Cartography
Fairhaven was named by Poole in 1610. The name is marked on the maps of Daniel (1612), Carolus (1614), Goos (1620), Guerard (1628), Vrolicq (1634), Carolus (1634), Colom (1648), and others. The Dutch called it Dutch Bay or Mauritius Bay, while Carolus (1614) marked it Hollandsche Bay. Although Mauritius Bay appears not to have been marked until Doncker’s local map (1655), it was written of frequently and early on in Dutch official documents. As previously mentioned, Smeerenburgfjorden is a modern blunder.
Fairhaven was further divided north and south. The Englishman Robert Fotherby (1614) simply split the area into a "north harbor," where the Dutch established themselves, and a "south harbor," where the English were. The Dutch referred to the area northeast of Smeerenburg between the mainland and the island as North gat or North Bay, while they called the area where the English were English Bay or English harbor. The southwestern entrance to Fairhaven, between Danskøya and the mainland south of it, was first designated South gat by Doncker (1655), which is where the modern name, Sørgattet, comes from.
Amsterdamøya was first landed on by Barents in 1596. He named the island and the group of islands around it Gebroocken Land. It was probably first named Amsterdam Island in or after 1614, when the Dutch whalers first resorted to the island. The sound south of Amsterdamøya, between it and Danskøya, was variously named South bay, West bay, or Middel gat by the Dutch. It incorrectly became known as Danes gat by modern writers, and is now designated as Danskegattet. Martin Conway believes that the correct historical name is Middel gat.
Danskøya (Danes island) is first marked on Doncker’s map (1655). It is named after the Danish whalers who resorted there. On the island’s west coast, in Robbe Bay (Kobbefjorden), they established a permanent station in 1631, which they occupied until 1658. Robbe Bay is first marked on Dutch maps from Middelhoven’s (1634) to that of Giles and Rep (c. 1710). The latter mapmakers were the first to call it Danes Bay, while the Danish themselves called it Copenhagen Bay. The English called the islands southwest point Gurnerd’s Nose, while the Dutch called it Engelsche Uytkyk, or English Outlook. The bay in the north coast was called by the Dutch Houcker Bay, but has been renamed Virgo Bay (Virgohamna) after Andrée’s steamer. Off the northeastern coast lays a small island, which the Dutch called Deadman’s Island, which, as the name suggests, was used as a graveyard by the whalers. It is now known by its Norwegian equivalent, Likholmen (Corpse Island).
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