Willem Barentsz

Willem Barentsz (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɪləm ˈbaːrənts]; c. 1550 – 20 June 1597), anglicized as William Barents or Barentz, was a Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer.

Barentsz went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northeast passage. He reached as far as Novaya Zemlya and the Kara Sea in his first two voyages, but was turned back on both occasions by ice. During a third expedition, the crew discovered Spitsbergen and Bear Island, but subsequently became stranded on Novaya Zemlya for almost a year. Barentsz died on the return voyage in 1597.

The Barents Sea, among many other places, is named after him.

Life and career

Willem Barentsz was born around 1550 in the village Formerum on the island Terschelling in the Seventeen Provinces, present-day Netherlands. Barentsz was not his surname but rather his patronymic name, short for Barentszoon "Barent's son".

A cartographer by trade, Barentsz sailed to Spain and the Mediterranean to complete an atlas of the Mediterranean region, which he co-published with Petrus Plancius.

His career as an explorer was spent searching for a Northeast passage in order to trade with China. He reasoned clear, open water north of Siberia must exist since the sun shone 24 hours a day melting Arctic sea ice, indeed he thought the farther north one went the less ice there would be.

First voyage

On 5 June 1594, Barentsz left the island of Texel aboard the small ship Mercury, as part of a group of three ships sent out in separate directions to try to enter the Kara Sea, with the hopes of finding the Northeast Passage above Siberia. Between 23 and 29 June, Barentsz stayed at Kildin Island.