The assumption of the existence at the South Pole of a mysterious Terra Australis Incognita- Southern unknown land - they spoke out long before the equipment of the first real expeditions there. Ever since scientists realized that the Earth is spherical, they have assumed that the areas of land and sea in the northern and southern hemispheres are about the same. Otherwise, they say, the balance would be disturbed, and our planet would be oriented towards the Sun with a side with a larger mass.
Once again, one has to be surprised at the clairvoyance of M.V. Lomonosov, who in 1763, even before Cook's expeditions, very clearly formulated his idea of the Southern land: “In the vicinity of the Strait of Magellan and opposite the Cape of Good Hope, about 53 degrees of midday width, great ice moves, why there should be no doubt that at a great distance the islands and the hardened land are covered with many and non-falling snows, and that a large expanse of the earth's surface near the South Pole is occupied by them, than in the north.
A curious moment: at first, the opinion prevailed that the southern continent was much larger than it actually was. And when the Dutchman Willem Janson discovered Australia, he gave it a name, based on the assumption that it is part of the same Terra Australis Incognita…
Off the coast of Antarctica. Photo: Peter Holgate.
The first who managed, albeit not of their own free will, to cross the Antarctic Circle and, in all likelihood, see Antarctica became the Dutch. In 1559, the ship commanded by Dirk Geeritz, in the Strait of Magellan fell into a storm and was carried far to the south. Having reached 64 degrees south latitude, the sailors saw "high land". But besides this mention, history has not preserved other evidence of a possible discovery. As soon as the weather permitted, Geeritz immediately left the inhospitable Antarctic waters.
Dutch galleon of the 16th century.
It is possible that the case with the ship Geeritsa was not the only one. Already in our time, on the coast of the Antarctic islands, shipwrecks, clothes and kitchen utensils dating back to the 16th-17th centuries have been repeatedly found. One of these wrecks, which belonged to an 18th-century Spanish galleon, is kept in the museum of the Chilean city of Valparaiso. True, skeptics believe that all this evidence of shipwrecks could be brought to Antarctica waves and currents.
In the 17th-18th centuries, French navigators distinguished themselves: they discovered the islands of South Georgia, Bouvet and Kerguelen, located in "roaring forties" latitudes. The British, not wanting to lag behind their competitors, in 1768-1775 also equipped two expeditions in a row. It was they who became an important stage in the study of the southern hemisphere.
Both expeditions were led by the famous captain James Cook. He repeatedly crossed the Arctic Circle, was covered with ice, crossed the 71st degree south latitude and was only 75 miles from the coast of the sixth continent, but an insurmountable wall of ice prevented them from reaching.
Cook's expedition ship Endeavor, modern replica.
Despite the failure to find mainland land, on the whole, Cook's expeditions brought impressive results. It was found that New Zealand is an archipelago, and not part of the southern mainland, as previously assumed. In addition, the coasts of Australia, the vast waters of the Pacific Ocean were explored, several islands were discovered, astronomical observations were made, etc.
In domestic literature there are allegations that Cook did not believe in the existence of the Southern Land and allegedly openly declared this. Actually it is not. James Cook argued just the opposite: “I will not deny that there may be a continent or a significant land near the pole. On the contrary, I am convinced that such a land exists, and it is possible that we have seen part of it. Great cold, a huge number of icy islands and floating ice - all this proves that the land in the south must be ".
He even wrote a special treatise "Arguments for the existence of land near the South Pole", and named the open South Sandwich Islands in honor of the first Lord of the Admiralty Sandwich Land, mistakenly believing that this was a ledge of the continental land of the southern continent. However, Cook, faced with the extremely harsh Antarctic climate, came to the conclusion that further research was pointless. Because the mainland “Being open and examined, it would still not benefit either navigation, or geography, or other branches of science”. Probably, it was this statement that for a long time discouraged the desire to send new expeditions to the South Land, and for half a century, the harsh Antarctic waters were visited mainly by whaling and hunting ships.
Captain James Cook.
The next and perhaps the most important discovery in history Antarctica was made by Russian sailors. In July 1819, the first Russian Antarctic expedition started as part of two Russian Imperial fleets. Vostok and Mirny. The first of them, and the detachment as a whole, was commanded by a captain of the 2nd rank, the second - by lieutenant Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev. It is curious that the goals of the expedition were exclusively scientific - she was supposed to explore the remote waters of the oceans and find the mysterious southern continent, penetrating "to the farthest latitude that can be reached".
The Russian sailors fulfilled the assigned tasks brilliantly. On January 28 (according to the ship's "mean astronomical" time, ahead of St. Petersburg by 12 hours), 1820, they came close to the ice barrier of the Antarctic continent. According to them, before them was "Ice field dotted with mounds". Lieutenant Lazarev spoke more specifically: “we met hardened ice of extreme height ... it extended as far as vision could only reach ... From here we continued our way to the east, encroaching at every opportunity to the south, but we always met an ice continent”. This day is now considered the opening day. Antarctica. Although, strictly speaking, the Russian sailors did not see the land itself at that time: they were 20 miles from the coast, later called Queen Maud Land, and only an ice shelf appeared to their eyes.
It is curious that just three days later, on the other side of the mainland, an English sailing ship under the command of captain Edward Bransfield approached the Antarctic Peninsula, and the land was supposedly visible from its side. The same was claimed by the captain of the American hunting ship Nathaniel Palmer who visited the same place in November 1820. True, both of these ships were engaged in fishing for whales and seals, and their captains were primarily interested in commercial benefits, and not in the laurels of the discoverers of new lands.
American whalers in Antarctic waters. Artist Roy Cross.
In fairness, we note that, despite a number of controversial issues, recognition and Lazareva pioneers Antarctica deserved and fair. January 28, 1821 - exactly one year after the meeting with "ice continent"- Russian sailors in sunny weather clearly saw and even sketched a mountainous coast. The last doubts disappeared: not just an ice massif stretched to the south, but snow-covered rocks. The open land was mapped as Alexander I Land. It is interesting to note that for a long time Alexander I Land was considered part of the mainland, and only in 1940 it became clear that it was an island: a strait was discovered under a multi-meter thick ice shelf separating it from the continent.
During two years of navigation, the ships of the first Russian Antarctic expedition circumnavigated the open mainland, leaving more than 50,000 miles astern. 29 new islands were discovered, a huge amount of various research was carried out.
Sloops "Vostok" and "Mirny" off the coast of Antarctica. Artist E.V.Voishvillo.
The first person to set foot on the ground - or rather, ice - of the southern continent, in all likelihood, was the American St. John Davis. On February 7, 1821, he landed from a fishing vessel ashore in West Antarctica near Cape Charles. However, this fact is not documented in any way and is given only from the words of a sailor, so many historians do not recognize it. The very first confirmed landing on the ice continent took place 74 years (!) Later - on January 24, 1895. Norwegian
In what sequence the continents were discovered by Europeans, you will learn from this article.
In what centuries were the continents discovered?
The discovery of the continents was consistent and logical. It is known that there are 6 continents on our planet. The largest of them is Eurasia. The second continent in terms of territorial size is Africa. Its shores are washed by two oceans - the Atlantic and Indian. Two subsequent continents, South and North America, are connected by a small isthmus of Panama. The fifth continent is Antarctica, which is covered with a thick shell of ice. This is the only mainland of all 6 continents where there are no permanent residents. A large number of polar stations have been created on it, scientists regularly visit them and conduct observations. Australia is the last and smallest continent on the planet.
How did the continents get their names?
The continents were called by the Europeans who discovered them. There is no exact date for the discovery of Eurasia and Africa. It is only known that even the ancient Greeks knew and distinguished Eurasia into Asia and Europe. Europe is the part of the territory that was located to the west of Greece, and Asia was on the east side. Africa became known to the world after the Romans conquered the southern part of the Mediterranean coast.
At the end of the 15th century - the beginning of the 16th century, namely in 1492 he made a long sea expedition and discovered America.
In the 17th century Dutch navigators discovered the fifth continent, which they called "Terra Australis Incognita". It stands for the Unknown Southern Land. The fifth continent was Australia.
16 (28 NS) January 1820 the sailboats "Vostok" and "Mirny" approached the "covered with hilly ice," as Bellingshausen pointed out in his diary, the coast of Antarctica. So the last continent on Earth was discovered - the era of great geographical discoveries ended successfully.
O. Tikhomirov
Even in ancient times, people believed that in the southern polar region lies a large, unexplored land. There were legends about her. They talked about everything, but most often - about gold and diamonds, with which she is so rich. Brave sailors set off on their journey to the South Pole. In search of a mysterious land, they discovered many islands, but no one managed to see the mysterious mainland.
The famous English navigator James Cook in 1775 made a special trip to "find the mainland in the Southern Arctic Ocean", but he also retreated before the cold, squally wind and ice.
Does it really exist, this unknown land? On July 4, 1819, two Russian ships left the port of Kronstadt. On one of them - on the sloop "Vostok" - the commander was Captain Faddey Faddeevich Bellingshausen. The second sloop, Mirny, was commanded by Lieutenant Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev. Both officers, experienced and fearless sailors, by that time each had already managed to make a round-the-world trip. Now they were given a task: to get as close as possible to the South Pole, "check all the wrong things" that were indicated on the maps, and "discover unknown lands." Bellingshausen was appointed head of the expedition.
Four months later, both sloops entered the Brazilian port of Rio de Janeiro. The teams got a little respite. After the holds were replenished with water and food supplies, the ships weighed anchor and continued on their way. More and more bad weather played out. It was getting colder. There were squalls with rain. Thick fog enveloped everything around.
In order not to get lost, the ships had to not go far from one another. At night, by order of Bellingshausen, lanterns were lit on the masts. And if it happened that the sloops lost sight of each other, it was ordered to fire from the cannons.
With each passing day, "Vostok" and "Mirny" came closer and closer to the mysterious land. When the wind subsided and the sky cleared, the sailors admired the play of the sun in the blue-green waves of the ocean, watched with interest the whales, sharks and dolphins that appeared nearby and accompanied the ships for a long time. Seals began to come across on the ice floes, and then penguins - large birds that amusingly paced, stretched out in a column. It seemed that over the white robes, the penguins threw black cloaks wide open. Russian people have never seen such amazing birds. Travelers were also struck by the first iceberg - a floating ice mountain.
Having discovered several small islands and marked them on maps, the expedition headed for Sandwich Land, which was first discovered by Cook. The English navigator did not have the opportunity to explore it and believed that a large island lay in front of him. The banks of Sandwich Land were densely covered with snow. Ice floes piled up next to them. Calling these places "terrible south", the Englishman turned back. In the logbook, Cook wrote: "I take the liberty of saying that the lands that may lie in the south will never be explored."
Bellingshausen and Lazarev managed to go 37 versts further than Cook and study Sandwich Land more precisely. They found out that this is not one island, but a whole series of islands. The Englishman was mistaken: what he called headlands turned out to be in fact islands.
Making their way between the heavy ice, "Vostok" and "Mirny" at every opportunity tried to find a passage to the south. Soon, next to the sloops there were already so many icebergs that we had to maneuver every now and then, so as not to be "fragmented by these huge masses, which sometimes stretched up to 100 meters above the sea surface." This entry was made in his diary by midshipman Novosilsky.
On January 15, 1820, a Russian expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle for the first time. The next day from "Mirny" and "Vostok" they saw a high strip of ice on the horizon. Sailors at first mistook them for clouds. But when the fog cleared, it became clear that the ships were facing a shore consisting of bumpy heaps of ice.
What's this? Has the mysterious Southern Continent opened before the expedition? Bellingshausen did not allow himself to draw such a conclusion. The researchers put everything they saw on the map, but again the approaching fog and snow prevented us from determining what was behind the bumpy ice. Later, many years later, this very day - January 16 - was considered the day of the discovery of Antarctica. This was also confirmed by photographs from the air: "Vostok" and "Mirny" were indeed located 20 kilometers from the sixth continent.
The Russian ships could not move even deeper to the south: solid ice blocked the way. Fog did not stop, wet snow fell continuously. And here is another misfortune: on the Mirny sloop, an ice floe pierced the skin, and a leak formed in the hold. Captain Bellingshausen decided to head to the coast of Australia and there, in Port Jackson (now Sydney), to repair the Mirny.
The repair was not easy. Because of him, the sloops stood in the Australian port for almost a month. But now the Russian ships raised their sails and saluting from their cannons, they went to New Zealand to explore the tropical latitudes of the Pacific Ocean, while winter lasted in the Southern Hemisphere.
Now the sailors were pursued not by an icy wind and a blizzard, but by the scorching rays of the sun and sweltering heat. The expedition discovered a chain of coral islands, which were named after the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812. During this voyage, the Vostok almost ran into a dangerous reef - it was immediately given the name stranded Beware.
When the ships anchored near the inhabited islands, many boats with natives rushed to the sloops. The sailors were showered with pineapples, oranges, coconuts and bananas. In exchange, the islanders received useful items for them: saws, nails, needles, dishes, fabrics, fishing tackle, in a word, everything that was necessary in the economy.
July 21 "Vostok" and "Mirny" stood off the coast of the island of Tahiti. It seemed to Russian sailors that they were in a fairy-tale world - this piece of land was so beautiful. Dark high mountains pierced their peaks into the bright blue sky. The lush coastal greenery glowed emerald against the backdrop of azure waves and golden sand. On board the "Vostok" wished to visit the king of the Tahitians Pomare. Bellingshausen graciously received him, treated him to dinner and even ordered him to fire several shots in honor of the king. Pomare was very pleased. True, with each shot he hid behind Bellingshausen's back.
Returning to Port Jackson, the sloops began to prepare for a new difficult campaign in the country of eternal cold. On October 31, they weighed anchor, heading south. Three weeks later, the ships entered the ice zone. Now Russian ships bypassed the southern polar circle from the opposite side.
"I see land!" - such a signal was received from the Mirny to the flagship on January 10, 1821. All members of the expedition poured aboard in excitement. And at this time the sun, as if wishing to congratulate the sailors, looked out for a short moment from the torn clouds. Ahead, about forty miles away, was a rocky island. The next day they approached him closer. The mountainous island rose 1300 meters above the ocean. Bellingshausen, having assembled a team, solemnly announced: "The open island will bear the name of the founder of the Russian fleet, Peter the Great." Three times "Hurrah!" rolled over the rough waves.
A week later, the expedition discovered a coast with a high mountain. Bellingshausen tried to bring the sloops to him, but an impenetrable ice field appeared in front of them. The land was called the Alexander I Coast. The waters themselves, washing this land and the island of Peter I, were later called the Bellingshausen Sea.
For more than two years, the journey of Vostok and Mirny continued. It ended in his native Kronstadt on July 24, 1821. Russian navigators traveled eighty-four thousand miles on sloops - this is more than a double journey around the globe along the equator.
The Norwegian Raoul Amundsen was the first to reach the South Pole at the end of 1911. He and his expedition of several people traveled to the pole on skis and dog sleds. A month later, another expedition approached the pole. It was led by the Englishman Robert Scott. This, of course, was also a very courageous and strong-willed person. But when he saw the Norwegian flag left by Amundsen, Scott experienced a terrible shock: he was only the second! Been here before! The Englishman no longer had the strength to go back. "God Almighty, what a terrible place!"... - he wrote in his diary with a weakening hand.
But who owns the sixth continent, where valuable minerals and minerals have been found deep under the ice? Many countries claimed different parts of the mainland. The development of minerals, of course, would lead to the death of this cleanest continent on Earth. And the human mind won. Antarctica has become a world nature reserve - the "Land of Science". Now only scientists and researchers from 67 countries work here at 40 scientific stations. Their work will help to better know and understand our planet. In honor of the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev, the Russian stations in Antarctica bear the names "Vostok" and "Mirny".
Wake up anyone in the middle of the night with the question: “Who discovered America first?”, And without hesitation, they will immediately give you the correct answer, calling the name of Christopher Columbus. This is for everyone known fact, which, it would seem, no one disputes. But was Columbus the first European to set foot on a new land? Not at all. Question one: "So who?". But Columbus was called for a reason discoverer.
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How did Columbus discover
In what century did such significant changes for the world take place? The official date for the discovery of a new continent called the Americas is 1499, 15th century. At that time, speculation began to appear among the inhabitants of Europe that the earth was round. They began to think about the possibility of navigation on the Atlantic Ocean and the opening of the western route straight to the shores of Asia.
The story of how Columbus discovered America is very funny. It so happened that he randomly stumbled upon the New World, holding the way to distant India.
Christopher was an avid sailor, from a young age who managed to visit all known at that time. Carefully studying a huge number of geographical maps, Columbus planned to sail to India through the Atlantic without passing through Africa.
He, like many scientists of that time, naively believed that, having gone straight from Western Europe to the East, he would reach the shores of such Asian countries as China and India. No one could even imagine what was in his way all of a sudden. new lands will appear.
It is the day when Columbus reached the shores of the new mainland and is considered beginning of American history.
Continents discovered by Columbus
Christopher is considered the one who discovered North America. But in parallel with it, after the news of the New World spread to all countries, in the struggle for the development of the northern territories the British entered.
In total, the navigator made four expeditions. The continents that Columbus discovered: the island of Haiti or, as the traveler himself called it, Lesser Spain, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Antigua and many other territories of North America. From 1498 to 1504, during his last expeditions, the navigator already mastered lands of south america, where he reached the shores of not only Venezuela, but also Brazil. A little later, the expedition reached Central America, where the coastlines of Nicaragua and Honduras were developed, all the way to Panama.
Who else mastered America
Formally, many navigators opened America to the world in different ways. History counts many names associated with the development of the lands of the New World. The Columbus case continued:
- Alexander Mackenzie;
- William Buffin;
- Henry Hudson;
- John Davis.
Thanks to these navigators, the entire continent was explored and mastered, including Pacific coast.
Also, another discoverer of America is considered a no less famous person - Amerigo Vespucci. The Portuguese navigator went on expeditions and explored the coast of Brazil.
It was he who first suggested that Christopher Columbus sailed far not to China and India, but to previously unknown. His conjectures were confirmed by Fernand Magellan, after making the first trip around the world.
It is believed that the mainland was named precisely in honor of Vespucci, contrary to all the logic of what is happening. And today the New World is known to everyone under the name of America, and not in any other way. So who really discovered America?
Pre-Columbian expeditions to the Americas
In the legends and beliefs of the Scandinavian peoples, one can often stumble upon the mention of distant lands called Vinland located near Greenland. Historians believe that it was the Vikings who discovered America and became the first Europeans to set foot on the lands of the New World, and in their legends, Vinland is nothing more than Newfoundland.
Everyone knows how Columbus discovered America, but in fact Christopher was far away not the first navigator who visited this continent. Leif Erickson, who named one of the parts of the new continent as Vinland, cannot be called the discoverer either.
Who is considered first? Historians dare to believe that he was a merchant from distant Scandinavia - Bjarni Herjulfsson, which is mentioned in the Greenlanders' Saga. According to this literary work, in 985. he moved towards Greenland to meet his father, but lost his way due to a strong storm.
Before the discovery of America, the merchant had to sail at random, since he had not seen the lands of Greenland before and did not know a specific course. He soon reached the level shores of an unknown island covered with forests. Such a description did not fit Greenland at all, which surprised him greatly. Bjarni decided not to land and turn back.
Soon he sailed to Greenland, where he told this story to Leif Erickson, the son of the discoverer of Greenland. Exactly he became the first of the vikings who tried their luck to enter to the lands of America before Columbus, which he called Vinland.
Forced search for new lands
Important! Greenland is not the most pleasant country to live in. It is poor in resources, with a harsh climate. The possibility of resettlement at that time seemed like a pipe dream for the Vikings.
Stories about fertile lands covered with dense forests only spurred them on. Erickson gathered a small team for himself and set off on a journey in search of new territories. Leif became the one who discovered North America.
The first uncharted places they stumbled upon were rocky and mountainous. In their description today, historians see nothing more than baffin land. The subsequent coasts turned out to be low-lying, with green forests and long sandy beaches. This historians were very reminded of the description coast of the Labrador Peninsula in Canada.
On the new lands, wood was mined, which is so hard to find in Greenland. Subsequently, the Vikings founded the first two settlements in the New World, and all these territories were called Vinland.
The scientist who was nicknamed the "second Columbus"
The famous German geographer, naturalist and traveler - all this is one great man, whose name is Alexander Humboldt.
This great scientist opened America to others on the scientific side, having spent many years on research, and he was not alone. About what kind of partner he needed, Humbaldt did not hesitate for a long time and immediately made his choice in favor of Bonpland.
Humboldt and French botanist in 1799. went to scientific expedition to South America and Mexico, which lasted for five years. This journey brought scientists worldwide fame, and Humboldt himself was called the "second Columbus".
It's believed that in 1796 The scientist set himself the following tasks:
- explore little-studied areas of the globe;
- systematize all the information received;
- taking into account the results of research by other scientists, a comprehensive description of the structure of the universe.
All tasks, of course, were successfully completed. After the discovery of America as a continent, no one dared to conduct such research. Therefore, he decides to go to the least explored area - the West Indies, which allows him to achieve tremendous results. Humboldt created the first geographical maps discovered America almost simultaneously, but in world history the name of Christopher Columbus will always be the first in the list of those who mastered the territories of the New World.
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