Richard Chancellor
Encyclopedia
Richard Chancellor was an English explorer and navigator
; the first to penetrate to the White Sea
and establish relations with Russia
.
Chancellor, a native of Bristol
, acquired geographical and maritime proficiency from the explorer Sebastian Cabot
and the geographer
John Dee
. Cabot had always been interested in making a voyage to Asia
through the Arctic
, and for this purpose King Edward VI chartered an association of English merchants, the Company of Merchant Adventurers
in 1552-1553, with the Duke of Northumberland
as principal patron. They hoped not only to discover a North-East Passage but also to find a market for English woollen cloth.
Sir Hugh Willoughby
was given three ships for the search, and Chancellor went as second-in-command. A Norwegian coastal storm separated them; Willoughby, with two ships, sailed east and discovered Novaya Zemlya
but died with all his men on the Lapland coast. Chancellor, with the ship Edward Bonaventure, found the entrance to the White Sea and anchored at the port of Archangel
.
When Tsar Ivan the Terrible heard of Chancellor's arrival, he immediately invited the exotic guest to visit Moscow for an audience at the royal court. Chancellor made the journey of over 600 miles (over 1000 kilometres) to Moscow through snow and ice covered country. He found Moscow large (much larger than London) and primitively built, most houses being constructed of wood. However, the palace of the tsar was very luxurious, as were the dinners he offered Chancellor. The Russian tsar was pleased to open the sea trading routes with England
and other countries, as Russia did not yet have a connection with the Baltic Sea
at the time and the entire area was contested by the neighbouring powers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
and the Swedish Empire
. In addition, the Hanseatic League
had a monopoly on the trade between Russia and Central
and Western Europe
. Chancellor was no less optimistic, finding a good market for his English wool
, and receiving furs and other Russian goods in return. The Tsar gave him letters for England inviting British traders and promising trade privileges.
When Chancellor returned to England in the summer of 1554, King Edward was dead, and his successor, Mary
, had executed Northumberland for attempting to place Lady Jane Grey
on the throne. No stigma attached to Chancellor, and the Muscovy Company
, as the association was now called, sent him again to the White Sea in 1555. On this voyage he learned what had happened to Willoughby, recovered his papers, and found out about the discovery of Novaya Zemlya. Chancellor spent the summer of 1555 dealing with the Tsar, organizing trade, and trying to learn how China
might be reached by the northern route.
In 1556 Chancellor departed for England, taking with him the first Russian ambassador to his country, Osep Nepeja. They left Archangel in autumn; the fleet was Willoughby's ships (relaunched), the Philip and Mary and the Edward Bonadventure. In October/November the fleet tried to winter in Trondheim
. The Bona Esperanza sank, the Bona Confidentia appeared to enter the fjord but was never heard of again, and the Philip and Mary successfully wintered in Trondheim and arrived in London next April the 18th. The Edward did not attempt to enter, instead reaching the Scottish coast and being wrecked at Pitslago on the 7th of November. Chancellor lost his life, although the Russian envoy survived to reach London
.
Chancellor had found a way to Russia, and though in time it was superseded by a better one it remained for years the only feasible route for the English.
historical fiction series, The Lymond Chronicles
.
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
; the first to penetrate to the White Sea
White Sea
The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...
and establish relations with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Chancellor, a native of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, acquired geographical and maritime proficiency from the explorer Sebastian Cabot
Sebastian Cabot (explorer)
Sebastian Cabot was an explorer, born in the Venetian Republic.-Origins:...
and the geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
John Dee
John Dee (mathematician)
John Dee was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy....
. Cabot had always been interested in making a voyage to Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
through the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
, and for this purpose King Edward VI chartered an association of English merchants, the Company of Merchant Adventurers
Company of Merchant Adventurers
The Company of Merchant Adventurers usually refers to theCompany of Merchant Adventurers of London, founded in 1407 and London's leading guild of overseas merchants.It may also refer to:...
in 1552-1553, with the Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
as principal patron. They hoped not only to discover a North-East Passage but also to find a market for English woollen cloth.
Sir Hugh Willoughby
Hugh Willoughby (sea captain)
Sir Hugh Willoughby of Risley, Derbyshire was an early English Arctic voyager. He was sent out on 10 May 1553, as captain of the Bona Esperanza with two other vessels under his command and with chief pilot Richard Chancellor, by a company of London merchants known as the Company of Merchant...
was given three ships for the search, and Chancellor went as second-in-command. A Norwegian coastal storm separated them; Willoughby, with two ships, sailed east and discovered Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya , also known in Dutch as Nova Zembla and in Norwegian as , is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in the north of Russia and the extreme northeast of Europe, the easternmost point of Europe lying at Cape Flissingsky on the northern island...
but died with all his men on the Lapland coast. Chancellor, with the ship Edward Bonaventure, found the entrance to the White Sea and anchored at the port of Archangel
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...
.
When Tsar Ivan the Terrible heard of Chancellor's arrival, he immediately invited the exotic guest to visit Moscow for an audience at the royal court. Chancellor made the journey of over 600 miles (over 1000 kilometres) to Moscow through snow and ice covered country. He found Moscow large (much larger than London) and primitively built, most houses being constructed of wood. However, the palace of the tsar was very luxurious, as were the dinners he offered Chancellor. The Russian tsar was pleased to open the sea trading routes with England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and other countries, as Russia did not yet have a connection with the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
at the time and the entire area was contested by the neighbouring powers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
and the Swedish Empire
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
. In addition, the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
had a monopoly on the trade between Russia and Central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. Chancellor was no less optimistic, finding a good market for his English wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
, and receiving furs and other Russian goods in return. The Tsar gave him letters for England inviting British traders and promising trade privileges.
When Chancellor returned to England in the summer of 1554, King Edward was dead, and his successor, Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, had executed Northumberland for attempting to place Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
on the throne. No stigma attached to Chancellor, and the Muscovy Company
Muscovy Company
The Muscovy Company , was a trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint stock company, the precursor of the type of business that would soon flourish in England, and became closely associated with such famous names as Henry Hudson and William Baffin...
, as the association was now called, sent him again to the White Sea in 1555. On this voyage he learned what had happened to Willoughby, recovered his papers, and found out about the discovery of Novaya Zemlya. Chancellor spent the summer of 1555 dealing with the Tsar, organizing trade, and trying to learn how China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
might be reached by the northern route.
In 1556 Chancellor departed for England, taking with him the first Russian ambassador to his country, Osep Nepeja. They left Archangel in autumn; the fleet was Willoughby's ships (relaunched), the Philip and Mary and the Edward Bonadventure. In October/November the fleet tried to winter in Trondheim
Trondheimsfjord
The Trondheimsfjord , an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third longest fjord at long. It is located in the west central part of the country, and it stretches from Ørland in west to Steinkjer in north, passing the city of Trondheim on its way...
. The Bona Esperanza sank, the Bona Confidentia appeared to enter the fjord but was never heard of again, and the Philip and Mary successfully wintered in Trondheim and arrived in London next April the 18th. The Edward did not attempt to enter, instead reaching the Scottish coast and being wrecked at Pitslago on the 7th of November. Chancellor lost his life, although the Russian envoy survived to reach London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Chancellor had found a way to Russia, and though in time it was superseded by a better one it remained for years the only feasible route for the English.
In fiction
Chancellor appears as a major character in the novel The Ringed Castle (1971), fifth of the six novels in Dorothy Dunnett'sDorothy Dunnett
Dorothy Dunnett OBE was a Scottish historical novelist. She is best known for her six-part series about Francis Crawford of Lymond, The Lymond Chronicles, which she followed with the eight-part prequel The House of Niccolò...
historical fiction series, The Lymond Chronicles
Lymond Chronicles
The Lymond Chronicles is a series of six novels, written by Dorothy Dunnett, which were first published between 1961 and 1975. The series is set in mid-sixteenth century Europe and the Mediterranean and tells the story of a young Scottish nobleman, Francis Crawford of Lymond, from 1547 through...
.
See also
- Company of Merchant AdventurersCompany of Merchant AdventurersThe Company of Merchant Adventurers usually refers to theCompany of Merchant Adventurers of London, founded in 1407 and London's leading guild of overseas merchants.It may also refer to:...
- Society of Merchant VenturersSociety of Merchant VenturersThe Society of Merchant Venturers is a private entrepreneurial and charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol, which dates back to the 13th century...
- Muscovy CompanyMuscovy CompanyThe Muscovy Company , was a trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint stock company, the precursor of the type of business that would soon flourish in England, and became closely associated with such famous names as Henry Hudson and William Baffin...