The Afterlife of a Voyage

Abstract The most successful and celebrated exploratory voyages sustained long afterlives—a process initiated by the offloading of crates, the initial announcement of accomplishments, and the dispersal of all personnel. Voyage artists, naturalists, and officers hoped to capitalize on the unique experiences they had endured. For a small ship populated by a relatively unknown cohort of participants, the Rurik generated a particularly successful afterlife that reverberated far wider than most voyages of discovery. All of the personnel—including Kadu, Chamisso, Eschscholtz, Choris, and Kotzebue—turned to the task of analyzing their experiences and discoveries. They conveyed their findings to large audiences through published books and articles, artistic renderings, and oral stories.