A name on the map

A name on the map In 1553, three English ships set out to discover a northeast sea passage to China. In August, Captain Richard Chancellor sailed past the North Cape on the “Edward Bonaventure”. He calculated the position of the cliff and named it the North Cape. The monumental and dramatic cliff had been a strategic geographical point for generations. Thanks to its rocky horn sticking out on the east side, it was easily recognizable from a distance. The two other ships of this expedition tried to overcome the winter of the inhospitable and unforgiving Russian Arctic coast but none of the crew survived. The Bonaventure dropped anchor in Arkangelsk and Richard Chancellor travelled safely home. When inscribing the North Cape on the map for the first time, Richard Chancellor did not see that only a few hundred meters to the west of the cliff, laid the Knivskjellodden peninsula, which in reality, slightly stretched out farther north into the sea. For this reason, the North Cape was long known as the northernmost point of Europe. Now, you may ask yourself, “am I at the real North Cape then?” The answer is yes. There is only one North Cape, the one Richard Chancellor drew on the map in 1553.