Poles were not a maritime nation. In the period of great discoveries, we will not find Polish names among bold sailors conquering new lands. He reached Brazil in the 17th century. Krzysztof Arciszewski, but it was more of a military mission. That, however, our compatriots had a flair for travel and research, that they were interested in unknown parts of the earth, this is evidenced by the names of Polish travelers and researchers given below. Can you point to, what territories they explored or visited?
1. Michael Boym
2. Henryk Czeczott
3. Benedict Dybowski
4. Joseph Kowalewski
5. Stefan Rogozinski
6. Edmund Strzelecki
7. Jan from Kolno
8. Bronislaw Grabczewski
9. Benedict the Pole
10. Waclaw Rzewuski
Answers:
1. Michael Boym, Jesuit, native of Lviv, sent as a missionary he traveled from 1643 R. around China. Compiled the Chinese atlas, using official Chinese maps. He wrote several works in Latin about the relations there, m. in. “Flora Sinensis”, tj. "Chinese flora” (1656), and a work on Chinese medicine. His Chinese catechism was lost without a trace.
2. Henryk Czeczott, mining engineer, professor at the Mining Academy in Krakow, he made numerous journeys for scientific and technical purposes. W 1913 R. he was the head of an expedition to search for gold and ores in the Siberian and Mongolian Altai. The expedition's work resulted in the exploration of vast areas, unknown until then, and the discovery of many mineral deposits.
3. Benedict Dybowski, naturalist-doctor, sentenced to death for participation in the January Uprising, which he later changed to 12 lat katorgi, arrived in 1865 R. over Baikal, where, with three fellow exiles, he studied the fauna of Lake Baikal and proved its enormous wealth. After regaining his freedom, he went to Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Kuril and Commander Islands.
4. Józef Kowalewski was sent to Kazan for belonging to the Philomath society. There he set out to study the life of unfamiliar Asian peoples and eastern languages. He traveled in inaccessible and unknown parts of Mongolia and China. Kowalewski initiated the scientific study of Mongolia. Published a two-volume Mongolian-Russian-French dictionary.
5. In the years 1882-1884 Stefan Rogoziński organized a Polish expedition to Cameroon in West Africa. The result was the discovery of the cataracts on the Mungo River, Lake M'Bu (Lake Benedict, named after Tyszkiewicz, who finances the expedition), to plot a new map of the Bakundan countries. Rogoziński wrote a treatise on the dialect of the Bakwiri tribe and amassed a rich ethnographic collection.
6. Edmund Strzelecki undertook numerous scientific journeys after the fall of the November Uprising. He visited North and South America, East India, New Zealand, Java, Egypt. W 1839 R. came to Australia, he explored Tasmania and the south-eastern part of the continent. In February 1840 R. established the highest peak in the Australian Alps and called it Mount Kosciuszko.
7. Jan from Kolno, alleged Polish explorer of America, was ordered by the Danish king Krystian I to land in 1476 R. on the coast of Labrador. It probably only reached Greenland. Both this fact, and the nationality of the sailor have not yet been displayed in science. In sources it is called Scolnus, Scolvus, Scolus.
8. Bronislaw Grabczewski, Polish traveler in the Russian service, explored Turkestan, Pamir, Kanjut, northern Tibet and Kasharia in the years 1876—1889. Nature and other collections gathered by him, like for example. route photos passed 10 000 km in countries not explored before, have greatly expanded our knowledge of Central Asia.
9. Benedict the Pole, a Franciscan from Wrocław, he was the only companion of the famous Italian Jan de Piano Carpino's trip to Tataria, who in 1245-1247 went to Karakoram on behalf of the Pope, capital of the great khan of the Mongols, located in the northern part of the Gobi Desert. Report, which he deposited on his return to Rome, testifies, that he was a keen observer.
10. Waclaw Rzewuski, orientalist and traveler. He made serious contributions to the organization of the scientific study of the East. He founded an oriental society in Vienna and published a specialist magazine. W 1815 R. went on a journey to the East. He was crossing Arabia in a Bedouin garb, he gained popularity and respect among the local people and was called emir.
