The Three Voyages of William Barents to the Arctic Regions (1594, 1595, and 1596)Veer, Gerrit de
History
The Three Voyages of William Barents to the Arctic Regions (1594, 1595, and 1596)
Veer, Gerrit de
Barentsz, Willem, approximately 1550-1597; Northeast Passage
Which we striuing and contending about it amongst our selues, we could
not be satisfied, but wondred thereat, and amongst vs were of oppinion
that we had mistaken our selues, which neuerthelesse we could [not] be
persuaded vnto, for that euery day without faile we noted what had
past, and also had vsed our clocke continually, and when that was
frosen we vsed our houre-glasse of 12 houres long. Whereupon we argued
with our selues in diuers wise, to know how we should finde out that
difference, and learne [960] the truth of the time; which to trie we
agreed to looke into the Ephemerides made by Josephus Schala, [961]
printed in Venice, for the yeeres of our Lord 1589 till A. 1600, and we
found therein that vpon the 24 day of January, (when the sunne first
appeared vnto vs) that at Venice, the clocke being one in the night
time, [962] the moone and Jupiter were in coniunction. [963] Whereupon
we sought to knowe when the same coniunction should be ouer or about
the house where we then were; and at last we found, yt the 24 day of
January was the same day whereon the coniunction aforesaid happened in
Venice, at one of the clocke in the night, and with vs in the morning
when ye sun was in the east: [964] for we saw manifestly that the two
planets aforesaid aproached neere vnto each other, [965] vntill such
time as the moone and Jupiter stood iust ouer the other, [966] both in
the signe of Taurus, [967] and that was at six of the clocke in the
morning; [968] at which time the moone and Jupiter were found by our
compas to be in coniunction, ouer our house, in the north and by east
point, and the south part of the compass was south-south-west, and
there we had it right south, [969] the moone being eight daies old;
whereby it appeareth that the sunne and the moone were eight points
different, [970] and this was about sixe of the clocke in the morning:
[971] this place differeth from Venice fiue houres in longitude,
whereby we maye gesse [972] how much we were nearer east [973] then the
citie of Venice, which was fiue houres, each houre being 15 degrees,
which is in all 75 degrees that we were more easterly then Venice. By
all which it is manifestly to be seene that we had not failed in our
account, and that also we had found our right longitude by the two
planets aforesaid; for the towne of Venice lieth vnder 37 degrees and
25 minutes in longitude, and her declination [974] is 46 degrees and 5
minutes; [975] whereby it followeth that our place of Noua Zembla lieth
vnder 112 degrees and 25 minutes in longitude, and the high of the Pole
76 degrees; and so you haue the right longitude and latitude. But from
the vttermost [east] point of Noua Zembla to ye point of Cape de Tabin,
[976] the vttermost point of Tartaria, where it windeth southward, the
longitude differeth 60 degrees. [977] But you must vnderstand that the
degrees are not so great as they are vnder the equinoxial line; for
right vnder the line a degree is fifteene [60] miles; but when you
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