Amsterdamøya

Amsterdamøya is located off Spitsbergen's northwestern coast.

File:Spitsbergen, Amsterdam Island.jpg

17th century Dutch map of "Amsterdammer Eyland".

Amsterdamøya (English: Amsterdam Island) is a small island off the northwest coast of West-Spitsbergen. It is separated from Danskøya by the strait Danskegattet.

History

Amsterdamøya was first seen by Willem Barents in 1596. The Dutch first occupied it in 1614 (the year in which it was probably named), building a temporary whaling station on the island's southeastern promontory. In 1619 a semi-permanent station was constructed. It came to be called Smeerenburg (Dutch for "Blubber Town"). The settlement went into decline in the 1640s, and was abandoned sometime before 1660.

References

• Conway, W. M. 1906. No Man’s Land: A History of Spitsbergen from Its Discovery in 1596 to the Beginning of the Scientific Exploration of the Country. Cambridge: At the University Press.
• Norwegian Polar Institute Place Names of Svalbard Database