The first wintering on Svalbard
Abstract The first recorded wintering on Svalbard occurred in 1630–1631. Eight English whalemen were accidentally left behind for the winter. Having no equipment with which to survive the harsh climate, they sailed and rowed their shallop to Bell Sownd (Bellsund), a fjord south of where they were st...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1997
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400025390 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400025390 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247400025390 2024-03-03T08:43:09+00:00 The first wintering on Svalbard Jørgensen, Roger 1997 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400025390 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400025390 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 33, issue 187, page 295-306 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development journal-article 1997 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400025390 2024-02-08T08:35:05Z Abstract The first recorded wintering on Svalbard occurred in 1630–1631. Eight English whalemen were accidentally left behind for the winter. Having no equipment with which to survive the harsh climate, they sailed and rowed their shallop to Bell Sownd (Bellsund), a fjord south of where they were stranded, to an English whaling station where they found a house in which they survived. The location of this whaling station has never previously been established, but, based on archaeological surveys, test excavations, and the story published by one of the winterers, it has now been located at Laegerneset, on the eastern side of Recherchefjorden. The eight men's most serious problem was obtaining sufficient food for the winter, and therefore food was rationed carefully. An analysis has been made based on the food stock they had when winter set in. Fresh supplies from hunting during late winter and spring were probably vital in keeping the men healthy. Although they undoubtedly would have been able to manage on the food they had collected during the autumn on a basis strictly of caloric intake, it is debatable whether they would have avoided scurvy without fresh meat during the long winter. Article in Journal/Newspaper Bellsund Polar Record Recherchefjord* Svalbard Cambridge University Press Svalbard Bellsund ENVELOPE(14.226,14.226,77.662,77.662) Recherchefjorden ENVELOPE(14.701,14.701,77.529,77.529) Polar Record 33 187 295 306 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development Jørgensen, Roger The first wintering on Svalbard |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
description |
Abstract The first recorded wintering on Svalbard occurred in 1630–1631. Eight English whalemen were accidentally left behind for the winter. Having no equipment with which to survive the harsh climate, they sailed and rowed their shallop to Bell Sownd (Bellsund), a fjord south of where they were stranded, to an English whaling station where they found a house in which they survived. The location of this whaling station has never previously been established, but, based on archaeological surveys, test excavations, and the story published by one of the winterers, it has now been located at Laegerneset, on the eastern side of Recherchefjorden. The eight men's most serious problem was obtaining sufficient food for the winter, and therefore food was rationed carefully. An analysis has been made based on the food stock they had when winter set in. Fresh supplies from hunting during late winter and spring were probably vital in keeping the men healthy. Although they undoubtedly would have been able to manage on the food they had collected during the autumn on a basis strictly of caloric intake, it is debatable whether they would have avoided scurvy without fresh meat during the long winter. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jørgensen, Roger |
author_facet |
Jørgensen, Roger |
author_sort |
Jørgensen, Roger |
title |
The first wintering on Svalbard |
title_short |
The first wintering on Svalbard |
title_full |
The first wintering on Svalbard |
title_fullStr |
The first wintering on Svalbard |
title_full_unstemmed |
The first wintering on Svalbard |
title_sort |
first wintering on svalbard |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1997 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400025390 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400025390 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(14.226,14.226,77.662,77.662) ENVELOPE(14.701,14.701,77.529,77.529) |
geographic |
Svalbard Bellsund Recherchefjorden |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard Bellsund Recherchefjorden |
genre |
Bellsund Polar Record Recherchefjord* Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Bellsund Polar Record Recherchefjord* Svalbard |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 33, issue 187, page 295-306 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400025390 |
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Polar Record |
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33 |
container_issue |
187 |
container_start_page |
295 |
op_container_end_page |
306 |
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1792498582954180608 |