The Dutch Polar Expedition 1882-1883 and the wintering on an ice floe

English translation: A summary in English language of the book “Overwintering op een ijsschots”, currently only available in Dutch:

For 130 years, a wonderful treasure lay dormant in the archives of the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI): an “unknown box” containing the records of a forgotten expedition to the Arctic. From this box emerged a drama that can rival that of the adventures of Willem Barentsz on Novaya Zemlya (Nova Zembla). But what was the reason for this expedition? What were these men doing there in the first place?

The year 1882 was the first International Polar Year and Dutch meteorologists wanted to participate by exploring western Siberia. Initiator of the Dutch contribution was Buys
Ballot, founder of the KNMI. On the outbound voyage their ship got caught in the ice of the Kara Sea and eventually went down somewhere between Novaya Zemlya and the Yamal peninsula. The expedition crew was forced to Lees verder