The polar archipelago of Svalbard was first discovered by Willem Barentsz in 1596, although there is disputed evidence of use by Pomors or Norsemen. Whaling for bowhead whales started in 1611, dominated by English and Dutch companies, though other countries participated. At that time there was no agreement about sovereignty. Whaling stations, the largest being Smeerenburg, were built during the 17th century, but gradually whaling decreased. Hunting was carried out from the 17th century by Pomors, but from the 19th century it became more dominated by Norwegians.
Exploration was initially conducted to find new whaling grounds, but from the 18th century some scientific expeditions took place. These were initially large scale, but from the late 19th century they became smaller and increasingly focused on the interior. The most important scientific explorers were Baltazar Mathias Keilhau, Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld and Martin Conway. Sustainable mining started in 1906 with the establishment of Longyearbyen and by the 1920s, permanent coal mining settlements had been established at Barentsburg, Grumant, Pyramiden, Svea and Ny-Ålesund. The Svalbard Treaty came into effect in 1925, granting Norway sovereignty of the archipelago, but prohibiting "warlike activities" and establishing all signatories the right to mine. This both eliminated the mare liberum status of the islands, and also saw a name change from the Spitsbergen Archipelago to Svalbard. By the 1930s, all settlements were either Norwegian or Soviet.
During the Second World War, the settlements were first evacuated and then bombed by the Kriegsmarine, but rebuilt after the war. During the Cold War there were increased tensions between Norway and the Soviet Union, particularly regarding the building of an airport. There was limited oil drilling, and by 1973 more than half the archipelago was protected. Starting in the 1970s, Longyearbyen underwent a process of "normalization" to become a regular community. Arktikugol closed Grumant in 1962 and Pyramiden in 1998, while King Bay had to close mining at Ny-Ålesund after the Kings Bay Affair. The 1990s and 2000s have seen major reductions of the Russian population and the creation of scientific establishments in Ny-Ålesund and Longyearbyen. Tourism has also increased and become a major component of the economy of Longyearbyen.
During the Golden Age of Dutch exploration and discovery (c. 1590s–1720s)
First verified discovery of Svalbard as a terra nullius
There is no conclusive evidence of the first human activity on Svalbard. Swedish archeologist Hans Christiansson found flint and slate objects he identified as Stone Age tools dating from ca. 3000 BC, but there is little support among his peers as no dwelling place has been found.Arlov (1994): 12 An analysis of the lithic (stone) material in 1997 concluded they were not Stone Age artifacts. During the 19th century, Norwegian historians proposed that Norse seamen had found Svalbard in 1194. This is based on annals that found Svalbarði four days sailing from Iceland. Although it forms the basis for the modern name of the archipelago, there is no scientific consensus that supports the hypothesis. Russian historians have proposed that Russian Pomors may have visited the island as early as the 15th century.Arlov (1994): 13 This line was largely pursued by Soviet scholars, but again, no conclusive evidence has been found.Arlov (1994): 14 The Portuguese may also lay claim to have discovered or known about Svalbard first due to the close resemblance of the archipelago in the Cantino Planisphere, an early map famous for documenting Portuguese discoveries in the New World. If proven this would predate the official discovery by 94 years.
The first undisputed discovery of the archipelago was an expedition led by the Dutch mariner Willem Barentsz, who was looking for the Northeast passage to China.Arlov (1994): 9 He first spotted Bjørnøya on 10 June 1596Arlov (1994): 10 and the northwestern tip of Spitsbergen on 17 June. The sighting of the archipelago was included in the accounts and maps made by the expedition and Spitsbergen was quickly included by cartographers.Arlov (1994): 11 Henry Hudson explored the islands in 1607.
International whaling base
The first hunting expedition, to Bjørnøya, was organized by the Muscovy Company led by Steven Bennet in 1604. Although they found thousands of walrus, they were only able to kill a few because of their lack of experience. The following year he was more successful and returned annually until they in a few years had achieved local extinction. After Jonas Poole reported seeing a "great store of whales" off Spitsbergen in 1610, the Muscovy Company sent a whaling expedition to the island under command of Poole and Thomas Edge in 1611. They hired Basque experts to hunt the bowhead whale, but both ships were wrecked and the crews rescued by English interlope. The following year, the Muscovy Company sent a new expedition, but was met by both Dutch and Spanish whalers. The company claimed exclusive rights to the area and sent away the contenders. In 1613, seven armed English ships were sent on the expedition which expelled a few dozen Dutch, Spanish and French vessels.Arlov (1994): 16
This led to an international political conflict. The Dutch rejected the English exclusive rights, claiming the mare liberum principle. Christian IV claimed that Denmark–Norway had the rights to all of Northern Sea in view of Greenland being an old Norwegian tax-land. England offered to purchase the rights from Denmark–Norway in 1614, but the offer was turned down, after which the English reverted to their exclusive rights claim. In 1615, Denmark–Norway sent three men-o-war to collect taxes from English and Dutch whalers, but all refused to pay.Arlov (1994): 18 The issue ended in a political deadlock, with Denmark–Norway and England both claiming sovereignty and France, the Netherlands and Spain claiming it a free zone under mare liberum.Arlov (1994): 19
In 1614, the English and Dutch partitioned the island, as the aggression was hampering the profitability of both groups. That year, the Netherlands created Noordsche Compagnie as a whaling cartel. After the Muscovy Company fell into financial difficulties some years later, the Noordsche Compagnie got the upper hand and was able to dominate the whaling and fend off the English. They established themselves in the northwestern corner of Spitsbergen (around Albert I Land) and only permitted a limited Danish presence. The English whaled further south, while the French were allocated to the north coast and the open sea. From the 1630s, the situation stabilized and there were only a limited number of aggressive incidents.Arlov (1994): 20
Initially, all nations hired Basque whalers,Arlov (1994): 23 although they gradually disappeared after their knowledge was learned by their companions. The whaling method was based on landing the whale, where it would be partitioned and the blubber boiled. With a high concentration of whales close to land, the method was efficient, as the companies would split the crew between the land station and hunting.Arlov (1994): 24 The most famous land station was the Dutch Smeerenburg on Amsterdam Island which had up to 200 people employed. Because of the high costs involved, only larger companies conducted whaling. By the late 17th century there were between 200 and 300 ships and in excess of 10,000 whalers around Spitsbergen.Arlov (1994): 25 The first overwintering was accidentally experienced by an English group in Bellsund in 1630–31. The first planned overwintering was achieved by the Noordsche Compagnie in 1633–34.Arlov (1994):35
A limited amount of open-sea whaling was performed by interlopers—independent entrepreneurs. The Noordsche Compagnie was disbanded by the government in 1642. The decade also saw an increase in whaling outside the main bays and fjords.Arlov (1994): 27 This gradually resulted in the abandoning of land stations as technological innovation allowed flensing along the ship, which allowed for pelagic whaling. Cooking of the oil was moved to the mainland.Arlov (1994): 31 While more cost-efficient, it resulted in a large portion of the meat being wasted. During the 18th century, Dutch whaling was reduced, until it ceased after 1770. The British gradually took the lead in Arctic whaling, but by around the start of the 19th century bowhead whales were scarce around Spitsbergen and the whalers moved elsewhere.Arlov (1994): 32
Hunting It is not known when Pomors first came to Svalbard, although permanent activity had been established by the mid-16th century.Arlov (1994): 36 Hunters were sent by merchants, and monasteries, such as Solovetsky Monastery, and settled in smaller stations along the coast. They would hunt reindeer, Arctic fox, seals, walrus and polar bears. The activity was most extensive at the end of the 18th century, when an estimated 100 to 150 overwintered.Arlov (1994): 37 Unlike the whaling, Pomor activity was sustainable, they alternated stations between seasons and did not deplete the natural resources.Arlov (1994): 38
Seal hunting in the waters between Svalbard and Greenland was started by Germans in the late 17th century. The activity was later taken over by Norwegians and Danish in the 18th century. Sealing was less profitable but could be carried with much less capital.Arlov (1994): 34 Norwegians came in contact with the Russians through the Pomor trade. Despite earlier attempts, not until 1794 did a Norwegian party reach Bjørnøya and the following years Spitsbergen. The first Norwegian citizens to reach Spitsbergen proper were a number of Coast Sámi from the Hammerfest region, who were hired as part of a Russian crew for an expedition in 1795.Carlheim-Gyllensköld (1900), p. 155 From the 1820s the Norwegian hunting expeditions were taken up and continued through the rest of the century. Tromsø gradually replaced Hammerfest as the main port of origin. In the last third of the century, an average 27 Norwegian ships sailed to Svalbard.Arlov (1994): 39 In the winter of 1872–73, seventeen seal hunters died in the Svenskehuset Tragedy.
Further exploration Exploration of the archipelago started in the 1610s as the whaling companies would send out small ships to find new areas to exploit. By 1650 it was established that Spitsbergen was an island and not connected to Greenland. Whalers gradually accumulated a good geographic knowledge of the coastline, but the interior remained uncharted.Arlov (1994): 42 The first scientific expedition to Svalbard was the Russian Čičagov Expedition between 1764 and 1766, which passed Svalbard in an unsuccessful attempt to find the Northern Sea Route. It made among water and topography measurements.Arlov (1994): 43 The second expedition was organized by the Royal Navy and led by Constantine Phipps in 1773. His two ships, the Racehorse and the Carcass got stuck in the ice around Sjuøyane before returning. They collected zoological and botanical samples and measured water temperatures, among others.Arlov (1994): 44