Captain Joseph found as many as 17 foreign ships on the Spitsbergen coast. All submitted to his superior force, some were ordered away, and a few were allowed to fish on the condition of surrendering half their catch to the English ships.
Baffin showed the same diligence in observing for latitude and magnetism (dip and variation) as in his voyage to Greenland, and he records a very interesting observation for ascertaining the sun’s refraction[75]. Whatever may be thought of the accuracy of these original observations, the activity of Baffin’s brain and his constant efforts on every opportunity to improve the art of navigation are most remarkable.
Captain Joseph’s fleet returned with full cargoes in September[76]. We have two narratives of the voyage of 1613, one by Baffin himself and the other by Fotherby[77].
In 1614 there was a different story, for the Dutch were the strongest. They were in great force under Antoine Monier, their fleet consisting of 14 ships protected by three or four men-of-war. The English fleet was much weaker. Captain Joseph was again in command with nine ships and two pinnaces. He was on board the Thomasine with Baffin and Fotherby, and again the gallant Marmaduke was with them, in the Heartsease. Sailing from Tilbury on the 4th May, 1614, and running through loose pack on the 20th, it suddenly closed and they were beset for some days, eventually reaching the coast. Sailing northwards as far as Hakluyt Headland they sighted the formidable Dutch fleet, which was avoided, and the Thomasine proceeded to Fairhaven, where a snug anchorage was found in 79° 34′, and named by Fotherby Trinity Harbour.
The interest of the voyage of 1614 consists in the expeditions of discovery made by Baffin and Fotherby to the north and east in shallops or open boats. In three or four expeditions they made their way round Hakluyt Headland to the eastward, a coast which Captain Marmaduke had already discovered in 1612. The royal arms were set up in several prominent places. The explorers were at Cape Barren (Vogelsang) Saddle Island (Cloven Cliff) Redcliffe Bay, Point Welcome, and Wyche’s Sound, which was thoroughly explored down to Point Deceit at the farthest end. They walked over Red Beach, where they were joined by Captain Marmaduke, who discovered it. Passing onwards they rounded Cape Desire, and discovered the great channel which was named Sir Thomas Smith’s Inlet (Hinlopen Strait). These extensive discoveries in open boats reflect great credit on the three able and adventurous explorers. The Thomasine returned to Wapping on October 4th, with full cargo and all in good health[78].
There were bickerings and occasional collisions between English and Dutch in the succeeding summers. The English fleets were led by Thomas Edge, one ship being nominally for discovery. At last there was a sort of agreement that the Dutch and Danes should have the north-west corner from Fairhaven to Hakluyt Headland, and the north coast—much the best stations for whales; while the English were to have the west coast bays from Fair Foreland, the northern point of Prince Charles Island, to the south point of Spitsbergen.
The Dutch fishery brought great wealth to Holland. A station, called Smeerenburg, was founded at the south-eastern end of Amsterdam Island, which for many years had all the appearance of a large town, with warehouses, blubber-boiling sheds, dwelling huts, and even a church. Smeerenburg began to decline from 1644, when the whales retreated from the coast and were only taken at sea. But, until 1770, the Dutch fishery throve.
Captain Edge was mindful of discovery as well as of the main business of whaling. He explored to the south and east, and sighted Wyche Land[79] far to the east. Indeed he and his predecessors completed the whole outline of the Spitsbergen archipelago, except North-East Land, some gaps being filled in by the Dutch. As the voyages of English and Dutch were contemporaneous, it is not always clear to which nation the discovery of each portion of coast should be attributed, though it is certain that places discovered and named by the English now have Dutch names on the charts[80].
In 1630 an English crew wintered in Spitsbergen for the first time, in a hut in Bell Sound, and all survived and were taken home in the following summer. In 1634 some Hollanders were left to winter at Smeerenburg but they all died.
The archipelago of Spitsbergen, thus discovered by English and Dutch in the early part of the 17th century, is 250 miles in length, from 76° 35′ N., to 80° 35′ N., with a width of 200 miles. It is a wild region of barren mountains and glaciers, with some splendid scenery. It is fairly well stocked with animal life both on land and in its seas; bears, foxes, hares and birds on land; whales, walrus, seals, and fish in its seas. Other discoveries connected with the Spitsbergen group, especially as regards its internal physiography and geology, were reserved for later times.