Map of Krusenstern's Expedition
The First Russian Circumnavigation of the World (1803–1806)
In July 1803, the sloops "Nadezhda" and "Neva" sailed from Kronstadt on the first circumnavigation in the history of the Russian Navy. These ships were commanded by young but already experienced navigators, Captain-Lieutenants Ivan Fyodorovich Kruzenshtern and Yuri Fyodorovich Lisyansky.
Both were educated at the Naval Cadet Corps, the only institution at the time training naval officers. Both were released early from their studies due to the outbreak of hostilities with Sweden and received their baptism of fire in the naval battle of Gotland.
Both were then sent to England and served on English ships. After returning from England, Krusenstern presented Paul I with two memoranda in which he persistently sought permission to organize a voyage around the world. In one of them Kruzenshtern wrote that possession of Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands would be a means of "awakening Russian trade and there will be no need to pay large sums to the British, Danes, and Swedes for East Indian and Chinese goods."
Genesis of the Expedition
At the beginning of the 19th century, Russian sailors discovered and described the Bering Strait, Sakhalin, Commander, Pribilof, Kuril and Shantar Islands, the Aleutian Ridge – the Near Islands, Rat, Andreanof, and Fox Islands, islands adjacent to Alaska (Kodiak and Shumagin). Russians were the first Europeans to blaze a trail to the northwestern coast of America, to Japan, China, and the Hawaiian (Sandwich) Islands.
The Russian-American Company continued its active work and established its trading posts on the Pacific coast. The government granted the company a monopoly on the exploitation of the wealth of the northwestern Pacific, trade with neighboring countries, construction of fortifications, maintenance of armed forces, and building of a fleet.
There was yet another very important reason for organizing the expedition. Among the major Pacific rim countries, only Japan did not buy goods from company merchants, even though Russia had repeatedly offered Japan the establishment of trade relations. In 1782, the Japanese government agreed to enter negotiations, indicating that a Russian ship could visit the port of Nagasaki for this purpose.
Organization of the Expedition
Kruzenshtern repeatedly addressed the Tsar with memoranda regarding the organization of the expedition. In 1802, one of his memoranda caught the interest of the Minister of the Navy, Admiral N.S. Mordvinov. The head of the Russian-American Company, N.P. Rezanov, also became interested in Krusenstern's project.
The Tsar acceded to Rezanov's petition, supported by Mordvinov and the head of the Commerce Collegium, N.P. Rumyantsev. In July 1802, a decision was made to send two ships around the world. The official purpose of the expedition was to deliver to Tokyo a Russian embassy led by N.P. Rezanov, who was appointed Russian Ambassador to Japan.
"Our expedition," Krusenstern wrote, "it seemed to me, attracted the attention of Europe. Success in this first experience of its kind was essential: otherwise my countrymen would perhaps have been turned away from such an enterprise for a long time."
Ships and Crew
Despite the fact that good-quality warships had been built in Russia for a hundred years, it was decided to purchase ships abroad, in England, where they already had experience building ships for long voyages. Lisyansky and Rozumov traveled to England. With great difficulty, they managed to purchase two suitable sloops of 450 and 370 tons displacement respectively. They were very expensive – 17,000 pounds sterling were paid for them plus another 5,000 pounds for repairs.
"I was advised," Kruzenshtern wrote, "to take on several foreign sailors, but I, knowing the prevailing qualities of Russian ones, whom I prefer even to English ones, refused to follow this advice."
"If I could accept all the volunteers who came with requests to be assigned to this voyage," Krusenstern wrote, "then I could have equipped many large ships with selected sailors of the Russian fleet."
Voyage Across the Atlantic
On July 27, 1803, the sloops put to sea. From the moment the ships sailed, Krusenstern and Lisyansky regularly conducted meteorological and hydrological observations. The nearly two-month voyage to the coast of Brazil proved very exhausting. The ships sailed in tropical and equatorial latitudes.
On November 14, 1803, Russian ships crossed the equator for the first time in the history of the Russian Navy. Climbing the shrouds, the sailors of both ships congratulated each other with threefold cheers on this important event in the history of national navigation.
Cape Horn and Separation
On January 24, the sloops put to sea. They had to round Cape Horn, enter the Pacific Ocean, and proceed to the Hawaiian Islands. By the evening of February 14, the weather deteriorated sharply. A violent storm broke out. It was not until the evening of February 17 that the raging ocean began to calm.
On February 21, the ships were enveloped in thick fog and lost sight of each other. Krusenstern headed for Kamchatka to deliver the cargo as quickly as possible and then proceed to Japan. Lisyansky continued on his way to Easter Island.
Marquesas Islands and the Pacific
On April 29, on the island of Nuku Hiva, the Nadezhda met the Neva, which had arrived three days earlier. During their stay, Krusenstern collected the most interesting geographical and ethnographic information about the Washington Islands, which form the northern group of the Marquesas archipelago.
Japan and Sakhalin
The most difficult trials awaited the crew of the "Nadezhda" off the coast of Japan. The ship was caught in a terrible storm. The storm carried the ship straight toward coastal rocks. Only a change in wind direction at the last moment saved the ship from destruction.
On September 27, 1804, the "Nadezhda" anchored in the roadstead of Nagasaki. However, Rezanov's negotiations with Japan ended in vain. Despite the Japanese authorities' prohibition, Krusenstern decided to sail along the western coast of Japan to compile a detailed description of the area.
Krusenstern managed to map the western and northwestern coasts of the Japanese islands, correct errors made by La Pérouse in his description of the region, and discover and map numerous capes and bays.
Neva in the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska
Lisyansky collected information on the life, customs, and crafts of the islanders in the Hawaiian Islands. On Kodiak, he learned that the Russian fortress of Archangelsk on Sitka Island had been captured by the Indians. Thanks to Lisyansky's diligence and the military skills of the Neva's crew, the military operations ended in success – a new fortress, called Novo-Arkhangelsk, was established on the island.
Discoveries en Route to Canton
In August 1805, the Neva, having taken on board a cargo of furs, left Sitka and headed for Canton. On October 3, 1805, the Neva discovered an uninhabited island at 26° 02' 48″ N and 173° 35' 45″ E. At the unanimous request of the crew, the island was named after the commander of the Neva – Yuri Lisyansky, and the coral shoal – after the sloop Nevskaya. On October 11, a coral reef was discovered, named the Krusenstern Reef.
Return to Europe
In February 1806, the Nadezhda and Neva set out on the further voyage through the South China Sea and Indian Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope to Europe. Lisyansky decided not to enter any port and head straight to England.
For the first time in the history of world navigation, a non-stop passage from southern China to England was completed in 142 days. On July 22, 1806, the Neva dropped anchor in the roadstead of Kronstadt. Two weeks later the Nadezhda also arrived. The historic voyage around the world had come to an end.
Expedition Results
New islands, straits, reefs, bays, and capes were plotted on the world map, and inaccuracies in Pacific charts were corrected. Russian sailors compiled descriptions of the coasts of Japan, Sakhalin, the Kuril Ridge, and many other areas. They conducted comprehensive studies of ocean waters and discovered countercurrents in the trade winds of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The expedition collected a wealth of information about the transparency, specific gravity, density, and temperature of seawater – data that laid the foundations of oceanography.
Legacy
With money collected by subscription, on November 6, 1869, a bronze monument was erected in front of the Naval Corps building on the Neva embankment in Petersburg. The name Krusenstern was immortalized on the world map – named in his honor are: a mountain in New Zealand, a cape in Coronation Bay (Canada), a bay on the Yamal Peninsula, a strait between the islands of Matua and Traps in the Kuril chain, islands in the Tuamotu and Marshall Archipelagos.
A postage stamp issued in 1994 in a series dedicated to Russian geographical expeditions
Sloops "Nadezhda" and "Neva"
The sloops "Nadezhda" and "Neva" were purchased in 1801 in England, personally selected by Yu. F. Lisyansky. Their original names were "Leander" and "Thames". The purchase of both ships cost the Russian treasury 17,000 pounds plus another 5,000 pounds for repair materials.
| Parameter | Nadezhda (Leander) | Neva (Thames) |
|---|---|---|
| Year of construction | 1800 | 1802 |
| Displacement | 450 tons | 370 tons |
| Max. length | 34.2 m | 61 m (incl. bowsprit) |
| Max. beam | 8.84 m | – |
| Draft | 3.86 m | – |
| Crew | 58 men | 43 men |
Neva played a key role in the battle of 1804, when the Russians recaptured the fort of St. Michael the Archangel from the Tlingit, who had seized it in 1802. In June 1807, Neva became the first Russian ship to visit Australia.