Sir Hugh Willoughby

Richard Chancellor

In 1547 Sebastian Cabot returned from Spain to England. He maintained that England should trade with Cathay (China) and India for itself, and not rely on the Portuguese. However, the known routes, around Africa and through the Straits of Magalhães, were controlled by Portugal and Spain, respectively. Three possibilities seemed to remain: in the northwest (around or through North America), in the northeast (around Asia) or over the North Pole itself. Cabot preferred the second route, and in 1551 he and a group of traders founded the Company of Merchant Adventurers (in full 'Mystery and Company of Merchant Adventurers for the Discovery of Regions, Dominions, Islands, and Places unknown') to look for this route.

The first expedition of the Company of Merchant Adventurers was led by Sir Hugh Willoughby. He had no prior nautical or navigational experience, but seems to have been chosen for his leadership qualities. Richard Chancellor would function as the pilot-general of the small fleet (three ships, the Bona Esparanza under Willoughby, the Edward Bonaventure under Chancellor and the Bona Confidentia). The ships left London on 10 May 1553, but off the Lofotan Islands the ships were caught in a storm, and Chancellor's ship was separated from the other two.

Willoughby crossed Barentsz Sea and reached Novaya Zemlya. He spent some time along the coast, then returned to Scandinavia. At the mouth of the Arzina River, on the coast near Murmansk, he got trapped in the ice. He was not prepared for the cold, and after a few attempts to find help, he and his men were left to die, probably of freezing. The next year, Russian fishermen found the ships with the corpses.

Chancellor was luckier. He reached the White Sea, where the local fishermen were amazed by the great size of his ship. He reached the harbour of Kholmogory (near present-day Arkhangelsk) on the Dvina River. The region had just recently been added to the Russian empire, and when czar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) heared of Chancellor's arrival, he invited him to come over to Moscow.

Chancellor made the voyage of over 1000 kilometers through a country, covered in snow and ice, and arrived at Moscow. He found Moscow both large (much larger than London) and of a primitive build, most houses being no more than wooden. However, the palace of the czar was very luxurous, as were the dinners he offered Chancellor.

Ivan was very happy to start trade with England. Russia did not yet have a connection with the Baltic Sea at the time, and the Hanseatic League had a monopoly on the trade between Russia and central and western Europe. Chancellor was not less optimistic, finding a good market for his English wool, and receiving furs and other goods in teturn. When he returned to England in 1554, he had letters from the czar with him, inviting British traders and promising trade privileges.

The Company of Merchant Adventurers renamed itself to Muscovy Company, and the very next year (1555) Chancellor left for Russia again. When he returned to England one year later, he was joined by the first Russian ambassador to England, Ossip Gregorevitch Nepeja. Off the Scottish coast, his ship was caught in a storm and shipwrecked. Chancellor drowned, but Nepeja managed to reach the coast, where he was taken hostage by the Scots for a few months before being able to travel on to London.

Chancellor was succeeded as main trader of the Muscovy Company by Anthony Jenkinson, who made two important voyages himself - one trying to reach Cathay overland from Moscow, reaching Bukhara, the other trying to start trade through Russia with Persia. Another voyage from the Muscovy Company undertaken shortly after Chancellor's death, was another attempt to complete the northeast passage, led by Stephen Burrough. He managed to sail through Kara Gate, the strait between Vaygach and Novaya Zemlya.

Other Internet resources:

The Northern Lights route: The Trade Route around the North Cape to the White Sea
Infoplease: Chancellor, Richard, Muscovy Company

Sources used:

Benson Bobrick: East of the Sun. The Epic Conquest and Tragic History of Siberia, New York et al.: Poseidon Press (1992).
Richard E. Bohlander (ed.): World Explorers and Discoverers. New York: Macmillann (1992), New York: Da Capo Press (1998).
Natalie Ettinger: Karavanen naar het hart van Azië, Rotterdam: Lekturama. Translation of: The Heartland of Asia, London: Aldus Books (1971).
Eric Newby: The Rand Mc.Nally World Atlas of Exploration, New York et al.: Rand Mc.Nally & Company (1975).
Frank Rasky: De poolreizigers, Amsterdam: Amsterdam Boek (1978). Translation of: The polar voyages (1976).
Thayer Willis: Beroemde poolexpedities, Rotterdam: Lekturama. Translation of: The frozen world, London: Aldus Books (1971).

This page was created by Andre Engels for Discoverers Web.