Rurik expedition


The Russian Rurik Expedition was a circumnavigation of the world that took place from July 30, 1815 to August 3, 1818 under the command of Otto von Kotzebue and was intended to discover and explore the Northwest Passage. The expedition of the warship Rurik was equipped and financed by the Russian Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev. It took place with the support of Tsar Alexander I. Due to adverse weather conditions, however, it did not reach its destination and returned earlier than planned. The historical significance of the expedition lies in the number of new discoveries along the entire route as well as the human and cultural experiences that the crew brought back from this three-year journey.

Aim of the expedition

The Russian desire to find the Northwest Passage was primarily for economic reasons. It was difficult and expensive to maintain supplies to the trading bases on the east coast of Russia and in the colony of Russian America, which stretched along the American west coast from Alaska to San Francisco, by land across the Asian continent. The search for a sea route to the north of the European and Asian continents had not yet brought the desired success. The sea routes around the southern tip of Africa or America, on the other hand, proved to be time-consuming and dangerous due to a variety of threats, including adverse weather and piracy. Russia therefore hoped to discover a passage to the north of the American continent, which would have been much shorter and probably easier to navigate.
As all attempts to discover this sea route from the east had so far failed, this time the passage was to be found from the west and explored and sailed through in the opposite direction. It was hoped that the expedition's starting position could be improved by the fact that Russia had numerous trading bases on the west coast of the North American continent, which could serve as starting points for supplying the crew and providing other logistical support for the campaign.
The voyage included two summer campaigns : The first was intended to explore suitable anchorages north of the Bering Strait. With the second, they hoped to advance further north and east from there the following summer.
Like many before and after it, the expedition did not achieve its goal. However, Otto von Kotzebue was able to demonstrate a continuous ocean current, which was the first scientific proof of the existence of the Northwest Passage. In addition, von Kotzebue mapped over 400 islands in Polynesia and large parts of the west coast of Alaska. The naturalists documented a large number of unknown animal and plant species.

Members of the expedition

In addition to the three coxswains Khramchenko, Petrov and Koniev, two non-commissioned officers, a cook and 20 sailors, the following people took part in the expedition:
The following people were on board temporarily during the voyage:
  • August 17, 1815: A pilot for the voyage in the Channel and to Plymouth.
  • October 1, 1816: Two Russian sailors and one passenger: Elliot de Castro, personal physician to the King of Hawaii
  • February 23, 1817: The South Sea islander Kadu
  • May 27, 1817: Two interpreters for the dialects of the more northern coastal peoples.
  • August 1817: Four Aleuts to strengthen the crew

    The ship

The Rurik, named after the Varangian prince and founder of Russia Rurik, was a small brig of 180 tons. For the duration of the expedition, it was authorized to fly the imperial Russian battle flag. It was therefore considered a warship. As the primary goal of the voyage was the discovery of the Northwest Passage, the ship was equipped only secondarily as a research vessel. The accompanying explorers therefore had to follow the military customs on board. Kotzebue's words to Adelbert von Chamisso, "that as a passenger on a warship, where one was not accustomed to having any demands, had no right to make any." The explorers had little space available for collecting plants and artifacts. Most of the collections were immediately stowed away in sealed boxes below deck. As Adelbert von Chamisso describes, collections that were openly displayed were often thrown overboard, as they interfered with the sailors' daily tasks on board.
The ship was only lightly armed and the eight cannons were used almost exclusively for firing salutes when entering and leaving foreign ports. Towards the end of the voyage, the Rurik encountered alleged pirate ships near the Sunda Strait, which were kept at a distance by firing warning shots.
Before the second summer campaign in 1817, the Rurik ran into a storm off Kamchatka and was badly damaged. The hastily carried out repair work in Unalaska was more of a damage limitation exercise than a complete restoration. The condition of the Rurik was officially regarded as one of the reasons why von Kotzebue did not want to continue north and abandoned the expedition's goal. During the return journey, the Rurik underwent a general overhaul at the shipyard in Cavite in the Philippines.

Course of the expedition

From St. Petersburg to Kamchatka

The Rurik was to reach the Pacific via Cape Horn. This first major leg of the voyage, starting from St. Petersburg and Kronstadt, was already characterized by several shore excursions, from which the expedition's naturalists in particular were able to benefit. After a first short stay in Copenhagen, the journey continued to Plymouth on the south coast of England to prepare for the long Atlantic crossing. A stay of several days on Tenerife in the Canary Islands allowed the naturalists to explore a new world for the first time. Finally, on December 12, 1815, the Rurik reached the island of Ilha de Santa Catarina off the coast of Brazil and moored at Florianópolis.
The rest of the voyage to the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka - around Cape Horn - was mainly characterized by a long stay in Talcahuano, Chile, during which lavish celebrations were held with the governor, the commander and the noblemen of the town and surrounding area. The subsequent voyage across the Pacific was carried out in haste in order to arrive in the Avacha Bay early enough to prepare for the summer campaign of 1816. The aim was to use the few warm days of the year to advance far enough north before the winter ice set in again.
Otto von Kotzebue chose a route far from the usual trade routes on his way to Awatscha. He mapped many islands in the Polynesian archipelago that had not yet been explored. However, the names given to these islands at the time have changed frequently to this day due to subsequent colonization by several other nations. On June 19, 1816, the Rurik docked in the Avacha Bay off Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

Summer campaign 1816

The summer campaign of 1816 began on July 14 with the departure from Avacha Bay on the Kamchatka Peninsula and ended with the arrival in the harbor of Unalaska, an island in the Aleutian Islands, on September 7. Its purpose was to explore the sea and the coasts north of the Bering Strait and to find suitable anchorages in preparation for a further advance during the summer campaign of 1817. During this voyage, Kotzebue Sound with Eschscholtz Bay and Chamisso Island and other landmarks were discovered. Contact was also established and maintained with the locals living there. After an initial cautious approach, it was often possible to trade: In exchange for needles, scissors, knives and, above all, tobacco, the expedition members were able to obtain provisions, clothing and cultural items in the form of everyday objects, works of art or cult objects.
The Rurik sailed on from Avacha Bay on a north-easterly course until it reached St. Lawrence Island and then crossed the Bering Strait along the Alaskan coast. Here the captain first followed a sandbank-like chain of islands lying just off the coast until Shishmarev Bay was reached. After a brief exploration of the bay, the journey continued to Cape Espenberg at the northern entrance to Kotzebue Sound. Hoping to have found the entrance to the Northwest Passage there, the course was changed to the east on August 2. However, the Rurik soon encountered the Baldwin Peninsula and followed the coastline southwards until the entrance to Eschscholtz Bay opened up, into which the ship sailed between the Baldwin Peninsula and Chamisso Island. In the days that followed, the captain had the bay explored with rowing boats, but had to realize that there was no way forward. On August 7, Eschscholtz discovered icebergs in the south of the bay.
On August 11, the expedition resumed its journey and followed the southern coast of Kotzebue Sound to the mouth of the Kiwalik River. There, von Kotzebue asked an Eskimo about the further course of the river. He suspected a direct connection to southern Norton Sound across the Seward Peninsula. As this assumption could not be confirmed, the expedition was resumed in a northerly direction until it reached Cape Krusenstern in the north of the entrance to the sound. Because summer had now advanced, the captain decided to cross the Chukchi Sea in a westerly direction and pass the Bering Strait southwards along the Russian coast.
The Rurik sailed south of the strait into the St. Lawrence Bay and anchored there. The captain traded fresh reindeer meat with the Chukchi people living there. During the stay, many Chukchi from southern Mechigmensky Bay came to St. Lawrence Bay to marvel at the new arrivals. Due to bad weather, the captain did not set course for the eastern tip of St. Lawrence Island until August 29. Due to persistent dense fog, the Rurik ran at a respectful distance along the island to the east, did not dare to anchor and finally set course to the south. On September 3, the island of Saint Paul in the Pribilof Islands came into view. The Rurik sailed on here as well and entered the port of Unalaska on September 7.
In Unalaska, the agent of the "Russian-American Company" was tasked with preparing the following year's summer campaign, while the Rurik was to spend the winter in more southerly latitudes. In addition, 16 Aleuts had to be ready to travel north the following year.