First Voyage of Willem Barents
- When
- 1594
- Where
- Texel
- Episodes
- 1
In 1594, Dutch navigator Willem Barentsz departed Texel aboard the Mercury to seek the Northeast Passage. As part of a three-ship group, he attempted to enter the Kara Sea but was turned back by ice, reaching as far as Novaya Zemlya.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. Willem Barentsz was a Dutch navigator and cartographer born around 1550 in Terschelling. He undertook three expeditions to the far north to find a Northeast passage, with the first two voyages reaching Novaya Zemlya and the Kara Sea before being blocked by ice.
Voyage Details. On 5 June 1594, Barentsz left the island of Texel aboard the small ship Mercury. He was part of a group of three ships sent in separate directions to try to enter the Kara Sea, hoping to find the Northeast Passage above Siberia.
People involved
- Willem Barentsz · Navigator and leader of the expedition
- Jan Huyghen van Linschoten · Crewmember who accompanied Barentsz on the first voyage
Sources
- Willem Barentsz Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-30
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.