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The Final Chapter for Antarctic Expeditions?
By CruiseDirector | March 14, 2010
When the whaling ship Antarctic set anchor down on the coast of this wind-battered volcanic coast and sent the first longboat through the dangerous Ross Sea, it was 100 years ago. The leader of this party was Captain Leonard Kristensen and they were the first people to set foot on Antarctica. This historic event happened on January 24, 1895 while on a mission to kill whales in waters that remained unclaimed. Go to this site for further information on travel to antarctica.
Blood was soon spilled across Antarctica. While seals were being slaughtered for their fur, whales and penguins were being killed for their oil which was then used to grease the machinery developed during the Industrial Revolution. Submissive penguins by the hundreds of thousands, were paraded up planks only to plunge off the edge of cauldrons filled with boiling oil, so that their own oil could be relinquished.
The Frozen Continent was explored for a century, and utilized solely in the interest of earning a profit. Now, humankind is deciding to dedicate these territories to science and nature instead. There may even be a world park established on this great land. Scientists are discovering incredible new things in Antarctica, including pollutants and threats to our ozone, and new information about the greenhouse effect. It is surprising how fast this change of thought has come about in Antarctica. When you consider how long the human race has been around, the short time we have been on Antarctica is very minimal. Small areas of the coastline, some trails to the South Pole and a few islands were explored up until 1958.
From the time that Antarctica was first explored, its history is littered with fierceness, nationalism, idealism, and uncontrolled killing. Only occasionally would there be any attempts at scientific research. Whaling heightened during World War I, as the glycerin extracted from the oil of whales was valuable for the making of artillery shells. Post-WWII, the Soviet Union and the United States both hunted the oil from sperm whales, as this was used for jet engines. Prior to the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958, Antarctica was identified as the “Terra Incognita,” by medieval mapmakers. To get a closer look on antarctica vacation visit this site.
As a matter of fact, the first person to be born in Antarctica is still too young to be considered an adult. It is important to understand that even this birth has a patriotic pretense. Emilio Marcus Palmer’s mother was specifically flown to Argentina’s Experanza Base in 1978 for the purpose of giving birth, and to emphasise the claim Argentina made to a large portion of Antarctic territory.
This was similar to America claiming dominance 9 years earlier when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon and put the American flag on the moon. In 1911, Roald Amundsen’s trek to the South Pole, honoring King Haakon VII of Norway, was the most productive, determined venture of this sort. This journey was also made by Robert F. Scott and his team for the British Empire. However, on their journey they stopped to collect rock and fossil samples which had to be transported using man-pulled sleighs.
Due to a combination of being demoralized by Armundsen getting to the South Pole a month ahead of them, an unhealthy diet, hauling the rocks out, and basic overall bad luck on the return trip, Scott’s group became known as the first martyrs of Antarctic science. The South Pole was claimed by America in 1929 when Richard Byrd flew over the area using his Ford Trimotor. The Soviets utilized Russian Admiral Thaddeus Bellingshausen’s voyage, which took him past the Antarctic Peninsula back in 1821, to justify their claims on the continent.
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