Holland is penniless after its war with the Spanish Empire.
To survive, it needs trade with the Far East.
The problem is the route.
Cornelis de Hout with his fleet seeks a route through the Spanish blockades...
and around the Cape of Good Hope.
Nothing more is heard of him.
The influential minister Petrus Plancius asks the explorer William Barentsz...
to look for a Northeast passage past Nova Zembla.
Two previous attempts failed.
To the noble, wise and wealthy patron...
the Reverend Plancius.
Many coasts that were once unknown...
have recently been discovered after several searches.
As this journey has been undertaken with your support and for your benefit...
l take the liberty of dedicating this description to you.
based on a true story
The boy... - Which boy?
The mayor's son.
Oh, him.
His name is Pieter Cornelis?
PC, yes. What about him?
Do you make love to him too, as you...?
He writes poems for me.
ln French, l suppose. - Yes.
And in Latin.
Why don't you write me poems?
About what?
About this?
lt's the verger.
Hey, little verger!
Symen, come here.
Silly...
Symen is as deaf as a post.
You know that.
lt's such a pity...
you have no money...
no family...
Gerrit 'no one's son' de Veer.
My father will never approve marrying you.
Your father can't do without me.
l do everything for him.
You take his messages.
l'm his assistant.
Messenger boy.
Soon l'll have money.
When l come back, l'll have money.
You don't mean that?
You're no sailor. - l don't care.
l'm going anyway. - Around the North?
Yes...
and when l come back l'll be rich.
ln this way, our people, with God's help...
has thrown off the yoke of the Spanish occupier...
and demanded its freedom.
He granted us...
oceans to sail...
continents to discover...
He granted us a spirit of enterprise...
a lust for adventure.
Leaders such as Willem Barentsz...
or Jacob van Heemskerck, who is present here...
are determined this time...
to find and open the passage of fortune to the lndies for us.
Men like them, and may our prayers accompany them on their voyages...
will bring riches to our poor...
and poverty stricken people.
And in this way also peace...
and wealth...
for everyone.
The blessing of God descends...
on our very young Republic.
Go hence in peace...
Amen...
Papa...
You were wonderful.
A wonderful story, minister.
A story that will help us cope with the cold.
l don't think that cold will be your greatest enemy, Jacob, rather...
a lack of warmth.
And, Jacob...
You are a fine captain...
but listen to Barentsz.
He keeps it all up here.
Did you have...
An astrolabe...
What do you need it for?
For measuring star time.
Tell me... - Copernicus' constant?
The constant is 9.83.
That's the relation between the Earth and the Moon.
The constant 2.95 refers to the relation Earth-Sun...
Sun-Mercury, Sun-Venus...
Sun-Mars and Sun-Jupiter. Zon-Mars en Zon-Jupiter.
Good.
And this...
is for Mr Barentsz.
Guard it... - with my own life.
Have you had time to think?
l have to do this.
Make sure you hand it over personally.
Thank you.
Oene, stop or l'll stick it up your ass!
But l still make the music.
He's asleep. Our Jantje is asleep.
Wait, wait! Jantje is thirsty. Here it comes.
Jantje stinks of berry rum!
Stop it! - Jantje stinks and we're proud of it.
l'm looking for Barentsz.
lt's not about the voyage, boy...
it's about coming home.
Remember that.
Men, a land crab!
Never mind, darling. As long as there's a mast on you!
We've got Placius' slave! Claes! Claes!
l am Gerrit de Veer and l came from the Reverend Plancius.
Well, Gerrit de Veer...
Come closer.
What has our patron given us?
l have to give it to Barentsz personally.
l want to ask you something.
l really want to go along.
On the expedition? - Yes.
You hear that, Willem? Tired of life?
A fight with your father? - l have no parents.
That's an astrolabe...
made by a maker in Louvain.
lt uses stars to show the time.
l have a letter.
l am good at reading and want to be a writer.
l want to write about my voyages.
Writer? What use is a writer on a ship?
All great explorers have a writer on board.
All of them?
They report on the voyage in a book and they become famous.
Christopher Columbus? - Yes.
Vasco da Gama? - ?lvaro Velho.
Mr Barentsz...
Did you ask Mayor Hooft to come?
Well, men...
Preparing for the voyage? - Tradition.
The men are enjoying themselves. - l noticed.
Good men. - Enough for the Amsterdam bonus.
Good enough to open the route to fortune, for Amsterdam.
And the Republic.
l came to wish you a good voyage.
Wine.
Are you deaf?
One order is enough for Van Heemskerck's men.
Wine!
We can't refuse the great Plancius.
This young man will make us famous.
At your service, captain.
Take this young man with you.
Keep him away from my daughter.
Make a man of him...
or...
feed him to the white bears.
Catharina...
No don't open it! Silly you!
Catharina...
l promise that when l return from China...
Japan and lndia, l'll bring you beautiful things.
Not important. - And the bonus?
The voyage isn't important. Returning is.
Please wait for me and beat off the rich kids!
Wait for me.
Sprat... are you still coming?
Stop twiddling. Hurry. You're the last.
Come on, l'll help you.
Here you are, first-class accommodation.
Take a seat.
Can you manage?
You are Gerrit, aren't you?
You're a writer.
Get out. Get out.
Come with me.
Come on.
Yep. - Sit down.
All hands on deck!
What is that landlubber doing here?
No idea.
On deck, sprat!
The captain doesn't like latecomers.
There are two ways to get to lndia.
To the south, via Portugal. We're not welcome there; it's Spanish now.
Then further south round the Cape of Good Hope
Around Africa... - Madagascar.
Madagascar... we have an expert here. - Show off.
The other way is round the North. lt's hard for a couple of weeks...
A warm coat and God's blessing.
And the right route through the ice.
An expedition was certainly never so well organised. We have everything.
We have the best maps, a hold full of textiles, a clock for China's Emperor...
and gifts to do business in Japan.
Once we're there, it's only a couple of days away.
Then we'll be in the marvelous lndies.
We'll forget the cold under the tropical sun.
With a woman on each arm.
Rules on board the ship...
Blasphemy is not allowed.
Theft is forbidden. Keep off other people's things.
No fighting on this ship.
lt will be punished and harshly.
Discipline is most important on board and then comes speed.
Remember the bonus.
One more thing: you are warned...
l don't want to see the Virgin Mary or rosaries.
Or any other papist frills.
We've had enough with the Spanish.
Men, shout hurray for the captain. -Hurray!
On 16 May 1596...
on the orders of the States General and Prince Maurits of Orange...
our ship set sail through the Wargat Straits...
to sail to the kingdoms of Cathay and China.
And to the East lndies.
The jibe!
You forgot to brace the clew line!!
No, over the top! - Over the topsail.
No the tether over the halyard.
And then the tether over the halyard.
Look at him with his quill.
You don't need that here at sea.
You're not going to write here are you?
Dear Oene, my friend...
Would your honour be so kind as to lower the mainsail?
This because of the approaching storm.
And please answer by tomorrow.
Yours sincerely, your captain.
Writing is for lords and masters.
And for Gerrit, of course.
l'd like to write to.
What for, boy? - And what?
l want to write my name. - Jan!
lt's a very ordinary name.
lt's a deadly ordinary name.
But it is mine.
Gerrit?
Pen, paper. Come with me.
Here.
Sit over here.
l don't want to hear you.
l just want to hear your pen on paper.
Write down everything that is said.
Where were we?
Plancius says that...
38 degrees... - l propose that the route...
10 June 1596.
With a north-easterly wind, we're sailing north north-west.
lt's almost a month since we left Holland.
We pass a medium-sized island to port.
The captain decides to anchor and go ashore looking for fresh provisions...
before we head for the cold.
The coasts are deserted.
We are explorers entering a new world.
Look up there, men. Fresh meat.
They're parrot crossbills, we used to call them twites.
Jan, you're the lightest.
Little writer...
How about you?
Claes, come on.
Birds.
Jantje!
1 1 June 1596.
Every sailor in Amsterdam wanted to join this voyage.
A fortune awaits beyond the horizon.
The men call themselves the chosen.
But why were they chosen?
Why? None of the men have something to return to.
None have a wife or children.
No one has a home. Apart from me.
We leave the island and sail north on a westerly wind.
Late that evening, the island is 16 miles behind us.
Now there's only open sea.
Claes...
give it back.
Give it back.
Make him taste the blood!
Come on then.
Hold him under.
Hold him under!
Head in, head in!
Come on, boys.
Claes!
Stop it!
What's going on, Claes? - He stole by book from my chest.
Shut up, Gerrit.
l thought he was asleep. l didn't want to wake him.
Claes...
How often have l told you not to get worked up like this?
Possessions on board are sacred, Claes. All sailors know that.
You know the punishment.
The captain will tell you what will happen.
Everyone knows the rules on board?
Tomorrow morning: The widow!
Traitor.
Clear up the blood.
No one can survive 2 or 3 minutes in that ice-cold water.
lt's your decision.
Claes will drown. - Claes is strong.
He'll drown.
He won't make it.
Then reverse the decision. - l can't. You decided for me.
You're the captain. - Don't keep telling me that.
One of us is captain, it's not me. - l'm captain and they want to believe you.
We can't let it pass.
Before you know, it'll be like three years ago.
We had to hang a couple.
We should have whipped him
He could take 10 or even 20.
You know, Jacob...
a weak captain benefits no one.
ln the name of the Republic!
Pull!
Come on, pull!
He's stuck!
He won't make it!
You won't put this in your book, will you, little man?
Yes l will.
l know exactly how to write it down.
Claes was the strongest man on board.
And everyone was afraid of him. Everyone!
Apart from the captain and Barentsz.
And Claes knew all too well...
that minor infringements...
could be punished severely.
He knew that all too well.
But Claes happened to be Claes...
and Claes wasn't afraid of the devil.
Gerrit de Veer - he's writing about me!
Gerrit the quill!
One big hurray for Claes! - Hurray!
And one big hurray for the quill! - Hurray!
4 July 1596.
We sail east and north.
We haven't seen any ice.
That's strange because we're so far north.
The men withdraw increasingly into their fixed routine
We go west with a northerly wind and...
at about five o'clock southeast with a north-easterly wind.
Land! Men! Land!
Land ahoy!
l see land.
What you think it is? - l don't know.
lt's Nova Zembla, men.
lt's Nova Zembla
The New Land.
Tomorrow we'll investigate. lt means China is close by.
China is within our reach.
A tot for everyone to celebrate.
Well done Jacob.
Keep them motivated.
Tomorrow we'll explore.
Nova Zembla...
16 August 1596.
Eight of us row to the mainland of Nova Zembla.
We pull the sloop dry and climb to the top to get the lie of the land.
The land is much bigger than indicated on the map.
We start to suspect the land will block our passage.
A little later, we see open water in the southeast.
We return to our ship to tell the news to Willem Barentsz.
This northern route goes straight through the ice.
You want to follow it, Willem?
lt's crazy. lt won't happen. - The ice is temporary.
Plancius assured us, based on his last calculations...
Rubbish. Plancius knows as much as he knows.
This island isn't mapped right. lt's much further west. You want more examples?
Plancius knows more than Portugal and Spain together.
What's wrong with you? - l'll tell you.
lt's my ship and l'm the one who decides the route.
Write that down. - And something else.
l don't want to contribute to your third failure in a row.
Write that down too.
Gerrit.
Up here.
What did they say?
What will they do? - You were there? What took so long?
Nova Zembla.
Here.
We are here.
What's up here? - Right up north?
No one knows.
Barentsz says this is the route.
But Van Heemskerck wants to go this way.
They don't agree. - Why?
Van Heemskerck thinks he has a better route than Plancius.
We'll reach the ice too soon. They have to find a new route.
Look at the stars.
Leo and Orion...
The giant's right shoulder.
''Always watch Orion's belt,'' the minister says.
They are three stars close together. - Yes, there.
Mintaka, Alnitak and Alnilam.
Very good.
Very useful, some knowledge of astronomy.
You never know.
ln a few hundred years, people will travel between the stars.
Columbus was given tobacco as a gift by the lndians. Did you know that?
He thought it stank and threw it overboard, but one sailor...
a wayward sailor called Roderigo kept some.
Later he walked the streets in Spain smoking a pipe.
People thought he was a devil with all that smoke.
They threw him in jail.
He was in jail for seven years.
lt's not always better to show off.
l want you to read it out loud.
Everything you wrote.
You have time? - Start at the beginning.
Read it yourself, Vos...
Vos can't read. - Shut up and go to sleep, Claes.
You read it out loud and start with what Van Heemskerck and Barentsz talked about.
Why should l?
Because we asked you.
My friend and l.
How do you know that l'm reading what's written in here?
Vos, you're on watch. Get on deck.
l know all about you, sprat!
You work for the Spanish.
And you'll tell them everything we face on this voyage, won't you?
Vos, come on.
18 August 1596.
We prepare to take Willem Barentsz' route.
We want to sail around the north of Nova Zembla.
But the current there is so treacherous...
but after many vain attempts, we return to anchor.
The first contact with the ice...
was 1 1 days later than expected.
You have that?
Add the date.
lt's provisional.
This has nothing to do with notes, rough sketches.
Here. This is the bill of lading. That's important.
They don't match. - That's irrelevant.
lt's official. black-and-white with your signature.
Jacob van Heemskerck.
This mentions more considerably more provisions.
A few thoughts. Plancius' signature.
He had some ideas, in case.
We're way too heavy, Willem. That makes us vulnerable deep in the ice.
Why do we have all the extra provisions?
27 August 1596.
The weather is calm and clear.
We've reached the north of Nova Zembla.
We seek shelter from the ice and call this bay lce Harbor.
And now for a story.
Who feels like a story?
Something real.
Something from life.
l need one person to help me.
Someone has to walk with me.
l'll go with Gerrit on a pub crawl.
Yes.
ln Amsterdam.
When we get back, we'll have earned a drink, haven't we?
Where shall we start?
On Zeedijk? - Take it easy.
That's more like the place to end.
Okay, we'll take it easy.
Let's start on Damrak.
We can look at the new ships.
And we greet him and him...
and we see who made it back.
Then we'll go to the pharmacist.
l'm feeling thirsty.
And we stop at the Blue Grape for one. - Or two.
Then we carry on...
l have to get out!
l have to get out! Out!
Now shut up, dammit!
Everything had been discussed.
l thought.
Months of preparation...
the route, finance...
l thought it all figured.
The negotiations in China.
And then to the lndies.
And the voyage back.
But what happened?
You and Plancius messed up.
You conspired.
Why is there so much more provisions on board than agreed?
Why?
Why didn't you involve me in your plan? - l told you that already.
Just in case.
And the other questions?
You would have objected.
What next?
What d'you think will happen now?
We'll spend the winter here.
And you'll tell the men.
We'll go ashore here...
and spend the winter here.
The whole winter.
That's months and months.
And the food?
What about food? - lt'll be rationed.
There's enough on board.
As long as everyone sticks to his ration.
We'll manage.
We're doomed.
lf anyone has a better plan, tell me.
3 September 1596.
The ice has pushed the ship back and forth.
And under the pressure of the breaking ice it finally broke up.
Our ship lost when faced with the might of nature.
We lost but don't give up.
This was all l could find.
Beans!
What's the use of beans?
l searched everywhere. - We need greens and fresh meat.
And best of all is cochlearia.
What?
Scurvy grass. lt's magic. You get over it in no time.
But does it grow here?
They say it does. - Let's look.
You see those stars?
And the very clear one?
That's Orion.
A hunter.
The three stars beside it...
is called the belt. The middle star...
has the most beautiful name.
What is it?
Mintaka.
Mintaka...
The middle star.
Yes, she loves that.
What's wrong?
A bear...
Where is Oene?
Get the guns. The guns!
Come on then!
Mintaka!
A nice name. Mintaka!
Laurens is back where he belongs.
To our Father's House.
We know that's what he always wanted.
This is the house that will protect us and offer safety.
lf God wills.
We only want one thing.
And that is to survive.
Van Heemskerck is the captain.
He remains the captain.
But now he's a captain with no ship.
lf l look around me: 1 1 men and a bird.
God...
l'm jealous of the bird.
lf we all had two wings...
we'd be in the lndies by now.
We called it the Kept House, made from flotsam and the beams of our ship.
The Kept House will protect and shelter us.
lf God wills.
Soon there won't be any light.
Why not?
The light disappears for the whole winter.
Not even God's light get's here.
Gerrit...
What's the bird's name?
Mintaka.
Mintaka, that was it.
Did Barentsz know all this in advance?
That we'd end up here?
What do you mean?
That's what Vos told us.
l don't know, Claes.
But if Barentsz knew...
then he must also know how to get us out of here.
And then?
We'll sail to China and the lndies.
And we'll buy a beautiful big golden cage for Mintaka.
Maybe she'll start singing in the warmth.
What she does now doesn't sound too good.
That girlfriend of yours...
Catharina...
Can she sing?
l don't know.
l am Galatea...
and l stand here among the planets.
The most beautiful star in the universe.
Thank you.
Your father says that.
He does?
To you?
Yes, the most beautiful.
He never says that to me.
And the farthest.
Boy, my daughter is as far away from you as the sun.
15 December 1596.
Salted meat and salt herring.
Half a pound of food per person per day.
The stock of beer is frozen and almost finished.
There are 1 7 hard round cheeses, but not enough to last till the New Year.
We eat little and it's bitterly cold.
The freezing cold is always there.
But the worst thing...
is the lack of warmth.
Do you want me to leave?
No...
Who is Galatea?
A statue...
made of ivory.
A statue that comes to life.
Oh yes...
l'll come back tomorrow. - No.
Come into the light.
He gave her a kiss.
Then she came to life.
Jantje.
My pipe, please.
When it's gone...
The skipper has smoked his last pipe.
lf you don't mind...
then l'll close my eyes for a moment.
Silence is golden.
Silence.
lndeed...
There they are.
Nelly and the children.
Don't quarrel, kids.
Keep quiet.
Papa's having a bath.
We need fresh meat.
A trap, for foxes.
24 December 1596.
The weather is calm on this Christmas Eve.
We comfort ourselves with the thought that the sun has passed half way...
and is on its way back to us to give us her light.
We really yearned to see the sun.
Without God's most beautiful creation, life is filled with misery.
Not too big...
Now close the A.
You need to work on your N.
The A is really good.
You're talented. One more time.
A friend of mine from the village...
was called Bartolomeus Huidekoper.
l bet you're glad that's not your name, Jantje.
Bar to lo me us Hui de ko per.
Van Raamsdonck!
Table.
l'll take him from the roof.
Musket...
21 March 1597.
The cold is grueling.
lt looks like a bonus of the month of March, but that is my comfort.
l know it can't last for ever.
it will have to get warmer in the end.
Soup.
Gerrit...
l have golden ducats.
l want you to keep them for me, if l...
if anything happens to me.
No one must know.
Really. l was to trade in China with them.
lt has to go back to Neeltje and the children.
l don't want them thrown out of the house.
We're continuing across the ice to the lndies.
l'm not, Gerrit.
l'm not.
Gerrit.
You have to do it. You have to lead them.
Here...
For you.
12 May 1597.
Show me a beauty that exceeds hers.
What other purpose has such beauty than to note...
that she is nothing less than the most exquisite.
You will never teach me ever to forget.
For the Emperor of China...
For the draughts...
and the chimney.
That's fine. Use it all.
A little further on...
is Jan Huygen.
There are always Flemish regulars.
We can't pass that by.
There's always a familiar face.
We have plenty of time.
And plenty of money.
Then l want to go to the baker...
in Kalverstraat...
for some currant bread.
l want to go tomorrow...
in Amsterdam.
Tomorrow...
We all do, Oene.
We all do.
Where is Jan?
Jan ran away from the orphanage.
The orphanage on Warmoestraat. He never wants to go back.
He told me that.
The sea was his father and mother.
Jan went...
wherever the wind and sea took him.
Lord, watch over Jan.
There's light. The light came back.
Boy... - Clear light, radiant.
Like the first day.
lmpossible.
lt's too early.
Here... light!
Like the first day of creation.
Men, we locked ourselves up here.
We were afraid of darkness.
But that has gone.
The light came back. We have to wake up and go.
What do you want us to do? Swim?
Gerrit is right.
You have to go. - We all have to go.
How? l only hear words. - We still have sloops.
They're wrecked.
Then we'll repair them for the journey.
You want to row?
We'll find open water and row. - lt's crazy.
ln the frozen sea? - We'll row.
lf it blows, we'll hoist a sail.
lt's crazy to stay here. - Who's in charge?
Who will decide the route?
The stars...
Yes...
But who will lead us home?
Van Heemskerck?
Or Barentsz?
Or Professor Herring?
He knows everything on his first voyage? Jantje was more experienced, dammit.
l can read maps.
And l know the stars.
And what do you have to offer?
We have to go.
1 4 June 1597.
At about 4:30, hoping for God's mercy...
we left Nova Zembla with our boat and the sloop.
We see no change or improvement in the weather...
so we left our Kept House.
A ship!
A Dutch ship.
We made it.
That's good.
Go on.
2 September 1597.
We find the ship of Jan Cornelis de Rijp, a Dutchman anchored here.
God wanted it that way.
He knew it all so well, didn't he?
Where did it take him?
To death. Yes, death.
And you think you're a leader?
Don't make me laugh. You don't have it in you.
What use is this story?
Your book?
Who is waiting for it, man?
What's the use of this story?
All this misery?
What use is it?
6 October 1597.
We left Amsterdam 1 7 months ago.
The homecoming is important.
Just like the voyage.
ln the presence of God...
the success...
but...
above all...
the perseverance...
in order to break down the blockades.
lt's only the start.
Thank you, Cornelis de Houtman.
Welcome...
Welcome back.
You're in time for a feast.
Amsterdam is having a feast.
Cornelis de Houtman has found a way to the lndies.
The well-known way, a long way, but successfully.
Your achievement gives us hope. You're an example.
Where is Barentsz?
Barentsz is dead.
Are there others?
Laurens the carpenter.
Harmen...
Jan Fransz...
and...
Vos...
Pieter Vos didn't make it either.
But you're still alive, boy.
Take this boy with you.
Keep him away from my daughter.
Make a man of him...
or feed him to the white bears.
That was a long time ago.
That's the past.
Gerrit.
lt's really you.
No...
Don't open it yet, silly.
Written in Amsterdam on the day before the last day of April of 1598.
Your honourable, grateful and faithful servant and son-in-law...
Gerrit de Veer.
The voyages form the start of the glorious era of Amsterdam - the Golden Age.
Only in 1932 does a Russian icebreaker sail north around Nova Zembla to Asia.
The last resting place of Willem Barentsz has never been found.
Jacob van Heemskerck dies in 1607 as admiral in the Battle of Gibraltar.
Gerrit de Veer's diary is the world's first best-seller and boosts Holland's morale.
The city's bonus was never paid to the crew.
No historic document has been found about the rest of Gerrit de Veer's life.
This film is dedicated to all those who sailed to Nova Zembla.
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