Spitzbergen was discovered by the Dutch pilot and mariner Willem Barentsz on 17 June 1596. It is however assumed that Svalbard (the name means “cold shore”) was already found by Norse seamen in 1194. Moreover, some Russian scientists believe that Svalbard was visited by Pomory hunters from the White Sea region, in the 15th and 16th century, but these issues are still controversial.
During the 17th century, Svalbard became a popular whaling ground. Mainly Dutch and British, but also French and Basque whalers partitioned the territory into hunting areas. Large companies and whaling stations, like the Dutch Smeerenburg, developed and expanded far into the 18th century. In 1722, Dutch whalers alone caught 1100 whales. In the long run, such intensive whaling had disastrous consequences on the population of the species, and the hunting gradually decreased in the late 18th century, when the whales became scarce. Today, the Greenland whale is practically extinct in the Svalbard area.
During the late 18th and the 19th century, Svalbard was mostly visited by Russian and Norwegian fur hunters and trappers. During the same period, scientific exploration of the inland developed, and revealed the presence of valuable minerals.
Industrial coal mining started around the turn of the century. American, British, Swedish and Norwegian mining companies developed around 1910. After World War II, only Norwegian and Russian companies survived, and built up totally independent infrastructures. Today, these two countries still exploit several coal mines, although it is not quite clear how long this activity will continue.
The question of sovereignty over Svalbard has caused political tensions since the beginning of the economic exploitation of the archipelago. Finally, a treaty signed on 9 February 1920 recognised the sovereignty of Norway over Svalbard. This treaty however forbids military activity, and grants the signing nations equal rights to exploit economic resources of the islands. Today, Svalbard is administered by a Norwegian governor, the Sysselmann, but there also exists a Russian mining settlement (Barentsburg, a second settlement, Pyramiden, closed a few years ago).