Arkhangelsk 1553; two disappeared, and one ended up in the White Sea, eventually coming across the area of Arkhangelsk. Ivan the Terrible found out about this, and brokered a trade agreement with the ship's captain, Richard Chancellor. Trade privileges were granted to English merchants in 1555, leading to the founding of the Company of Merchant Adventurers, which began sending ships annually into the estuary of the Northern Dvina. Dutch merchants also started bringing their ships into the White Sea from the 1560s. Scottish and English merchants also traded in the 16th century; however, by the 17th century it was mainly the
Arkhangelsk evidence of a stronger case of Russian colonization than previously thought. In the 12th century, the Novgorodians established the Archangel Michael Monastery (named after Michael the Archangel) in the estuary of the Northern Dvina River. The main trade center of the area at that time was Kholmogory, located southeast of Arkhangelsk, up the Dvina River, about downstream from where the Pinega River flows into the Dvina. Written sources indicate that Kholmogory existed early in the 12th century, but there is no archeological material to illuminate the early history of the town. It is not known whether the origin of this