VITUS BERING Aleisha Rushell About Him Vitus Jonassen

VITUS BERING Aleisha & Rushell

About Him Vitus Jonassen Bering, he was born on August 5 th 1681, in Horsens Denmark, and died December 19 th 1741, on Bering Island in Russia. Bering was a Danish explorer, and the second lieutenant in the Russian navy in 1704, where he distinguished himself in the Great Nordic War and later promoted to commander. He is most known for leading the First Kamchatka Expedition and the Great Northern Expedition. The Bering Strait, Bering Sea, Bering Island, Bering Glacier, and the Bering Land Bridge were all named after him in his honour. His first expedition was in 1724, he was chosen to lead it, which was to travel through Siberia to the Pacific to consider if there was a North East Passage or if Siberia was connected to the North American continent.

The First Kamchatka Expedition This expedition was assigned in December 1724, to explore the Northern part of the Pacific Ocean and confirm if the strait was between Asia and America. The first two years of the expedition from January 1725 to January 1727 were spent on travelling from Saint Petersburg to Okhatsk, using horses, dogs sleds and river boats for transportation. In July to August 1728, they sailed Northeast along the shore, exploring Karaginsky Gulf, Kresta Bay, Providence Bay, Gulf of Anagyr, Cape Chutkotsky and St. Lawrence Island. During the expedition Bering and his crew sailed through the Bering Strait to the Chukchi Sea. They returned believing that they completed the tasks of the expedition. Though the expedition had not reached the North American coast, they discovered that Asia and North America are not connected. Over the years from 1725 they constructed many ships, such as Archangel Gabriel, which was built on Kamchatka Peninsula and was Bering’s main ship.

The Great Northern Expedition Also known as the Second Kamchatka Expedition, was one of the largest expedition projects in history, involving over 3000 people. It proceeded in the mapping of the Arctic coast of Siberia and some parts of the North American coastline, highly reducing the “white areas” on the maps. The expedition roughly lasted from 1733 to 1743, lead by Vitus Bering who was accompanied by Aleksei Chirikov who was his deputy. The intention was to find and map the Eastern reaches of Siberia and hopefully continue onto the Western shore of North America to map them as well. This expedition included the discovery of Alaska in 1741, the Aleutian Islands, the Commander Island Bering Island. In June 1741, Bering sailed from Kamchatka in the St. Peter alongside Aleksei Chirikov commanding the St. Paul. They were later separated by a storm, Chirikov went on and discovered many Aleutian Islands and Bering sailed to the Gulf of Alaska. Bering, suffering from scurvy, was unable to maintain effective command. The ship was later wrecked on the shore of Bering Island in November, and he died on the island from his illness.

Contact with Native People Vitus Bering made contact with Native people in 1741, in Alaska near the Shumagin Islands. Later Bering and Chirikov were running low on supplies and made trade with the Natives and were accepted into their community.

How he Affected Canada WE DON’T KNOW.

Bibliography • www. Britannica. com/biography/Vitus-Bering • denmark. dk/en/meet-the-danes/greatdanes/scientists/vitus-bering/ • en. wikepedia. org/wiki/Vitus_Bering • russiapedia. rt. com/prominent-russians/exploringrussia/vitus-bering/