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Barentsz and Van HeemskerckWillem Barentsz (born 1550?) and Jacob van Heemskerck (born 1567) were in charge of the third and final attempt to find a North-East Passage to Asia. Both men had plenty of experience: Barentsz had taken part in the two previous voyages to the Arctic region while Van Heemskerck was present in one of the expeditions. With two ships in 1596, they came across two previously unknown islands, first Bear Island and subsequently Spitsbergen. One of the ships returned to the United Provinces to report these discoveries to the merchants who had financed the expedition, while Barentsz, Van Heemskerck, and their crew - seventeen men altogether - continued towards Novaya Zemlya.
![]() Illustration 4. This map of 1598
shows Novaya Zemlya after the return of the survivors to the
Dutch Republic. >In comparison to the
map of 1595 [ill. 2] the
northernmost point of the island was depicted in detail, as were
the Behouden Huys, the impenetrability of the ice, and the route
of the ships of Barentsz and Van Heemskerck.
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