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Issue of a decree to organize the Second Kamchatka Expedition
April 17 (28), 1732 the Senate received an imperial edict to send Captain V. I. Bering to an expedition to Kamchatka, which marked the beginning of the organization of the Second Kamchatka expedition.
Efficient development of the Far East by Russia began back in the reign of Peter I. In January 1725, the Russian emperor issued a decree on the preparation of the expedition to the Pacific Ocean to reach the shores of North America. That expedition was to reach one of the "city of European possessions" in America. On the recommendation of the Admiralty Board, the expedition was headed by V. I. Bering. The First Kamchatka Expedition reached Okhotsk and from there went to Bolsheretsk and Lower-Kamchatsk.
In 1732, it was decided to organize the second Kamchatka expedition, which was a part of a big undertaking - Great Northern or Great Siberian-Pacific Expedition (1733-1743). The expedition included about 600 people: there were seven groups, which brought together naturalists, geographers, historians. Tasks assigned to them, included a survey of the northern coast of the Asian continent, the study of vast territories of underdeveloped Siberia, proof of shipping routes in the Arctic Ocean, navigation to the shores of northwestern America, Japan; cartography studies, the study of life and customs of the peoples living in these lands, as well as new territorial gains for the Russian state.
The organization of the expedition was entrusted to the chief secretary of the Senate, I. K. Kirilov; the head of the Admiralty Board N. F. Golovnin and the Academy of Sciences. The journey was led by Captain Behring. In September 1732, the Senate discussing the instruction given to Bering, "determined to appoint an assistant to him, another captain, a kind Russian man" - Alexei Ilyich Chirikov, who had well shown himself during the First Kamchatka Expedition.
In early June 1741, packet ships "Peter the Apostle" commanded by Bering and "Paul the Apostle" led by Chirikov, went to the shores of America. The vessels went to the south-east in search of the "Earth of Giovanni da Gama", which was marked on some maps of the 18th century between 46° and 50° north latitude. Having lost more than a week and having found no land in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, both ships headed for the north-east. At the end of the month, a fog fell on the sea and the vessels lost each other. In search of Chirikov’s vessel, Behring in three days had made about 400 km to the south, and then moved to the north-east and for the first time crossed the central waters of the Gulf of Alaska.
Three weeks later, at 58° north latitude sailors saw a high ridge (of St. Elias) - it was the territory of America. By the end of July the expedition reached the Kayak Island, but the lack of food made them go back the next day. Behring navigated along the shore to the west and in rare clearings observed high mountains. During this period he discovered the island Tumanny (Chirikov), five islands (Evdokeev), snow-covered mountains (Aleutian Range) on the "Mothers Beach" (Alaska Peninsula), found Shumagin islands at the south-western tip of Alaska Peninsula, where he first met the Aleuts.
The way back, as the commander predicted, was quite difficult: fogs and storms hampered the movement of vessels, the crews were running out of water and provisions. Many members of the expedition suffered from scurvy. 4 (15) November 1741, Bering’s squad ran into an unknown land and landed on it. The members of the expedition decided to spend the winter there. 8 (19) December, the head of the expedition Captain Bering died. Lieutenant S. L. Waxell took over the command. Having survived the hard winter, the crew constructed a small vessel from the remnants of "Peter the Apostle" broken by the storm. At the beginning of September 1742, the vessel returned to the harbor of Petropavlovsk.
During these months navigator Chirikov managed to take the right course and a day earlier than Bering reached the mainland of America, but the members of his squad sent to the shore were killed. In October 1741, after considerable hardship, Chirikov also returned to Petropavlovsk. The report on the Kamchatka expedition, which he submitted to the Admiralty Board, said: "... in the northern latitude of 55 degrees 36 minutes we reached the land, which we undoubtedly recognize as a part of America." In 1743, the Senate suspended the Second Kamchatka expedition.
Results of both Kamchatka expeditions were significant - the American coast was discovered, the strait between Asia and America examined, the study of the Kuril Islands, the coast of America, the Aleutian Islands continued, the notion of the Sea of Okhotsk, Kamchatka, Japan refined.
In 1754, the Academy of Sciences issued a map of Siberia in French, which published the results of the studies by Bering, Chirikov and the Great Siberian expedition.
Lit.: Ваксель С. Вторая Камчатская экспедиция Витуса Беринга. Л.; М., 1940; Греков В. И. Камчатские экспедиции // Краткая географическая энциклопедия. Т. 2. М., 1961. С. 210-211; Исследования русских на Тихом океане в первой половине ХVIII-XIX в. Т. 1. Русские экспедиции по изучению северной части Тихого океана в первой половине XVIII в. (Сб. док.). М., 1984; Магидович И. П., Магидович В. И. Очерки по истории географических открытий. Т. 3. Гл. 7, 8. М., 1984; Пасецкий В. М. Витус Беринг. М., 1982; Стеллер Г. В. Дневник плавания с Берингом к берегам Америки 1741-1742. М., 1995; Он же. Описание земли Камчатки. Петропавловск-Камчатский, 2011; Троицкий В. А. Камчатские экспедиции Витуса Беринга // Записки Харитона Лаптева. М, 1982; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://www.polarpost.ru/Library/Notes_Laptev/01.html.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Берг Л. С. Открытие Камчатки и Камчатские экспедиции Беринга. 1725-1742. Л., 1935;
Based on the materials from the Krasheninnikov Kamchatka Regional Research Library