Any educated person will easily remember the name of the one who made the first round the world trip and crossed the Pacific Ocean. This was done by the Portuguese Fernand Magellan about 500 years ago.
But it should be noted that this formulation is not completely correct. Magellan thought over and planned the sailing route, organized and directed 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, continued and completed the first round the world voyage. It was del Cano who eventually became the captain of the Victoria (the only ship that returned to his home harbor) 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 traveler around the world.
The first trip around the world: prerequisites
In the 16th century, Portuguese and Spanish seafarers 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 long and unsafe. Due to the limited knowledge about the world, America, discovered not so long ago, seemed to sailors an obstacle on the way to rich Asia. No one knew if there was a strait between South America and the hypothetical Unknown South Land, but the Europeans wanted it to be. 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 received royal honors.
Fernand Magellan's career
The impoverished Portuguese nobleman Magellan (Magalyans), by the age of 39, managed to repeatedly visit Asia and Africa, was wounded in battles with the natives and collected a lot of information about travels to the shores of America.
With his idea to get to the Moluccas by the western route and return the usual (that is, to carry out the first round the world trip), he turned to the Portuguese king Manuel. He was not at all interested in the proposal of Magellan, whom he also disliked for 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!), Got a family and associates. In 1518 he achieved an audience with the young King Charles I. The king and his advisers became interested in looking for a shortcut for spices and "gave the go-ahead" to organize an expedition.
Along the coast. Riot
Magellan's first trip around the world, which was never completed for most of the crew, began in 1519. From the Spanish harbor of San Lucar, five ships left, carrying 265 people from different countries Europe. Despite the storms, the flotilla reached the Brazilian coast relatively safely and began to "descend" along it to the south. Fernand hoped to find a strait in the South Sea, which, according to his information, was to be located in the region of 40 degrees south latitude. But in the indicated place was not the strait, but the mouth of the La Plata River. Magellan ordered to continue moving south, and when the weather turned bad, the ships anchored in the bay of St. Julian (San Julian) to spend the winter there. The captains of the three ships (Spanish by nationality) rebelled, seized the ships and decided not to continue their first round-the-world voyage, but to head to the Cape of Good Hope and from it to their homeland. The people, loyal to the admiral, managed to do the impossible - to recapture the ships and cut off the escape route for the rebels.
All Saints Strait
One captain was killed, another executed, and the third landed. Magellan pardoned ordinary rioters, which once again proved his foresight. Only at the end of the summer of 1520 did the ships leave the bay and continued searching for the strait. During the storm, the ship "Santiago" sank. And on October 21, the sailors finally discovered the strait, more reminiscent of a narrow crevice between the rocks. Magellan's ships sailed along it for 38 days.
The shore left by left hand, the admiral called Tierra del Fuego, since the fires of the Indians burned on it around the clock. It was thanks to the discovery of the Strait of All Saints that Fernand 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 into 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. Hunger and scurvy killed nearly half of the team. Only at the beginning of March 1521, the ships approached two still 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 delighted the Europeans. Here they recuperated and communicated with the locals, who willingly shared food and information.
Magellan's servant, a Malay, freely spoke the same language with the natives, and the admiral realized that the Molucca was very close. Incidentally, this servant, Enrique, eventually became one of those who made the first round the world trip, unlike his master, who was not destined to land on the Moluccas. Magellan and his people intervened in an internecine war between two local princelings, and the navigator was killed (either by a poisoned arrow, or by a boarding saber). Moreover, after a while, as a result of a treacherous attack by savages, his closest associates - experienced Spanish sailors - perished. The team thinned out so much that it was decided to destroy one of the ships, the Concepcion.
Moluccas. Return to Spain
Who directed the first voyage around the world after Magellan's death? Juan Sebastian del Cano, Basque sailor. He was among the conspirators who issued an ultimatum to Magellan in San Julian Bay, but the admiral forgave him. Del Cano commanded one of the two remaining ships, the Victoria.
He made sure that the ship returned to Spain loaded with spices. It was not easy to do this: the Portuguese were waiting for the Spaniards off the coast of Africa, who from the very beginning of the expedition did everything to frustrate the plans of their competitors. The second ship, the flagship Trinidad, was boarded by them; sailors fell into slavery. Thus, in 1522, 18 members of the expedition returned to San Lucar. The cargo delivered by them paid for all the expenses 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 round the world trip, he would have been ridiculed. The Portuguese were only charged with violating royal instructions.
The results of Magellan's journey
Magellan explored the east coast South America and opened the strait from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Thanks to his expedition, people received strong evidence that the Earth is really round, they became convinced that the Pacific Ocean is much larger than expected, and that it is not profitable to sail on it to Molucca. Also, the Europeans 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 Fernand Magellan. So the answer to the question of who made the first round the world trip is not so obvious. In fact, this man was del Cano, but nevertheless, 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 sailors
In 1803-1806 Russian sailors Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky made a large-scale voyage across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Their goals were: exploration of the Far Eastern outskirts of the Russian Empire, finding a convenient trade route to China and Japan by sea, providing the Russian population of Alaska with everything necessary. The sailors (who set off on two ships) explored and described Easter Island, the Marquesas Islands, the coast of Japan and Korea, the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin and Iesso Island, visited Sitka and Kodiak, where Russian settlers lived, and, in addition, brought an ambassador from the emperor to Japan. During this voyage, domestic ships first visited high latitudes. The first round-the-world trip of Russian explorers had a huge public outcry and contributed to the rise of the country's prestige. Its scientific significance is no less great.
The discoveries of Russian travelers are striking. Let's give in chronological order short descriptions seven of the most significant round-the-world travels of our compatriots.
The first Russian round-the-world trip - Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky's round-the-world expedition
Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern and Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky were military Russian sailors: both in 1788-1790. participated in four battles against the Swedes. The sailing of Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky is the beginning of a new era in the history of Russian navigation. 
The expedition started from Kronstadt on July 26 (August 7) 1803 under the leadership of Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, who was 32 years old. The expedition included:
- Three-masted sloop "Nadezhda". The total number of the team is 65 people. Commander - Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern.
- Three-masted sloop "Neva". The total number of the ship's crew is 54 people. Commander - Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky.
The sailors were all Russian to one - that was the condition of Kruzenshtern
In July 1806, with a difference of two weeks, "Neva" and "Nadezhda" returned to the Kronstadt roadstead, having made the whole trip in 3 years 12 days... Both of these sailboats, like their captains, became famous all over the world. The first Russian round-the-world expedition was of great scientific importance on a world scale.
As a result of the expedition, many books were published, about two dozen geographical points were named after famous captains.
Left - Ivan Fyodorovich Kruzenshtern. On the right - Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky The description of the expedition was published under the title “Travel around the world in 1803, 1804, 1805 and 1806 on the ships“ Nadezhda ”and“ Neva ”, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Kruzenshtern,” in 3 volumes, with an atlas of 104 maps and engraved paintings. and has been translated into English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Italian and Danish.
And now, answering the question: "Which Russian was the first to travel around the world?", You can easily answer.
Discovery of Antarctica - round-the-world expedition of Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev
Aivazovsky's work "Ice Mountains in Antarctica", written on the basis of the memoirs of Admiral Lazarev In 1819, after a long and very thorough preparation from Kronstadt, a southern polar expedition set off on a long voyage, consisting of two sloops - "Vostok" and "Mirny". The first was commanded by Faddey Faddeevich Bellingshausen, the second - by Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev. The crew of the ships consisted of experienced, seasoned sailors. There was a long way to unknown countries. The expedition was given the task of how to fully penetrate further south in order to finally resolve the question of the existence of the southern continent.
The members of the expedition spent 751 days in the voyage, covered more than 92 thousand kilometers. 29 islands and one coral reef were discovered. The scientific materials collected by her made it possible to form the first idea of Antarctica.
Russian sailors not only discovered a huge continent located around the South Pole, but also conducted important research in the field of oceanography. This branch of spiders was in its infancy at that time. FF Bellingshausen was the first to correctly explain the reasons causing sea currents (for example, the Canary), the origin of the algae of the Sargasso Sea, as well as coral islands in tropical regions.
The discoveries of the expedition turned out to be a major achievement of Russian and world geographical science at that time.
And so on January 16 (28), 1820 it is considered - the day of the discovery of Antarctica... Bellingshausen and Lazarev, despite dense ice and fogs, passed around Antarctica at latitudes from 60 ° to 70 ° and irrefutably proved the existence of land in the region of the South Pole.
Strikingly, proof of the existence of Antarctica was immediately recognized as an outstanding geographical discovery. However, then scientists for more than a hundred years argued over what was discovered. Was it a mainland, or just a group of islands covered with a common ice cap? Bellingshausen himself never once spoke about the discovery of the mainland. It was possible to finally confirm the continental nature of Antarctica only in the middle of the 20th century as a result of long-term studies using sophisticated technical means.
Cycling around the world
1913 On August 10, the finish of the round-the-world trip on a bicycle, which was ridden by a 25-year-old Russian athlete Onisim Petrovich Pankratov, took place in Harbin.
This journey lasted 2 years and 18 days. Pankratov chose a rather difficult route. The countries of almost all of Europe were included in it. Leaving Harbin in July 1911, the courageous cyclist arrived in St. Petersburg at the end of autumn. Then his path ran through Konigsberg, Switzerland, Italy, Serbia, Turkey, Greece and again through Turkey, Italy, France, Southern Spain, Portugal, Northern Spain and again France.
The Swiss authorities thought Pankratov was crazy. No one would dare to cycle through the rocky mountain passes covered with snow, which are accessible only to experienced climbers. Climbing the mountains for a cyclist was not a small effort. He also crossed Italy, traveled through Austria, Serbia, Greece and Turkey. He had to sleep just under the starry sky, from food he often had only water and bread, but he still did not stop the journey.
Having crossed the Pas-de-Calais by boat, the athlete crossed England on a bicycle. Then, having also got to America on the ship, he again got on a bicycle and rode the entire American continent following the route New York ─ Chicago ─ San Francisco. And from there by ship to Japan. Then he crossed Japan and China by bicycle, after which Pankratov reached the original point of his grandiose route - Harbin.
The bike covered a distance of more than 50 thousand kilometers. To make such a trip around the earth Onisim was invited by his father.
Pankratov's round-the-world trip was called great by his contemporaries. The Gritsner bicycle helped him to make a round the world, during the trip Onisim had to change 11 chains, 2 steering wheels, 53 tires, 750 spokes, etc.
Around the Earth - the first space flight
At 9 o'clock. 7 minutes Moscow time from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the spacecraft-satellite "Vostok" took off. Having made a flight around the globe, he returned safely to Earth in 108 minutes. The pilot-cosmonaut Major was on board the ship.
The weight of the satellite spacecraft is 4,725 kilograms (excluding the last stage of the launch vehicle), the total engine power of the rocket is 20 million horsepower.
The first flight took place in automatic mode, in which the cosmonaut was, as it were, a passenger on the spacecraft. However, at any moment he could switch the ship to manual control. Throughout the flight, two-way radio communication was maintained with the cosmonaut.
In orbit, Gagarin conducted the simplest experiments: he drank, ate, took notes with a pencil. "Putting" the pencil next to him, he accidentally discovered that he immediately began to float away. From this, Gagarin concluded that it is better to tie pencils and other objects in space. He recorded all his feelings and observations on an onboard tape recorder.
After the successful completion of the intended research and the completion of the flight program at 10 o'clock. 55 minutes Moscow time, the satellite ship "Vostok" made a safe landing in the specified area Soviet Union- near the village of Smelovka, Ternovsky district, Saratov region.
The first people who met the cosmonaut after the flight were the wife of the local forester Anna (Anikhayat) Takhtarova and her six-year-old granddaughter Rita. Soon, soldiers from the division and local collective farmers arrived at the scene. One group of military men took the descent vehicle under protection, and the other took Gagarin to the location of the unit. From there, Gagarin reported by phone to the commander of the air defense division:
I ask you to tell the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force: I completed the task, landed in the specified area, I feel well, there are no bruises or breakdowns. Gagarin
Immediately after Gagarin's landing, the burnt descent module Vostok-1 was covered with cloth and taken to Podlipki near Moscow, to the restricted area of the royal OKB-1. Later it became the main exhibit in the museum of the Energia rocket and space corporation that grew out of OKB-1. The museum was closed for a long time (it was possible to get into it, but it was quite difficult - only as part of a group, according to a preliminary letter), in May 2016 the Gagarin ship became publicly available as part of the exhibition.
The first round-the-world voyage of a submarine without surfacing
February 12, 1966 - a successful round-the-world voyage of two nuclear submarines of the Northern Fleet started. At the same time, our boats passed the entire route, the length of which exceeded the length of the equator, underwater, without surfacing even in the poorly studied regions of the Southern Hemisphere. The heroism and courage of Soviet submariners were of outstanding national importance and became a continuation of the military traditions of submariners of the Great Patriotic War.
They covered 25 thousand miles and showed the highest degree of secrecy, the duration of the voyage took 1.5 months
To participate in the campaign, two serial production submarines were allocated without any modifications. Missile boat K-116 of project 675 and the second boat K-133 of project 627A, which has torpedo armament.
In addition to its enormous political significance, it was an impressive demonstration of the scientific and technological achievements and military power of the state. The trip showed that the entire World Ocean has become a global launching pad for our nuclear submarines, armed with both cruise and ballistic missiles. At the same time, he opened up new opportunities for maneuvering forces between the Northern and Pacific fleets. More broadly, we can say that at the height of the Cold War, the historical role of our fleet was to change the strategic situation in the World Ocean, and Soviet submariners were the first to do this.
The first and only sailing in the history of solo circumnavigation of the world, performed on a pleasure sailing dinghy with a length of 5.5 meters
On July 7, 1992, Evgeny Aleksandrovich Gvozdev on the yacht "Lena" (class "micro", length only 5.5 meters) from Makhachkala set off on his first solo voyage around the world. On July 19, 1996, the trip was safely completed (it was 4 years and two weeks). This set a world record - the first and only voyage in the history of solo circumnavigation, performed on an ordinary pleasure sailing dinghy. Evgeny Gvozdev went on a long-awaited trip around the world when he was 58 years old.
Surprisingly, the ship lacked an auxiliary engine, radio, autopilot, and stove. But there was the coveted "sailor's passport", which the new Russian authorities issued to the yachtsman after a year of struggle. This document not only helped Yevgeny Gvozdev to cross the border in the direction he needed: in the future, Gvozdev traveled without money and without visas.
On his journey, our hero experienced a severe psychological shock after a collision with the treacherous Somali "partisans" who robbed him clean on the Ras Khafun Cape and almost shot him.
All his first trip around the world can be described in one word: "in spite of." The chance to survive was too scanty. Yevgeny Gvozdev himself sees the world differently: it is a world similar to a single brotherhood of good people, a world of complete disinterestedness, a world without obstacles to global conversion ...
On hot-air balloon around the Earth - Fedor Konyukhov
Fedor Konyukhov was the first in the world to fly around the Earth in a balloon (on the first try). A total of 29 attempts were made, and only three of them were successful. During the trip, Fedor Konyukhov set several world records, the main of which is the duration of the flight. The traveler managed to fly around the Earth in about 11 days, 5 hours and 31 minutes.
The balloon was a two-tier structure that combined the use of helium and solar energy. Its height is 60 meters. Below was attached a gondola, equipped with the best technical devices, from where Konyukhov piloted the ship.
I thought that I had committed so many sins that I would burn not in hell, but here
The journey took place at extreme conditions: the temperature dropped to -40 degrees, the balloon fell into a zone of strong turbulence with zero visibility, and also passed a cyclone with hail and strong winds. Due to difficult weather conditions, the equipment broke down several times and Fedor had to manually fix the problems.
During the 11 days of the flight, Fedor hardly slept. According to him, even a moment's relaxation could lead to irreversible consequences. In moments when it was already impossible to fight sleep, he took an adjustable wrench and sat over an iron plate. As soon as the eyes closed, the hand released the key, it fell on the plate, making a noise, which made the balloonist instantly wake up. At the end of the journey, he did this procedure regularly. It almost exploded at a great height when it mistakenly began to interfere different kinds gas. It's good that I managed to cut off the ignited balloon.
During the entire route, air traffic controllers at various airports around the world helped Konyukhov as best they could, clearing the airspace for him. So he flew the Pacific Ocean in 92 hours, crossed Chile and Argentina, circled the thunderstorm front over the Atlantic, passed the Cape of Good Hope and returned safely to Australia, from where he began his journey.
Fedor Konyukhov:
I flew around the Earth in 11 days, it is very small, it must be protected. We have no idea about it, we, people, only fight. The world is so beautiful - explore it, get to know
Design
The idea of the expedition was in many ways a repetition of the idea of Columbus: to reach Asia, following to the west. The colonization of America had not yet had time to bring significant profits, unlike the colonies of the Portuguese in India, and the Spaniards wanted to sail to the Spice Islands themselves and get benefits. By that time, it became clear that America was not Asia, but Asia was supposed to lie relatively close to the New World. In 1513, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, passing the Isthmus of Panama, saw the Pacific Ocean, which he called the South Sea. Since then, the strait into the new sea has been looking for several expeditions. Around those years, the Portuguese captains João Lisboa and Isteban Froisch reached about 35 ° S latitude. and opened the mouth of the La Plata River. They could not seriously investigate it and took the huge flooded estuary of La Plata for the strait.
Magellan appears to have had details about the search by the Portuguese for the strait and, in particular, about La Plata, which he considered a strait into the South Sea. This confidence has played important role in planning his expedition, but he was ready to look for other routes to India if this turned out to be false.
Back 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 are easier to reach by going west, and that these islands lie in a 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 pushed into the background, and Magellan was appointed commander of the expedition. Faleru drew up a horoscope, from which it followed that he could not go on an expedition, and remained on the shore.
Preparation
The equipment of the expedition was played by European merchants who did not have the opportunity to participate in the lucrative trade with the East Indies because of the monopoly of the Portuguese. Juan de Aranda, who was entitled to an eighth of the profits under an agreement with Magellan, is pushed back from the trough, declaring that this agreement "is not in the interests of the nation."
Under an agreement with the king on March 22, 1518, Magellan and Faleru received one fifth of the net income from navigation, the rights of governorship on open lands, one 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 direct murder. They tried to denigrate Magellan in the eyes of the Spaniards and force them to give up sailing. At the same time, the fact that the expedition would be commanded by a Portuguese aroused the discontent of many Spaniards. In October 1518, a clash occurred between the members of the expedition and a crowd of Seville. When Magellan raised his standard on ships, the Spaniards mistook it for Portuguese and demanded that it be removed. Fortunately for Magellan, the conflict was settled without much sacrifice. To muffle the controversy, Magellan was ordered to limit the number of Portuguese on the expedition to five participants, but due to the lack of sailors, about 40 Portuguese were in it.
Expedition composition and equipment
The expedition was preparing five ships with a supply of food for two years. Magellan personally supervised the loading and packing of food, goods and equipment. As provisions were taken on board 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 fig. In case of collisions, there were about 70 cannons, 50 arquebusses, 60 crossbows, 100 sets of armor and other weapons. For trade, they took matter, metal products, women's jewelry, mirrors, bells and (it was used as a medicine). The expedition cost more than 8 million maravedis.
| Ship | Tonnage | Captain |
| Trinidad | 110 (266) | Fernand de Magellan |
| San Antonio | 120 (290) | Juan de Cartagena |
| Concepcion | 90 (218) | Gaspard de Cassada |
| Victoria | 85 (206) | Luis de Mendoza |
| Santiago | 75 (182) | Juan Serran |
According to the staffing table, more than 230 sailors were supposed to be on the ships, but besides them, there were many supernumerary members on the expedition, among whom was the Rhodes knight Antonio Pigafetta, who made detailed description trips. As well as servants and slaves up to blacks and Asians, among which it is worth mentioning Magellan's slave Enrique, who was born in Sumatra and taken by Magellan as a translator. It was he who would become the first person to return home, circumnavigating the globe. Despite the ban, several female slaves (probably Indian women) were illegally on the expedition. The 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 to be from 265 to at least 280.
Magellan personally commanded Trinidad. Santiago was commanded by João Serran, the brother of Francisco Serran, who was rescued by Magellan in Malacca. Three other ships were commanded by representatives of the Spanish nobility, with whom Magellan immediately began conflicts. The Spaniards did not like the fact that the expedition was commanded by a Portuguese. In addition, Magellan concealed the intended route of the voyage, and this caused the captains to displease. The confrontation was pretty serious. Captain Mendoza was even given a special request from the king to stop the 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 thought he was interfering with them.
Atlantic Ocean
The captain of San Antonio Cartagena, who was the representative of the crown on the voyage, during one of the reports demonstratively violated 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 so despite Magellan's remarks. Tom had to endure this until the captains of all the ships were summoned to Trinidad to decide the fate of the criminal sailor. Forgotten, Cartagena again broke discipline, but this time he was not on his ship. Magellan personally grabbed him by the collar and declared him arrested. Cartagena was not allowed to be on the flagship, but on the ships of captains sympathetic to him. A relative of Magellan, Alvar 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 alleged strait was carried out. Santiago was sent 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 journey, the Europeans saw penguins for the first time.
The advance to the south proceeded slowly, storms interfered with the ships, winter was approaching, and there was still no strait. March 31, 1520, reaching 49 ° S lat. the flotilla stands up for the winter in the bay called San Julian.
Mutiny
Family of Magellanic penguins in Patagonia
Having risen for the winter, the captain ordered to cut the norms for the distribution of food, which caused a murmur among the sailors, already exhausted by the long difficult voyage. A group of officers dissatisfied with Magellan tried to take advantage of this.
Magellan finds out about the mutiny 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 it upon arrival in Spain. A boat was sent to Magellan with a letter stating that their goal was only to force Magellan to correctly carry out the orders of the king. They agree to consider Magellan the 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 to his ship. They refuse.
Having lulled the enemy's vigilance, Magellan seizes the boat carrying the letters and puts the oarsmen in the hold. The rebels feared a blow to San Antonio most of all, but Magellan decided to attack Victoria, where there were many Portuguese. The boat, which contains the alguazil Gonzalo Gomez de Espinoza and five reliable people, is sent to Victoria. Climbing on the ship, Espinoza presents Captain Mendoza with a new invitation from Magellan to come to the negotiations. The captain begins to read it with a grin, but does not have time to finish. Espinoza stabs him in the neck, one of the arriving sailors finishes the rebel. While Victoria's crew was in complete confusion, another group of Magellan's supporters, led by Duerte Barboza, jumped aboard, this time well armed, and stealthily approached on another boat. Victoria's crew surrenders without resistance. Three ships of Magellan: Trinidad, Victoria and Santiago - stand at the exit from the bay, blocking the escape route for the rebels.
After the ship was taken away from them, the rebels did not dare to engage in an open confrontation and, waiting for the night, tried to slip past Magellan's ships into the open ocean. It failed. San Antonio was shelled and boarded. There was no resistance, no casualties. Concepcion surrendered after him.
A tribunal was set up to try the rebels. 40 participants in the mutiny were sentenced to death, but immediately pardoned, since the expedition could not lose such a number of sailors. Only the one who committed the murder of Quesado was executed. Magellan did not dare to execute the representative of the king Cartagena and one of the priests who actively participated in the rebellion, and they were left on the shore after the departure of the flotilla. Nothing more is known about them.
In a few decades, Francis Drake will enter the same bay, who will also have to make a round-the-world voyage. A conspiracy will be uncovered on his flotilla 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 Cartagena. The defendant will choose execution.
Strait
In May, Magellan sent Santiago, led by João Serran, south to scout the area. The bay of Santa Cruz was found 60 miles south. A few days later, in a storm, the ship lost control and crashed. The sailors, except for one person, escaped and ended up on the shore without food and supplies. They tried to return to their wintering place, but due to fatigue and exhaustion, they connected with the main detachment only after a few weeks. The loss of a vessel specially designed for reconnaissance, as well as the supplies on it, caused great damage to the expedition.
Magellan made João Serran the captain of Concepcion. As a result, all four ships ended up in the hands of Magellan's supporters. San Antonio was commanded by Mishkita, Victoria Barbosa.
Strait of Magellan
During the winter, the sailors came into contact with local residents. They were tall... To protect them from the cold, they wrapped their legs with a lot of hay, so they were called Patagonians (big-legged, 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 of the expedition that met to Spain. Since the sailors were afraid of a fight with tall and strong Indians, they went for a trick: they gave them a lot of gifts, and when they could no longer hold anything in their hands, they offered them leg shackles, the purpose of which the Indians did not understand. Since their hands were busy, the Patagonians agreed to have the shackles hooked to their feet, using this the sailors shackled them. So they managed to capture two Indians, but this led to a clash with the local residents with victims on both sides. None of the captives survived to return to Europe.
On August 24, 1520, the flotilla left the Bay of San Julian. During the winter, she lost 30 people. Two days later, the expedition was forced to stop in the bay of Santa Cruz due to bad weather and damage. The flotilla set out only on 18 October. Before leaving, Magellan announced that he would look for the strait up to 75 ° S., but if the strait was not found, the flotilla would go to the Moluccas around the Cape of Good Hope.
October 21 at 52 ° S the ships ended up at a narrow strait leading into the interior of the mainland. San Antonio and Concepcion are sent out on reconnaissance. Soon a storm flies in, lasting two days. The sailors feared that the ships sent for reconnaissance were lost. And they really almost died, but when they were carried to the shore, a narrow passage opened up in front of them, into which they entered. They ended up in a wide bay, followed by more straits and bays. The water remained salty all the time, and the lot often did not reach the bottom. Both ships returned with the good news of a possible strait.
The flotilla entered the strait and for many days walked along a real labyrinth of rocks and narrow passages. The strait was later named Magellanic. The southern land, on which lights were often seen at night, was called Tierra del Fuego. A council was convened at the "Sardine River". The helmsman of San Antonio Esteban Gomes spoke in favor of returning home due to the small amount of provisions and the complete unknown ahead. The other officers did not support him. Magellan remembered well the fate of Bartolomeo Dias, who discovered the Cape of Good Hope, but lost to the team and returned home. Dias was removed from the leadership of future expeditions and never got to India. Magellan announced that the ships would go forward.
At Dawson Island, the strait is divided into two channels, and Magellan again divides the flotilla. San Antonio and Concepcion sail southeast, the other two remain to rest, and a boat departs southwest. Three days later, the boat returns and the sailors report that they have seen the open sea. Conspicion returns shortly, but there is no word from San Antonio. They have been looking for the missing ship for several days, but everything is useless. It was later revealed that the helmsman of San Antonio, Esteban Gomes, raised a mutiny, chained Captain Mishkita in chains and went home to Spain. In March, he returned to Seville, where he accused Magellan of treason. The investigation began, the whole team was imprisoned. Magellan's wife was under surveillance. Subsequently, the rioters were released, and Mishkita remained in prison until the return of the expedition.
On November 28, 1520, Magellan's ships leave for the ocean. The journey through the strait took 38 days. For many years Magellan will remain the only captain who passed the strait and did not lose a single ship.
Pacific Ocean
Coming out of the strait, Magellan walked north for 15 days, reaching 38 ° S, where he turned north-west, and on December 21, 1520, reaching 30 ° S, turned north-west.
Strait of Magellan. Sketch of a map of Pigafetta. North is below.
The flotilla passed through the Pacific Ocean for at least 17 thousand km. Such a huge size of the new ocean was unexpected for sailors. When planning the expedition, they proceeded from the assumption that Asia is relatively close to America. In addition, at that time it was believed that the main part of the Earth is land, and only a relatively small - the 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 Ocean where fresh supplies could have been obtained, but the flotilla's route was off to one side. Unprepared for such a transition, the expedition experienced enormous hardships.
"Continuing three months and twenty days, - noted in his travel notes the chronicler of the expedition Antonio Pigafetta, - we were completely deprived of fresh food. We ate breadcrumbs, but those were no longer breadcrumbs, but breadcrumbs mixed with worms that ate the best breadcrumbs. She smelled strongly of rat urine. We drank yellow water, which had been rotting for many days. We also ate the cowhide covering the mainsail so that the shrouds would not fray; from the action of the sun, rain and wind, it became incredibly hard. We soaked it in seawater for four to five days, then put it on hot coals for a few minutes and ate it. We often ate sawdust. The rats were sold for half a ducat apiece, but even at that price it was impossible to get them. "
In addition, scurvy raged on the ships. Killed, according to various sources, from eleven to twenty-nine people. Fortunately for the sailors, during the entire voyage there was not a single storm and they named the new ocean the Pacific.
During the voyage, the expedition reached 10 ° C. lat. and turned out to be noticeably north of the Moluccas, to which it was striving. Perhaps Magellan wanted to make sure that the open South Sea of Balboa was part of this ocean, or perhaps he feared an encounter with the Portuguese, which would end in disaster for his battered expedition. On January 24, 1521, sailors saw an uninhabited island (from the Tuamotu archipelago). There was no way 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 the locals were stealing everything that came to hand from the ships. When they stole the boat, the Europeans could not stand it. They landed on the island and burned the islanders' village, killing 7 people in the process. After that, they took the boat and grabbed fresh food. The islands were named Thieves (Landrones). When the flotilla left, the locals chased 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 a deserted island. On March 17, the Spaniards landed on Homonkhom Island. The Pacific crossing is over.
Death of Magellan
On the island of Homonkhom, an infirmary was set up, where all the sick were transported. Fresh food quickly cured the sailors, and the flotilla set off on a further journey among the islands. On one of them, Magellan's slave Enrique, who was born in Sumatra, met people speaking his language. The circle is complete. For the first time, man walked around the earth.
A lively trade began. For iron products, the islanders easily gave gold and food. 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. After 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
Monument to Lapu-Lapu on the island of Cebu
The expedition historiographer, Antonio Pigafetta, wrote about the death of the admiral:
... The islanders followed us on the heels, fishing spears that had already been used from the water, and thus threw the same spear five or six times. Having recognized our admiral, they began to aim mainly 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 trying 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. Furious, he immediately pierced the attacker's chest with his spear, but it got stuck in the body of the dead man; then the admiral tried to draw out the sword, but could no longer do this, since the enemies severely wounded him in the right hand with a dart, and it ceased to act. Noticing this, the natives rushed at him in a crowd, and one of them wounded him with a saber. left leg so he fell on his back. At the same moment, all the islanders pounced on him and began stabbing with spears and other weapons that 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. João Serran and Duarte Barbosa, who stood at the head of 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 given out under any circumstances. The failure of the negotiations finally undermined the prestige of the Spaniards, and soon their ally Humabon lured them to dinner and staged a massacre, killing several dozen people, including almost the entire command staff. The ships had to urgently set off. Almost there, the flotilla spent several months reaching the Moluccas.
Spices were purchased there, and the expedition was to set off on a 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 were dilapidated. "Concepcion" was previously abandoned by the team and burned. There were only two ships left. Trinidad was repaired and headed 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 his crew died in hard labor in India. "Victoria" under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano continued the route. The crew was replenished with a number of Malay islanders (almost all of them died on the way). The ship soon began to lack provisions (Pigafetta noted in his notes: “Apart from rice and water, we have no food left; due to lack of salt, all meat products went bad "), and part of the crew began to demand that the captain take a course for Mozambique, which belongs 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 reach Spain at any cost. “Victoria” with difficulty rounded the Cape of Good Hope and then for two months without stopping went north-west along the African coast.
On July 9, 1522, a worn-out ship with an emaciated crew approached the Cape Verde Islands, a Portuguese possession. It was impossible not to make a 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 the boat to the shore 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. By placing them in this way, and also giving 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 of the caravels would not detain us as well, we hastily moved on. "
Interestingly, Magellan himself did not at all intend to make a round-the-world expedition - he just wanted to find a western route to the Moluccas and return back, in general, for any commercial flight (and Magellan's flight was like that), a round-the-world trip is meaningless. And only the threat of an attack by the Portuguese forced one of the ships to continue to follow to the west, and if Trinidad made my route safely, and "Victoria" would have been captivated, there would have been no round-the-world travel.
Thus, the Spaniards opened the western route to Asia and Spice Islands... This first ever voyage around the world proved the correctness of the hypothesis about the sphericity of the Earth and the inseparability of the oceans that wash the land.
Lost day
In addition, the expedition members were found to have "lost the day." In those days, there was still no concept of the difference between local and World time, since the most distant trade expeditions took place in both directions along almost the same route, crossing the meridians first in one direction, then in the opposite direction. In the same case, recorded for the first time in history, the expedition returned to the starting point, so to speak, "not returning", but moving only forward, to the west.
On ships with a Christian crew, as expected, to maintain the order of watches, reckoning of movement, keeping records, but, first of all, to observe church Catholic holidays, the time was kept. There were no chronometers in those days, the sailors used an hourglass (from this in the fleet there was a counting of time by flasks). The countdown of the daily time began at noon. Naturally, every clear day the sailors determined the moment of noon when the Sun was at the 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 also counted, including Sundays, Easter and all other church holidays. But after all, every time the sailors determined the time local noon corresponding to the meridian on which the ship was at that moment. The ships sailed to the 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 more and more behind their native Spanish, gradually moving to Spanish evening, night, morning and day again. But, since they did not have a chronometer, their sailing was extremely unhurried and more important and terrible incidents happened to them, no one thought about this "trifle" over time. Church holidays were celebrated by these brave Spanish sailors with the utmost care, like zealous Catholics, but, as it turned out, their own calendar. As a result, when the sailors returned to their native Europe, it turned out that their ship calendar lagged behind the calendar of their homeland and the Church for a whole day. This happened on the Green Cape Islands. This is how Antonio Pigafetta described it:
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That is, they incorrectly celebrated Sundays, Easter and other holidays.
Thus, it was discovered that when traveling along the parallels, that is, in the plane of the Earth's daily rotation around its axis, time, as it were, changes its duration. If you move to the west, following the Sun, catching up with it, the day (day) seems to be lengthening. If we move to the east, towards the Sun, lagging behind it, the day, on the contrary, is shortened. To overcome this paradox, a time zone system and the concept of a date line were later developed. The effect of changing time zones is now experienced by everyone who undertakes long, but fast, latitudinal travel on airplanes or high-speed trains.
Notes (edit)
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- Like the sun ... The life of Fernand Magellan and the first voyage around the world (Lange P. V.)
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- SURRENDER
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- Like the sun ... The life of Fernand Magellan and the first voyage around the world (Lange P. V.)
- , with. 126-127
- , with. 190
- , with. 192-193
- Like the sun ... The life of Fernand Magellan and the first voyage around the world (Lange P. V.)
- , with. 196-197
- , with. 199-200
- , with. 128
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- , with. 202
CIRCULAR SWIMMING OE KOTSEBU AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE FOR GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE. Part 1
The most important geographical problems that arose several centuries ago and occupied at the end of the XVIII and early XIX v. geographers and navigators of all countries of the world, were the search for the 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 "South Land" was the second voyage of J. Cook (1772-1775), he also undertook a journey (1776-1779) to open the northwest passage. Both voyages did not solve the assigned tasks, although they made a significant contribution to the geographical discoveries of the Earth.The 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 reason that these tasks were temporarily canceled. However, among some scientists, the idea continued to develop that the Northwest Passage and the South Earth exist.
Russian scientists and navigators were not abandoned by the idea of exploring the northern sea route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean (northwestern and northeastern passages), as well as searching for the southern continent. The study of the first problem was devoted to the voyages of OE Kotsebue on the sloop "Rurik", the expedition of MN Vasiliev and GS Shishmarev, the second was solved by FF Bellingshausen and MP Lazarev.
Otto Evstafievich Kotzebue (1788-1846) made three voyages around the world: the first - as a cadet of the Marine Corps on the ship "Nadezhda" under the command of I.F. the third - on the military sloop "Enterprise" (1823-1826).
O. E. Kotsebue
If the first voyage allowed him to prepare for scientific research and gain experience in maritime affairs, then two other expeditions, which were already led by Kotzebue himself, fell on the heyday of his scientific activity. Kotzebue proved to be an outstanding organizer scientific research and an excellent naval officer.
Kotzebue's voyage on the Rurik was the fourth round-the-world voyage of Russian sailors and took place shortly after the Patriotic War of 1812. The expedition was undertaken to solve the problem of the northwestern 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 Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and convinced Rumyantsev of the advisability of repeating this enterprise. It was decided to equip two ships for exploration of the northwest passage. One was to leave Russia and sail to the Bering Strait, from where, having rounded North America, it should pass to the east;
Another vessel, chartered on the east coast of the United States, was to begin exploring the "northwest passage" from east to west after the first ship had finished sailing. Kruzenshtern and Rumyantsev well understood that if the expedition did not allow main task- the opening of the way through the northwestern sea passage, then even then it could deliver important information for science and navigation. The mission of the expedition was also to explore the coast North America south and east of the Bering Strait, penetrate the territory of modern Alaska into completely unknown hinterland, explore islands in the central part of the Pacific Ocean. O. E. Kotsebue was appointed as the leader of the expedition, and GS Shishmarev was appointed his assistant. Natural scientists Dr. I. I. Eshsholts and A. L. Shamisso were invited to join the expedition.
The expedition was supplied with perfect astronomical and physical instruments (masters Troughton, Massey, etc.), the latest editions of maps and atlases (collections of Garsburg, Arrosmith, Purdy, etc.), geographical works. The commander of the ship "Rurik" OE Kotsebue received very detailed "Instructions": on nautical affairs - from IF Kruzenshtern and on scientific observations - from IK Horner.
I.F.Kruzenshtern worked at that time on the atlas of the Southern Ocean and knew everything better than anyone else dangerous places for swimming, areas most interesting for exploration and geographical discoveries. All this was reflected in the instructions. "I wish you to take a completely new course in the South (Pacific - BE) Ocean," he pointed out, "on which it is almost impossible not to make new discoveries." Great attention Kotzebue had to devote to checking the dubious discoveries made at different times by other navigators: the Dutch (Schouten, Lemaire, Roggevein), the British (Vancouver, Cook, etc.) 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 plotted on the map at different coordinates and had different names. “Maybe,” Kruzenshtern noted, “the Russian sailor is presented with the opportunity to decide by means of his own observations on the spot, whose observations are fairer.”
Kotzebue was supposed to start researching 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. The need to describe the coast to the south of the bay up to Unalashka, where no survey had been carried out before that time, was especially pointed out. J. Cook in his last voyage (1776-1779) could not approach the coast in this area due to shallow water. Kotzebue had to do this with the help of a kayak. In winter in the northern hemisphere, the expedition was supposed to explore the tropical Pacific Ocean between the equator and 12 ° N. NS. and 180-225 ° W. at the same time it was emphasized that during the voyage it is necessary to pay attention to the Caroline Islands, which are still very poorly studied; when returning to the northwestern coast of North America on canoes, continue exploring Norton Bay and the Bay of Bristol, delve into the mainland, and study it geographically.
Dr. Horner recommended “carefully observe every extraordinary phenomenon and describe it in detail, especially to measure everything that is subject to measurement.” (Horner's italics). The range of astronomical and physical observations included in Horner's instructions was very wide. coastal inventory and mapping, mountain heights measurement; studies of the inclination of the magnetic needle; observations of the state of the atmosphere (pressure, temperature, winds, etc.) and over phenomena in the ocean (ebbs and flows, currents, water temperature on the surface and at depths), determining the depths in the oceans, observing the color and transparency of water, the formation of ice, etc. At the same time, Horner gave methodological instructions and practical advice for the implementation of scientific observations, pointed out the importance that they can have for the development of science. He wrote that " in the sea it happens sometimes as in the atmosphere, the 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, an inventive mind and a desire to serve science were the key to the success of the expedition.
The Kotzebue expedition headed to Kamchatka past the southern tip of South America - Cape Horn. Research began with the launch of the ship in the Atlantic Ocean, but the greatest satisfaction to the sailors was delivered by the discoveries and research in the Pacific Ocean. Trying to accurately fulfill all the points of Krusenstern's instructions, Kotzebue, already at the beginning of his voyage from Chile, determined the position of the island of Sales and undertook a search for the islands seen by Schouten and Lemer.
In the central part of the Pacific Ocean, Kotzebue discovered and explored numerous groups of coral islands, undertook searches for islands previously mentioned by sailors and mapped, determined the coordinates of previously discovered islands (Palizerovy and Penrin 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), the Kruzenshtern island (Tikehau) and in the Radak chain (Marshall Islands) - the Kutuzov (Utirik or Betton) islands Suvorov (Taka).
When exploring the islands, the expedition overcame great difficulties and was exposed to dangers. So, at first two sailors got to the open atoll of Rumyantsev, and then with the help of a raft - Kotzebue and other members of the expedition. Usually, travelers walked around the islands (when they could not land) or crossed them by land (when they disembarked and if they were not particularly large).
The expedition began exploring the North Pacific Ocean in July 1816. Kotzebue passed by Bering Island to the western coast of St. Lawrence Island, and then ascended north to the Bering Strait. He kept closer to the American coast, although he sometimes saw the coast of Asia. Kotzebue wrote about the island of St. Lawrence, which has not yet been visited by any seafarer, Kotzebue wrote: “The seen part of the island (the northern part, where Kotzebue landed] and naturalists - V.E.) ... consists of rather high ones! snow-covered mountains; there is not a single turf, not even a small shrub, which would adorn the bare cliffs; from time to time small grass only makes its way between the moss and a few lean plants rise from the ground. " Norton Bay Kotzebue decided to describe on the way back. After passing the latitude of the Cape Prince of Wales, Kotzebue continued describing the American coast. At this time, he saw the islands of Gvozdev (Diomede) and determined the geographical coordinates of some points and clearly saw a vast low-lying island. Continuing further to the northeast, Kotzebue discovered the Shishmareva 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 we could not expect a passage to the Arctic Sea here, we 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 the many sandbanks and the current, so Kotzebue did not stay here, deciding to conduct an accurate hydrographic inventory next year on the canoes (Fig. 5).
Soon the sailors saw the bay, which was named according to the general desire of the command the bay of Kotzebue. Individual islands, capes, bays in the bay were also named (Shamisso Island, Eshsholtsa Bay, Cape Deception, Cape Expenberg, Bay of Good Hope, Cape Kruzenshtern, etc.). The Gulf of Kotzebue and its coastline have been carefully surveyed and documented by travelers. Kotzebue wrote that the bay named after him "should, over time, bring significant benefits to the fur trade, which this country abounds in," and provide a good hiding place for all travelers who might be caught by storms in the Bering Strait. Kotzebue proposed to establish several Russian settlements here. Fossil ice was discovered in the Eshsholts Bay, covered with a cap of earth and overgrown with moss and grasses. “Having removed this sod cover, no more than 1/2 foot of depth, the ground was completely frozen,” wrote Kotzebue. The glacial deposits contained many animal remains and mammoth bones.
The study of the natural conditions of the North American coast, the way of 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 Dezhneva). Kotzebue and naturalists carried out observations on land, met with the local population. For the first time, a detailed description of Cape Dezhnev was made.
A comparative study of two isolated regions of Asia and North America allowed Kotzebue to express very interesting and scientifically remarkable ideas: about the geological affinity of the coasts of two continents, about the kinship of peoples living on both coasts.
Observing the external structure of the coast of Cape Dezhnev, Kotzebue wrote: “This crushing of terrible cliffs makes a person think about the great transformations that once followed in nature here; for the sight and position of the shores give rise to the likelihood that Asia was once united with America; the islands of Gvozdev (Diomis - V. Ye.) are the remnants of the former connection of Cape Vostochny (Cape Dezhnev - V. Ye.) with the Cape of the Prince of Wales (of Wales - V. Ye.). " He pointed to similar external features local residents Asia and North America and noted: "In general, I find such an insensitive difference between these two peoples that I even tend to regard them as descended from one tribe." However, despite the common origin, as was later confirmed, the local inhabitants of North America and Asia were strongly at odds 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 in honor of the navigational students of the ship "Rurik" V. Khromchenko and V. Petrov, performed the main hydrological work in the expedition. South of Cape St. Lawrence, the 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, returning to Unalaska, Kotzebue turned to the ruler American company with a request to prepare him the necessary equipment (special canoes, etc.) and local residents (Aleuts) for the expedition to describe the western coast of North America north of the Alaska Peninsula in 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 local residents and the government, visited the interior regions, described a number of harbors and determined the main heights on the islands of Owaigia Muke. The tallest was Mount MaunaRoa (2,482.7 ft.) On Owaigi Island. Copebu described in detail the harbor of Ghana Ruhr (Honolulu) on Wahu Island (Oahu). The Russian people got acquainted with the economy, the cultivation of various cultures on the islands (taro root, bananas, sugar cane, etc.).
Ryas. 5. Swimming Kotzebue on "Rurik" in the Bering and Chukchi seas
In late 1816 and early 1817, the expedition explored the Marshall Islands. During this time, several inhabited atolls were discovered. The open islands received Russian names: New Year (Medzhit or Miadi), Rumyantseva (Vautier), Chichagova (Erikub or Bishop), Arakcheeva (Caven or Maloelap), Kruzenshtern (Ailuk), etc. Kotsebue called the entire group of islands under study by the native name Radak.
Many of the islands discovered by Kopebu were well known to the locals. The natives quite accurately drew their relative positions on the sand and indicated the direction where the Others were. The natives Kadu and Edoku were of great help to Kotzebue in finding the islands, as well as in drawing up a map of their archipelago of islands. According to their words, the Ralik group of islands belonging to the Marshall Islands and located west of the Radak group was mapped. Kotzebue did not have time to examine it, as he had to return to the North Pacific.
Rice. 6. Map from "Atlas" by G. A. Sarychev (1826), drawn from the map by O. E. Kotsebue
In addition to its practical value, the study of this archipelago was attractive from a scientific point of view. In their structure and origin, these islands were different from many found in the ocean. These were very low islands with unusual ring-shaped outlines, enclosing sea lagoons within them. The communication of the lagoon with the ocean took place by 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 exploration of the Rumyantsev (Vautier) atoll. "The vulture islands," wrote Kotzebue, "already arouse great curiosity by their nature, being formed solely by sea animals, and I decided to dare to do everything possible, before abandoning the intention to penetrate this chain of islands."
Exploring one island after another, Kotzebue, and especially the naturalists of the expedition Chamisso and Eschsholz, already then came to the correct explanation of their origin, that is, from "sea animals". “Having studied the properties of the soil, we found,” wrote Kotzebue about one of the coral islands, “that this island (Koziy Island - V. Ye.), Like everyone else, consists of decayed coral; this animal builds its building up from the depths of the sea and dies when it reaches the surface; from this building is formed from the incessant washing of it with sea water gray limestone, which, it seems, is the basis of all such islands. " Over time, plants settle on the islands, which then transform the soil and make the soil fertile. By 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 a chain.
On the way from the tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean to Unalashka during a storm, "Rurik" was damaged, Kotzebue was seriously injured. However, illness did not stop Kotzebue from going and exploring the northern part of the Bering Sea. Taking with him the prepared kayaks and Aleut, he left Unalashka to the north. On the way, the islands of Akun and Akutan were described (May 1817), later the seals' rookeries were examined and the coordinates of Bobrovy Island and others were determined. Having reached the island of St. Lawrence, Kotzebue disembarked. Due to Kotzebue's illness, the expedition was forced to abandon further exploration of the northwestern coast of North America and return to its homeland. They returned to St. Petersburg across 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 atoll of Heyden (Likiep), completing mainly the discovery of the Radak chain. Russian sailors were amazed by the desertion of the Mariana Islands, which were densely populated during 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 me,” wrote Kotzebue, “sorrowful feelings; in former times these fertile valleys served as a dwelling place for a people who spent their days in silence and happiness; now only lovely palm forests stood here and overshadowed the graves of the former inhabitants. Mortal silence reigned everywhere. " Almost the entire chain of the Mariana Islands was uninhabited, only a few were inhabited by settlers from Mexico and the Philippine Islands.
During the voyage, the Kotzebue expedition carried out meteorological and oceanographic observations. Measurements of the depths of the sea were carried out with the help of 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 measurements of the depth 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 an instrument for determining the transparency of seawater 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 the temperature of sea water in the Pacific Ocean, at a point with 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 ocean surface was + 72 ° F, and at the extreme depth - + 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. September 26, 1817 measured the temperature of seawater at 12 points at different depths.
Returning to Russia, Kotzebue and his companions-scientists 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 course 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. Shamisso, I. Eschsholz and M. Engelgart (part III).
IF Kruzenshtern in his article "Consideration of the discoveries made in the Great Ocean from the ship" Rurik ", summed up the geographical discoveries of Kotzebue and gave them a fair assessment. Oi noted the outstanding significance of discoveries for science and navigation, compared what Kotzebue had made with the achievements of the largest European navigators, such as Cook, Bougainville and Flinders. He exposed the attacks and distrust 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, the information about which was rather approximate. So, for example, the Penrin Islands, discovered in 1788, were taken by the British for one island. Russian sailors 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, collectively named by him Radak, and indicated the location and names of islands in the neighboring Ralik archipelago.
Atlas, compiled by Kotzebue, contained plans and maps of marked and described places, coasts and harbors. It was widely used both in navigation and for the compilation of special nautical atlases.
As a result of the voyage of Kotzebue, a description of the nature of the coral islands of the Pacific Ocean was given and the hypothesis about their origin was most clearly expressed. Charles Darwin has repeatedly pointed to this. In a study devoted specifically to this issue, in 1842, he wrote: “An older and more satisfactory theory (of the origin of coral islands - V. Ye.) Was proposed by Chamisso: he believes that since more massive coral species prefer 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 II Eshsholts in his special article "On coral islands" (Fig. 7). “The low-lying islands of the South and Indian Seas,” he wrote, “owe much of their beginning to the industrious construction of various genera of corals ... corals based their buildings on the shoals of the sea, or rather, on the tops of the mountains under water. Continuing their growth, they, on the one hand, continually come closer and closer to the surface of the sea, and on the other, they spread the vastness of their structure ("Journey to the Southern Ocean ...", Part III, p. 381). When the island reaches the surface, the animal dies. Shells, molluscs, and physical weathering are involved in the transformation of the solid surface. Then plants and birds appear, for which a person comes. This is, in general terms, the picture of the formation and settlement of coral islands, according to the ideas of the Russians scientists time.
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By the time of his second and most significant voyage around the world, Leonty Andrianovich Gagemeister was already an experienced navigator. He took part in hostilities, including the battle of the Spanish fortress of San Pedro.
The first expedition of Gagemeister ended, as indeed, and began unexpectedly. “The first expedition, equipped at the expense of the RAC, went under the command of Lieutenant Gagemeister and reached its destination, but due to the war with the British that had flared up at that time, the return voyage became impossible. The ship was left in Kamchatka, and the crew returned to St. Petersburg by dry route. " nine
In 1816, by order of the Russian-American Trade Company, Lieutenant-Commander Gagemeister was going on his second round-the-world expedition as the commander of the ship "Kutuzov". The second equipped vessel "Suvorov" was headed by naval officer ZI Panafidin. The purpose of this expedition was to check the state of "Russian America" and its rule by N. A. Baranova, since Baranov did not send reports on the board, although he did send furs. There were rumors about embezzlement in the colonies.
September 8, 1816 "Kutuzov" and "Suvorov" solemnly set off on a voyage around the world. They rounded Cape Horn, made calls at the port of Copenhagen and Rio de Janeiro. But "Suvorov" could not continue the expedition due to overload, and was forced to go to Novoarkhangelsk by the shortest route.
The Kutuzov continued its voyage. He arrived in Novoarkhangelsk much later than "Suvorov" on November 24, 1817, bringing the necessary cargo to the colony, and moored to carry out the mission. Following the order in which Gagemeister was appointed to manage the colony, he announced that he was entrusted with replacing A.A. Baranov.
From the first days Gagemeister took up the task entrusted with great confidence. During his ten-month reign, he took a number of energetic and effective measures, wishing to rectify the state of affairs in the colony. He put in order the colonial office work, restored the construction of the Novoarkhangelsk fortress, established new rules for foreign ships entering the port. In the summer of 1818, he sent the expedition of Peter Korsakovsky for a detailed study of Alaska.
In June 1818, food problems arose in the colony, then Gagemeister went to California for food, leaving Janovsky in charge of the colony. This naval officer had not yet imagined that Russian America would change not only his career, but also leave a deep mark on his life. ten
On October 24, 1818, Gagemeister handed over the administration of the colony to S. I. Yanovsky. 11 Hastily completing all his affairs and removing the remaining gaps in the maps of the coast of America, Gagemeister goes home. Among the passengers of the "Kutuzov" was the dismissed Baranov himself, but he did not make it home, died on the ship and was buried at sea. 12
Exemplarily carried out the return passage of "Kutuzov" from Sitka to Kronstadt. He completed his second voyage around the world on the Great Kronstadt roadstead on September 7, 1819.
§7. The circumnavigation of the F.P. Wrangel on the transport "Meek" (1825-1827)
This was already the 25th round-the-world voyage of Russian sailors from Kronstadt to the Far East.
The military transport "Meek", 90 feet long, specially built for the upcoming voyage, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel, who had already circumnavigated the world as a midshipman on "Kamchatka" in 1817-1819, left Kronstadt on August 23, 1825.
On board the transport ship "Korotkiy" under the command of Wrangel was a young researcher FF Matyushkin as a volunteer. At this moment, his main dream comes true - he will go on a trip around the world. Admiral Golovnin, who proposed to Wrangel a round-the-world trip on the military transport "Meek" to the shores of Kamchatka: “Take Matyushkin with you. And God forbid you to glorify the fatherland with a new voyage. " 13
There he recruits experienced from the famous navigator, and later, he himself becomes an admiral.
On this kind of expedition it was obligatory to take on board a doctor; Dr. August Erich Cyber went on this round-the-world expedition. He was a talented physician and polar explorer. August Erich Kieber was from Livonia and studied in Berlin. Later, he always accompanied Wrangel on all expeditions. By order of the Medical Department of the Ministry of the Interior, the botanist I. Stuart was sent on the expedition as an assistant to Dr. Kieber. But the main task of I. Stuart was: collecting seeds, plants and other objects of natural history under the order of Dr. Kieber. fourteen
The transport was supposed to deliver goods to Petropavlovsk and Novo-Arkhangelsk. Having entered on the way to Portsmouth, Rio de Janeiro, Valparaiso, Wrangel decided on the way to also go to the port of Chichagova on the Nukugiva Island (Marquesas Islands) to replenish water supplies.
Ivashintsev, in his essay on Russian voyages around the world, notes that there was so little water on the "Krotkom" that only four glasses a day were issued per person. This seems a little odd. Therefore, Captain Wrangel decides to go to the nearest safe port to replenish the ship's holds with various provisions.
“It was necessary to go to some islands of the Great Ocean, and as the Washington Islands lie closer than others to our direct route and, moreover, sailing to them is not endangered by coral reefs and low-lying islands, with which the ocean is dotted in other places, then in respect of these For reasons I directed our voyage to the island of Nukagiwe, where the closed bay, known as the port of Chichagova, is teeming with forest, fresh water and healthy fruits. " 15
On April 7, the "Gentle" anchored off the island of Nukagiva. One of the rare tragedies in the history of Russian navigation took place here. Information about how this tragedy happened is contradictory. 16
However, in the archival documents you can find a note: “Report of the commander of the military transport“ Meek ”Lieutenant-Commander F.P. Wrangel ". Where the incident is described in detail.
On April 16, the head of "Wild" 17, as he called the local population, wished their pigs as a gift. To which Wrangel agreed, and at the time of the transfer of the gift, the savages opened fire from the firearms they had. The midshipman of the ship Deibner was killed.
It was decided to pacify the savages by force, and they sent a boat with Lieutenant Lavrov and twelve armed sailors. 18 One of the sailors was immediately killed, some managed to escape. But the savages were merciless. Under shots from the shore, the "Korotkiy" sailed out of the port into the sea, leaving four armed sailors at the mercy of the savages. There were about four hundred savages. "At 8 o'clock we went out to sea, having lost the narrowness of the verps, and all night long they heard a shout and saw lights on the shore." 19
The Englishman and the sailor, having abandoned the boat near the shore, reached the ship "Korotkiy" by swimming. Also rescued "an Indian and one Nukagi remained on the" Meek ", the first three to save them from the monsters, and the last one was detained by Wrangel by force at the very beginning of the attack." twenty
Captain Wrangel decided to enroll an Indian, an Englishman and a Nukagi among the sailors, declaring the following: "for experience has proved to me that in difficult jobs it is impossible to do without them." 21
Ivashintsev writes that until April 16, "relations with the inhabitants were constantly affectionate." 22 Only thanks to the "diligence and cleverness of the officers and the tireless quickness of all ranks and servants" did the expedition team manage to go out to sea and escape.
Thus, the transport "Korotkiy" left the parking lot ahead of schedule and set off to continue the expedition. The voyage from Valparaiso to Kamchatka, as Wrangel wrote, "had no success in relation to hydrographic surveys." Subsequently, "Krotkiy" made a sailing trip without calling in ports for 109 days.
Now, on the world map, about 13 major geographical points bear the name of the outstanding Russian navigator, scientist and statesman F.P. Wrangel 24. After all, the captain made many more lesser-known expeditions.
After returning from Irkutsk to St. Petersburg, Ferdinand Petrovich was awarded a life pension in the amount of an annual lieutenant's salary, promoted to the next rank and was awarded 4 years of service to receive the Order of St. George.
The significance of this expedition turned out to be very significant. As during other Russian round-the-world expeditions, Wrangel conducted meteorological observations, found out the inaccuracy of the data of the chronometers purchased from the French. 25 But in general, thanks to the help in meteorological observations of the ship's officers, and especially Lieutenant Lavrov, the data can be considered reliable.
Important scientific material is contained in the "Daily Notes", which Wrangel conducted throughout the voyage, which reflects observations of ocean currents, wind, ebbs and flows, phenomenal meteorological phenomena, as well as data on the ethnography of the peoples of South America and the Pacific Basin.
On land, across the whole of Siberia, he got from St. Petersburg to Okhotsk and by sea went to the capital of the overseas possessions of Russia. Wrangel remained at the post of chief ruler until 1835. He explored the western coast of North America from the Bering Strait to Fort Ross. In addition, near Novoarkhangelsk, he founded an observatory for constant observations of the weather and magnetic field.