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TheVegaExpedition (Swedish:Vegaexpeditionen) of 1878–1880, named after theSS Vega and under the leadership ofFinland-Swedish explorerAdolf Erik Nordenskiöld, was the firstArctic expedition to navigate through theNortheast Passage, the sea route between Europe and Asia through the Arctic Ocean, and the first voyage tocircumnavigateEurasia.[1] Initially a troubled enterprise, the successful expedition is considered to be among the highest achievements in the history of Swedish science.[2]
Nordenskiöld had already conducted a series of expeditions in the Arctic, including toSvalbard,West Greenland, theKara Sea and theYenisei River.
In 1877, Nordenskiöld began planning the expedition to find the Northeast Passage, and in July he presented a detailed plan toKing Oscar II, who accepted the proposal. Additional funds were provided by members of theSwedish Society for Anthropology and Geography and theRoyal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg, and private individuals, notably Swedish industrialist and philanthropistOscar Dickson (1823-1897) and Russian industrialistAlexander Sibiryakov (1849–1933).[3][4]
The steamshipVega, constructed in 1872 atBremerhaven as a sealer and whaler, was bought for the expedition, and was converted at theKarlskrona naval shipyards inBlekinge, Sweden, with government funding. Sibiryakov also equipped another steamship,Lena, which would accompany the expedition until theLena River inSiberia.
Louis Palander (1842–1920) was appointed captain of the expedition. Palander was a Swedish naval officer and an experienced sailor who had already made several trips in the Arctic and had previously participated in other Nordenskiöld expeditions. It also included scientists, officers and a crew of 21 men.[5]Noted members of the international team included:
The purpose of the expedition was to collect scientific material from the Arctic and to circumnavigate Asia.[6] The expedition had been approved by the Swedish king himselfOscar II in 1877 and was to be led by the Swedish-Finnish explorerAdolf Erik Nordenskiöld.[7]
Vega leftKarlskrona on 22 June 1878, making a stop inTromsø from 17 until 21 July. In Tromsø, Vega was joined by the cargo shipLena, commanded by Edvard Holm Johanssen. The ships reachedCape Chelyuskin, the northernmost tip of the Eurasian continent, on 19 August 1878. Lena navigated up the Lena river towardsYakutsk on 27 August, with Vega continuing east along the coast, which had only a narrow ice-free strip a couple of miles wide.
Vega's progress stopped in pack ice on 28 September 1878, about 1.5 kilometers from the coast at theChukchi Peninsula atNeshkan, only days from theBering Strait. As the Vega was traveling by the Chukchi peninsula which was inhabited by the localChukchis, the temperature affected the engines making the ship stop in its tracks.[7][8][6]
During the stop near thePitlekaj settlement, three boats with an estimated 30 Chukchis approached theVega while shouting.[9][8] As the Chukchis began boarding the ship, the Swedes had to fire their rifles – presumably into the air – to restore order.[9][8] The crew member Vega-Sven recounts the event:
"I dag på morgonen så kom där till oss 3 båtar med människor, de var vilda, de ville gå ombord men vi måtte ta oss ett gevär och skjuta innan vi kunde styra dän. Deras båtar var av sälhud, de var en 30 stycken människor, ludna, bruna fulingar."[8][10]
However, the intent of the Chukchis was not malicious, and tensions shortly thereafter de-escalated. The Swedes would accept the Chukchis' offer of hospitality.[8] As the winter progressed, the Swedes spent their time east of the Chukchis town of Pitlekaj in the bay of Koljutjinskaja, thus delaying the expedition by around a year.[6] The relationship between the Swedes and the Chukchis improved, and they would celebrate birthdays and holidays with each other.[8] The discovery of the Chukchis by the Swedes would greatly contribute to the knowledge and awareness about them, one crew member even learned the Chukchi language to such a degree that he managed to make a dictionary from Swedish to Chukchi.[8]
The expedition spent the winter there. Vega could be freed from the ice only the next summer, on 18 August 1879, and it reached Bering Strait on 20 August.Vega stopped in Japan for repairs for almost two months, and returned to Sweden through theIndian Ocean and theSuez Canal. It returned toStockholm on 24 April 1880.[7][6]
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