Historical perspective
Scientific research and explorationDenmark has a long tradition for voyages of discovery and expeditions. The desire to venture out and gain new knowledge lies deeply rooted in most people... In 1619, King Christian IV sent out Jens Munk and 63 men on three ships on a dangerous expedition to discover the North West Passage, the route North around America to the Pacific. Only one of the ships, with Jens Munk and two of his men, returned to Denmark a year later, without having completed their assignment. Later, several marine expeditions were sent out on voyages to remote and unknown places in order to discover new land. The voyages went to the West Indies, Africa and Asia, where Denmark founded colonies. In 1761, King Frederik V sent out six men on "The Arabian Journey", the first voyage of discovery to what is now known as Yemen. Only the geodesist Carsten Niebuhr returned home in 1767 as the sole survivor, and his discoveries gave a new impetus to the interest in the world beyond Denmark's borders. During the 1800s and 1900s, Danish expeditions explored Greenland and the Polar Region, while the interest in Asia driving Ole Olufsen's and Henning Haslund-Christensen's expeditions to Central Asia brought new knowledge and rich collections of artefacts to Denmark. At the National Museum, the Museums of Natural History, Moesgård, the National Archive, the Royal Library, etc., we find today unique treasures which Danish expeditions have brought back to Denmark in the course of centuries. The Galathea expeditions
In the long line of great Danish expeditions, the first two Galathea expeditions stand out with particular clarity. Partly because of their scope and findings, and partly because they had several destinations in common, which enabled scientists to observe the development stretching over an entire century. Especially within scientific marine research, Denmark was in the vanguard among the European countries. The reasons for this included the fact that Denmark has always been a seafaring nation, as well as the fact that at a very early stage Denmark developed a tradition for close cooperation between science and the navy. The corvette Galathea 1 sailed the oceans from 1845 to 1847 on the orders of King Christian VIII. The purpose of the expedition was, besides the exploration of the Nicobar Islands, the task of handing over the Danish colonies of Tranquebar and Frederiksnagore in India to the British East India Company, the expansion of the trade with China, and negotiation and conclusion of new trading contracts. A little more than 100 years later, from 1950 to 1952, Galathea 2 went on an expedition to explore the deep sea, and the scientific results produced by this voyage in many ways exceeded the expectations. The activities on Galathea 2 also included ethnographic surveys. The expedition became hugely popular among the Danish population, and more than 20,000 Danes went to the Langelinie quay in Copenhagen to welcome the frigate when she returned on 29 June 1952. As the new millennium was approaching, and thus also the 50th anniversary of the departure of Galathea 2 from Copenhagen in 1950, the idea of launching a third a Galathea expedition was suggested from a number of quarters. It was the daily newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten that picked up the baton and developed a concept of Galathea 3 as a floating platform on which to gather and combine research activities, exploration and dissemination of scientific research information. The project was presented to the Government, and has since developed into a national project with the participation of some of Denmark's strongest research environments and actors in the field of dissemination of scientific research. Galathea 1 (1845-47)
On 14 May 1845, the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters received a letter from King Christian VIII, who was known for, among other things, his great interest in natural history. This was the beginning of the first Galatea expedition. The letter included, among others, the following passage: "We have decided to send the Corvette Galathea to the East Indian Islands and particularly the Nicobar Islands, over which We hold Sovereignty, in order to perform scientific Survey of the natural Products of this Group of Islands and their use for Cultivation and Trade." In his instructions, the king furthermore requests the academy to appoint "persons learned in the study of Nature and aides to assist them". The purpose of the expedition was, besides the exploration of the Nicobar Islands, to hand over the Danish colonies of Tranquebar and Frederiksnagore in India to the British East India Company, the expansion of the trade with China, and negotiation and conclusion of new trading contracts. At that time, other seafaring nations had already sent out combined marine military and scientific expeditions, among which the voyage of the Beagle is probably the most widely known. It was on this voyage that Charles Darwin made the observations for his famous book on the origin of species. Adventure and hard discipline
The Galathea expedition was organised with impressive rapidity. The corvette Galatea was not the largest ship in the navy: only 43 metres in length, and when it departed it was nearly bursting at the seams with its 231 men, 36 guns and provisions for one year. The accommodations must have been cramped. Galatea's voyage around the Earth was the greatest adventure of its day, an expedition which in its conception exceeded all known frameworks and established Denmark's position as a leading seafaring nation and also partly as a colonial power. The budget was large, nearly half a million rix-dollars, an amount corresponding to three per cent of the annual State revenues. Captain Steen Bille's account of the two-year expedition makes fascinating reading, a colourful and detailed snapshot from days long gone. The voyage was tough: 20 Danish sailors died in the course of the voyage, some discharged during the voyage, and Steen Bille's discipline was harsh. He did not hesitate to punish crewmembers with the whip! The Route - Galathea 1
The corvette Galathea left Copenhagen on 24 June 1845 and sailed south around Africa to India, where it visited, among othe places, Tranquebar and the Nicobar Islands. The expedition also called in Hawaii, which were then called the Sandwich Islands, before it sailed south around South America and across the Atlantic Ocean back to Denmark. Results
Christian VIII had plans to collect the scientific results from the first Galathea expedition in a beautifully decorated book, the publication of which was to be paid by the State. Alas, this was not to be. Shortly after the expedition had arrived back in Denmark, the king died, and the country was thrown into the Three-Year War. After the war, Danish scientists disagreed strongly among themselves, and for this reason many of the items brought back from the expedition remained inide the unopened boxes. The scientists that were to have written the king's book fell out with each other and soon scattered. This was unfortunate, because there was plenty of material to process. The expedition brought back 93 boxes and containers with "zoological, entomological, botanical and geological Objects". In addition to these, there were 21 boxes containing ethnographic objects, a sizeable collection from Java, as well as gifts from scientists in a number of the cities and ports that the expedition had visited. Discoveries for posterity
Today, the fact that scientists most regret is that the botanical col
