cartographer
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
and
explorer
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
who was employed by the
Noordsche Compagnie
The Noordsche Compagnie ( en, Northern Company) was a Dutch cartel in the whaling trade, founded by several cities in the Netherlands in 1614 and operating until 1642. Soon after its founding, it became entangled in territorial conflicts with En ...
and the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
.
Career
Carolus apparently was a native of
Enkhuizen
Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia.
History
Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbor-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade wi ...
. After he lost a leg at the
Siege of Ostend
The siege of Ostend was a three-year siege of the city of Ostend during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War. A Spanish force under Archduke Albrecht besieged the fortress being held initially by a Dutch force which was reinforc ...
(1601–04) he turned to the art of navigation and became a pilot (''Stierman''). In 1614 he was pilot of the Enkhuizen ship ''den Orangienboom'' (“Orange Tree”), under Jacob de Gouwenaer, one of the two ships sent by the
whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industry ...
company ''Noordsche Compagnie'' on a voyage of discovery. Carolus claimed to have reached 83° N, but this would have been impossible given the ice conditions described by
Robert Fotherby
Robert Fotherby (died 1646) was an early 17th-century English explorer and whaler. From 1613 to 1615 he worked for the Muscovy Company, and from 1615 until his death for the East India Company.
Family ties
There was a family of Fotherbys in Gri ...
, who was also on a voyage of discovery in the ship ''Thomasine'', sent by the rival
Muscovy Company
The Muscovy Company (also called the Russia Company or the Muscovy Trading Company russian: Московская компания, Moskovskaya kompaniya) was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint s ...
of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. According to Fotherby—who saw the Dutch ships riding off
Amsterdam Island
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban area ...
on July 6/16, "ready for the first opportunity to discover", and on August 9/19 "two ships of the Hollanders, that were appointed for northern discovery, were seene thwart of Faire Haven, sayling to the southwards"— the ice was packed along the northern coast of Spitsbergen. Even in shallops the English were only able to go as far north as ''Castlins Point'' (modern Gråhuken, at 79° 48’N).
On the same voyage Carolus came upon the island of
Jan Mayen
Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger nort ...
, which may have been discovered earlier the same year by the Dutchman Fopp Gerritsz., sailing in a whaleship sent by the Englishman John Clarke, of
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Gouwenaerbåen) after the master of his ship, and a cape ''Jan Meys hoeck''. This latter name, in honor of Jan Jacobsz. May, master of the other ship sent on discovery, ''de goude Cath'' (“The Golden Cat”) of
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, was later (1620) applied to the island as a whole, giving it the name it retains to this day.
Following his 1614 expedition to
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...
Carolus charted a map of the islands. The map labels various features, including ''Generaels hoeck'' ( South Cape), ''Bell sound'' (
Bellsund
Bellsund is a long sound on the west coast of Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard archipelago of Norway. It is separated from Van Mijenfjorden by the islands of Akseløya and Mariaholmen. Bellsund is located south of Nordenskiöld Land and north ...
), ''Greene harbergh'' (
Grønfjorden
Grønfjorden (English: Green Fjord or Green Harbour) is a 16 km long fjord, separated from Isfjorden to the north by Festningsodden in the west and Heerodden in the east. It lies within the western portion of Nordenskiöld Land. On its east ...
), Mari mag. bay (
Magdalenefjorden
Magdalenefjorden is an 8 km long and up to 5 km wide fjord between Reuschhalvøya and Hoelhalvøya, Albert I Land, on the west coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago. It is large enough to accommodate ev ...
), ''Hollandsche bay'' or ''Feer-haven'' ( Fairhaven), and ''de Reus'' ("The Giant", Cloven Cliff), among other things.
The map also shows what may be
Edge Island
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed b ...
’s south coast. Carolus showed the coastline split into two parts: ''Onbekende Cust'' (“Unknown Coast”) in the west, and ''Morfyn'' (a corruption of ''Matsyn'', part of
Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...
) in the east. Islands are shown offshore of ''Morfyn''. Martin Conway argued in 1901 that Carolus’ chart indicated that he had discovered Edge Island; but, as Wielder points out, Conway was ignorant of a map (engraved in 1612) by the Dutch cartographer
Petrus Plancius
Petrus Plancius (; 1552 – 15 May 1622) was a Dutch-Flemish astronomer, cartographer and clergyman. He was born as Pieter Platevoet in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders. He studied theology in Germany and England. At the age of 24 he ...
, which illustrated a coastline to the east of Spitsbergen. The coastline, indented, with islands offshore, was labelled ''Gerrits Eylant''. Wielder believed this to the first record of Edge Island's south coast, when in fact this coastline as well was only copied from an earlier chart which merely showed a vague mass that was supposed to represent Spitsbergen.
Edward Heawood, writing in response to Conway's claim of Carolus being the first discoverer of Edge Island, wrote a "Correspondence" refuting his claim. Carolus, who never made any claim of having discovered the said island (which is counter to his usual boastful claims of discovery), shows ''Morfyn'' (or ''Marfyn'', which Conway said represented Edge Island) some 18° too far east (relative to the mainland), while ''Onbekende Cust'', which is supposed to represent
Kvalpynten
Kvalpynten (Whale Point) is a headland at Edgeøya, Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coa ...
(which Heawood questioned as to why Carolus should refer to a land he allegedly discovered as “unknown”?), extends the longitude of the island to 30°, instead of its actual 4° of longitude. Heawood asserts that Carolus may have only copied both coastlines from earlier maps—in particular, ''Onbekende Cust'' may correspond to the land (without name) placed between Spitsbergen and Matsyn on a Dutch map of 1611.
The following year, 1615, Carolus was sent by the ''Noordsche Compagnie'' on a voyage to the
Davis Strait
Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Atlantic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer Jo ...
region. Passing through the strait he allegedly reached the impossible latitude of 80° N. The results of this voyage were presented in a (now lost) chart to the
States General The word States-General, or Estates-General, may refer to:
Currently in use
* Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec, the name of a commission set up by the government of Quebec on June 29, 2000
* States Genera ...
, and mentioned in a resolution of November 26, 1615. Carolus later (see below) described
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay ( Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; kl, Avannaata Imaa; french: Baie de Baffin), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arct ...
in a book he published, saying it extended to 79° N and was enclosed by land.
In 1617, Carolus was again sent on a voyage of discovery by the
Delft
Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
,
Hoorn
Hoorn () is a city and municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the largest town and the traditional capital of the region of West Friesland. Hoorn is located on the Markermeer, 20 kilometers ( ...
, and
Enkhuizen
Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia.
History
Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbor-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade wi ...
chambers of the ''Noordsche Compagnie''. He claimed to have discovered two islands: ''New Holland'', between 60° and 63° N, and ''Opdams island'', at 66° N and twenty Dutch miles east of
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. Both islands were depicted on a map Carolus supplied to the ''Noordsche Compagnie'', which applied to the States General for a monopoly on whaling rights at the islands (which was granted on October 28, 1617).
"When at length his years and growing feebleness prevented him from voyaging, he settled down at Amsterdam as teacher of navigation, and published a book of charts and sailing directions, now very rare, entitled ''Het nieuw vermeerde Licht, ghenaemt de Sleutel van’t Tresoor, Spiegel, Gesicht, ende vierighe Colon des Grooten Zeevaerts. Dat is claer ende seeckere beschrijcinghe van de Oost, West, Suydt ende Noordsche Navigatie, verciert met alle noodige perfecte ende duijdelycke Pas-kaarten, Opdoeninghen der Landen, Haven, Kapen ende Rivieren, aenwhsinghe der Drooghten, Landen, Clijpen ende Ondiepten; verscheijdentheijt der plaetsen, 800 deselve in mijlen, graden ende Compas-streecken van den omderen syn ghelegen. Alles van nieuws oversien, verbeetert ende vermeerdert, door Mr. Joris Carolus. Sierman. Leermeester ende Caert-schryver van de groote en cleyne Zeevaert binnen de vermaerde Coopstadt Amsteldam. Ghedruckt tot Amsteldam. By Jan Janssen Boeckvercooper op’t Water in de Paskaert. Anno'' 1634." This work was copied by many subsequent authors, many of whom claimed it as their own.