Guest Column by Bob Edwards
Dateline: 10/11/00
Between the 16th and early 20th centuries the quest to learn more about the vast unknown lands lying above the 50th parallel of latitude in North America, and above the 70th parallel in Eurasia, led to numerous arctic expeditions with a geographical objective. Perhaps the most famous quest of all was that for the Northwest Passage- the fabled link between the Atlantic and Pacific around North America, that would supposedly shorten the trade route to the Orient from Europe. At the same time that a Northwest Passage around North America was being sought, a Northeast Passage around Eurasia was also being attempted. The numerous expeditions that were undertaken over the course of several centuries continuously added to the knowledge of the arctic, including the discovery of new islands.
The initial driving force for finding an alternate trade route to the orient was the capture of Constantinople (Istanbul today) by the Turks in 1453. This allowed them to control the Straits of Bosporus and interrupt trade between Europe and the Orient. Later on- much later- the driving force for polar geographical exploration would be the search for scientific knowledge about this vast and poorly known area, and nationalistic pride derived from setting records for achieving “furthest north” and attempts on the pole.
The first recorded explorations for a westerly passage to the Orient from Europe began with Columbus in 1492, followed shortly by John Cabot who, in 1497, made a landfall much farther north than Columbus, probably in Newfoundland. Giovanni da Verrazzano, sailing under the French flag in 1524, tried to find a northwest passage around the recently “discovered” land and sailed as far north as Maine or Nova Scotia. Jacques Cartier was trying to find a route to China in 1535 when he discovered the St. Lawrence River, and contacted Iroquoian-speaking peoples living along it. Although his objective was geographical the ultimate outcome of his discovery was the settlement of New France. By 1610 Hudson Bay is known to exist, but most of the western coastline would not be explored until the mid 1700s.
What proved to be the toughest nut to crack was the passage through the Arctic Islands of Canada. It was eventually established that it was not possible for vessels to use Hudson Strait to effect a northwest passage, and so a passage further north, through Lancaster Sound, became the only way for ships of that era to attempt the passage. But the ice pack was not kind to these early explorers. Lancaster Sound and most of the other channels through these islands were frequently blocked by ice for the entire year. Sometimes vessels were beset in the pack ice for one or more years, drifting wherever the pack went. Sometimes the vessels were released and sometimes they were crushed to splinters. The early explorers had to contend with ice, Arctic weather, scurvy, and numerous other obstacles to gain the geographical information that the Arctic grudgingly gave up.
One of the most famous expeditions ever to attempt the Northwest Passage was that of Sir John Franklin. He departed England in 1845 with two Royal Navy vessels and never returned. Over 40 search expeditions scoured the Arctic Islands for several decades vainly searching for Franklin and his crew. It wasn’t until 1857 that some evidence was found that documented that the vessels had been beset in ice near King William Island (approximately 70° N latitude) for two years and been abandoned. None of the crew survived the rigors of the Arctic long enough to be rescued. Search efforts continue to this day to piece together what happened to Franklin and his crew.
Eventually the Northwest Passage would be conquered, but Franklin’s loss cooled Great Britain’s ambition to be the first nation to do so. Instead, British (and other) explorers turned their attentions to the North Pole. The last decades of the nineteenth century saw a succession of expeditions that achieved records of “furthest north”. During these Greenland was explored and mapped along it northwest coastline, as were some of the more northerly islands of Arctic Canada.
The region north of Europe and Siberia also saw its share of polar exploration. Spitsbergen Island, at 80 degrees North latitude, was a convenient jumping-off place for sledging trips north over the Arctic ice pack or east to the vast region lying to the north of Siberia. In 1893 Fridtjof Nansen sailed in the Fram to determine whether there existed a westerly circumpolar current in the Arctic Ocean. The Fram was beset in ice near the New Siberian Islands (80° N, 140° E). It drifted erratically westward over the next three years, to be finally released from the ice near Spitsbergen in 1896. This, along with other evidence, demonstrated that a westerly set to the current does in fact exist.
In what would prove a dramatic climax to a long career in the Arctic, Robert Peary, along with Matthew Henson and Inuit explorers Oatah, Egingwah, Seegloo, and Ookeah made the North Pole by dog sledge from Cape Columbia on Ellesmere Island, on April 6, 1909. This achievement would not dampen man’s enthusiasm for exploring the secrets of the Arctic. Today we have ice-breaker ships making way through the ice, scientific stations floating on the pack ice for years at a time, ecotourism trips to Greenland and elsewhere, and repeated efforts to get to the North Pole by ski, dog sledge, snowmobile, and aircraft.
Bob Edwards works in Texas as an environmental scientist. His interests include backcountry exploration, canoeing, and flyfishing, as well as the history and geography of polar exploration..
