The Frozen Unknown

 

Before Spitsbergen was the common fishing ground for British whalers, it was simply an icy shore inhabited by a variety of wildlife. Many Dutch sailors began mapping the area in the 17th century. Located to the east of Greenland, Spitsbergen is an island belonging to Norway. This island is where Captain Scoresby observed many of the Arctic’s creatures. Long before our Captain’s first voyage north, a handful of other explorers ventured Spitsbergen’s icy waters. William Conway compiled and translated the journals of these men for the Hakluyt Society