pierced the chest of the attacker with his spear, but it got stuck in the body of the dead man; then the admiral tried to grab the sword, but was no longer able to do this, since the enemies severely wounded him in the right hand, and it stopped working. Noticing this, the natives rushed at him in a crowd, and one of them wounded him in the left leg, so he fell backwards. At the same moment, all the islanders pounced on him and began to stab him with spears and other weapons they had. So they killed our mirror, our light, our consolation and our faithful leader.
Completion of the expedition
The defeat killed nine Europeans, but the damage to reputation was enormous. In addition, the loss of an experienced leader immediately made itself felt. Juan Serran and Duarte Barbosa, who headed the expedition, entered into negotiations with Lapu-Lapu, offering him a ransom for Magellan’s body, but he replied that the body would not be handed over under any circumstances. The failure of the negotiations completely undermined the prestige of the Spaniards, and soon their ally Humabon lured them to dinner and carried out a massacre, killing several dozen people, including almost all the command staff. The ships had to urgently sail. Almost there, the flotilla took several months to reach the Moluccas.
Spices were purchased there, and the expedition had to set off on the return route. On the islands, the Spaniards learned that the Portuguese king had declared Magellan a deserter, so his ships were subject to capture. The ships are dilapidated. "Concepcion" was previously abandoned by the team and burned. There were only two ships left. "Trinidad" was repaired and sailed east to the Spanish possessions in Panama, and "Victoria "- to the west, bypassing Africa. "Trinidad" fell into a strip of headwinds, was forced to return to the Moluccas and was captured by the Portuguese. Most of its crew died at hard labor in India. "Victoria" under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano continued the route. The crew was supplemented by a number of Malay islanders (almost all of them died on the road). The ship soon began to run out of provisions (Pigafetta noted in his notes: “Besides rice and water, we have no food left; due to lack of salt, all meat products spoiled"), and part of the crew began to demand that the captain set a course for Mozambique, which belonged to the Portuguese crown, and surrender into the hands of the Portuguese. However, most of the sailors and Captain Elcano himself decided to try to sail to Spain at any cost. "Victoria" barely rounded the Cape of Good Hope and then went non-stop to the northwest along the African coast for two months.
On July 9, 1522, a worn-out ship with an exhausted crew approached the Cape Verde Islands, a Portuguese possession. It was impossible not to stop here due to the extreme lack of drinking water and provisions. Here Pigafetta writes:
“On Wednesday, July 9, we reached the St. James Islands and immediately sent a boat ashore for provisions, inventing a story for the Portuguese that we had lost our foremast under the equator (in fact, we lost it at the Cape of Good Hope) , and during this time that we were restoring it, our captain-general left with two other ships for Spain. Having won them over in this way, and also given them our goods, we managed to get from them two boats loaded with rice... When our boat again approached the shore for rice, thirteen crew members were detained along with the boat. Fearing that some caravels might also detain us, we hastily moved on."
It is interesting that Magellan himself did not at all intend to make a round-the-world expedition - he only wanted to find a western route to the Moluccas and return back; in general, for any commercial flight (and Magellan’s flight was such), a round-the-world trip is pointless. And only the threat of an attack by the Portuguese forced one of the ships to continue heading west, and if "Trinidad" completed his route safely, and "Victoria" If she had been captured, there would have been no trip around the world.
Thus, the Spaniards opened the western route to Asia and Spice Islands. This first circumnavigation in history proved the correctness of the hypothesis about the sphericity of the Earth and the inseparability of the oceans washing the land.
Lost day
In addition, as it turned out, the expedition members “lost a day.” In those days, there was still no concept of the difference between local and Universal time, since the most distant trade expeditions passed in both directions along almost the same route, crossing the meridians first in one direction, then in the opposite direction. In this same case, for the first time recorded in history, the expedition returned to the starting point, so to speak, “without returning,” but moving only forward, to the west.
On ships with a Christian crew, as expected, in order to maintain order of watches, reckoning movements, keeping records, but, first of all, to observe Catholic church holidays, time was reckoned. There were no chronometers in those days; sailors used hourglasses (that’s why the navy kept track of time using flasks). The counting of daily time began at noon. Naturally, every clear day, sailors determined the moment of noon when the Sun was at its highest point, that is, it crossed the local meridian (using a compass or along the length of the shadow). From this, the days of the calendar were counted, including Sundays, Easter days and all other church holidays. But every time the sailors determined the time local noon, corresponding to the meridian on which the ship was located at that moment. The ships sailed west, following the movement of the Sun across the sky, catching up with it. Therefore, if they had a modern chronometer or a simple clock set to the local noon of the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, sailors would notice that their day is slightly longer than the usual 24 hours and their local noon is increasingly behind the native Spanish, gradually moving to Spanish evening, night, morning and day again. But, since they did not have a chronometer, their voyage was extremely leisurely, and more important and terrible incidents happened to them, no one simply thought about this “little thing” over time. These brave Spanish sailors celebrated church holidays with all care, like zealous Catholics, but, as it turned out, your own calendar As a result, when the sailors returned to their native Europe, it turned out that their ship’s calendar was a whole day behind the calendar of their homeland and the Church. This happened on the Cape Verde Islands. This is how Antonio Pigafetta described it:
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That is, they celebrated Sundays, Easter and other holidays incorrectly.
Thus, it was discovered that when traveling along parallels, that is, in the plane of the Earth’s daily rotation around its axis, time seems to change its duration. If you move west, behind the Sun, catching up with it, the day (days) seems to lengthen. If you move east, towards the Sun, falling behind it, the day, on the contrary, shortens. To overcome this paradox, the time zone system and the concept of the date line were later developed. The effect of jet lag is now experienced by everyone who undertakes long, but fast, latitudinal travel on airplanes or high-speed trains.
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Every educated person can easily remember the name of the one who made the first trip around the world and crossed the Pacific Ocean. This was done by the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan about 500 years ago.
But it should be noted that this formulation is not completely correct. Magellan thought through and planned the route of the voyage, organized it and led it, but he was destined to die many months before it was completed. So Juan Sebastian del Cano (Elcano), a Spanish navigator with whom Magellan had, to put it mildly, not friendly relations, continued and completed the first trip around the world. It was del Cano who eventually became captain of the Victoria (the only ship to return to her home harbour) and gained fame and fortune. However, Magellan made great discoveries during his dramatic voyage, which will be discussed below, and therefore he is considered the first circumnavigator.
The first trip around the world: background
In the 16th century, Portuguese and Spanish sailors and merchants vied with each other for control of the spice-rich East Indies. The latter made it possible to preserve food, and it was difficult to do without them. There was already a proven route to the Moluccas, where the largest markets with the cheapest goods were located, but this route was not close and unsafe. Due to limited knowledge about the world, America, discovered not so long ago, seemed to sailors as an obstacle on the way to rich Asia. No one knew whether there was a strait between South America and the hypothetical Unknown South Land, but the Europeans wanted there to be one. They did not yet know that America and East Asia were separated by a huge ocean, and they thought that opening the strait would provide quick access to Asian markets. Therefore, the first navigator to circumnavigate the world would certainly have been awarded royal honors.
Career of Ferdinand Magellan
By the age of 39, the impoverished Portuguese nobleman Magellan (Magalhães) had visited Asia and Africa several times, was wounded in battles with the natives and collected a lot of information about his travels to the shores of America.
With his idea of getting to the Moluccas by the western route and returning the usual way (that is, making the first trip around the world), he turned to the Portuguese King Manuel. He was not at all interested in Magellan’s proposal, whom he also disliked for his lack of loyalty. But he allowed Fernand to change his citizenship, which he immediately took advantage of. The navigator settled in Spain (that is, in a country hostile to the Portuguese!), acquired a family and associates. In 1518, he obtained an audience with the young king Charles I. The king and his advisers became interested in finding a shortcut for spices and “gave the go-ahead” to organize the expedition.
Along the coast. Riot
Magellan's first voyage around the world, which was never completed for most of the team members, began in 1519. Five ships left the Spanish harbor of San Lucar, carrying 265 people from different countries Europe. Despite the storms, the flotilla relatively safely reached the coast of Brazil and began to “descend” along it to the south. Fernand hoped to find a strait into the South Sea, which should have been located, according to his information, in the region of 40 degrees south latitude. But in the indicated place it was not the strait, but the mouth of the La Plata River. Magellan ordered to continue moving south, and when the weather completely deteriorated, the ships anchored in the Bay of St. Julian (San Julian) to spend the winter there. The captains of three ships (Spaniards by nationality) mutinied, seized the ships and decided not to continue the first trip around the world, but to head for the Cape of Good Hope and from there to their homeland. People loyal to the admiral managed to do the impossible - recapture the ships and cut off the rebels' escape route.
Strait of All Saints
One captain was killed, another was executed, the third was put ashore. Magellan pardoned the ordinary rebels, which once again proved his foresight. Only at the end of the summer of 1520 did the ships leave the bay and continue searching for the strait. During a storm, the ship Santiago sank. And on October 21, the sailors finally discovered a strait, more reminiscent of a narrow crevice between the rocks. Magellan's ships sailed along it for 38 days.
The shore remaining along left hand, the admiral called Tierra del Fuego, since Indian fires burned on it around the clock. It was thanks to the discovery of the Strait of All Saints that Ferdinand Magellan began to be considered the one who made the first trip around the world. Subsequently, the Strait was renamed Magellan.
Pacific Ocean
Only three ships left the strait for the so-called “South Sea”: “San Antonio” disappeared (simply deserted). The sailors liked the new waters, especially after the turbulent Atlantic. The ocean was named Pacific.
The expedition headed northwest, then west. For several months the sailors sailed without seeing any signs of land. Starvation and scurvy caused the death of almost half the crew. Only at the beginning of March 1521 did ships approach two yet undiscovered inhabited islands from the Mariana group. From here it was already close to the Philippines.
Philippines. Death of Magellan
The discovery of the islands of Samar, Siargao and Homonkhon greatly pleased the Europeans. Here they regained their strength and communicated with local residents, who willingly shared food and information.
Magellan's servant, a Malay, spoke fluently with the natives in the same language, and the admiral realized that the Moluccas were very close. By the way, this servant, Enrique, ultimately became one of those who made the first trip around the world, unlike his master, who was not destined to land on the Moluccas. Magellan and his people intervened in an internecine war between two local princes, and the navigator was killed (either with a poisoned arrow or with a cutlass). Moreover, after some time, as a result of a treacherous attack by savages, his closest associates, experienced Spanish sailors, died. The team was so thin that it was decided to destroy one of the ships, the Concepcion.
Moluccas. Return to Spain
Who led the first voyage around the world after Magellan's death? Juan Sebastian del Cano, Basque sailor. He was among the conspirators who presented Magellan with an ultimatum at San Julian Bay, but the admiral forgave him. Del Cano commanded one of the two remaining ships, the Victoria.
He ensured that the ship returned to Spain loaded with spices. This was not easy to do: the Portuguese were waiting for the Spaniards off the coast of Africa, who from the very beginning of the expedition did everything to upset the plans of their competitors. The second ship, the flagship Trinidad, was boarded by them; sailors were enslaved. Thus, in 1522, 18 expedition members returned to San Lucar. The cargo they delivered covered all the costs of the expensive expedition. Del Cano was awarded a personal coat of arms. If in those days someone had said that Magellan made the first trip around the world, he would have been ridiculed. The Portuguese only faced accusations of violating royal instructions.
Results of Magellan's journey
Magellan explored east coast South America and opened a strait from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Thanks to his expedition, people received strong evidence that the Earth was indeed round, they were convinced that the Pacific Ocean was much larger than expected, and that sailing on it to the Moluccas was unprofitable. Europeans also realized that the World Ocean is one and washes all continents. Spain satisfied its ambitions by announcing the discovery of the Mariana and Philippine Islands, and laid claim to the Moluccas.
All the great discoveries made during this voyage belong to Ferdinand Magellan. So the answer to the question of who made the first trip around the world is not so obvious. In fact, this man was del Cano, but still the main achievement of the Spaniard was that the world generally learned about the history and results of this voyage.
The first round-the-world voyage of Russian navigators
In 1803-1806, Russian sailors Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky made a large-scale journey through the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Their goals were: exploring the Far Eastern outskirts of the Russian Empire, finding a convenient trade route to China and Japan by sea, and providing the Russian population of Alaska with everything they needed. The navigators (set off on two ships) explored and described Easter Island, the Marquesas Islands, the coast of Japan and Korea, the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin and Yesso Island, visited Sitka and Kodiak, where Russian settlers lived, and also delivered an ambassador from the emperor to Japan. During this voyage, domestic ships visited high latitudes for the first time. The first round-the-world trip of Russian explorers had a huge public resonance and contributed to increasing the prestige of the country. Its scientific significance is no less great.
