Some
history...
Discovery
In 1520, when Magellan discovered the strait that bears his name,
he thought that its the southern coast was the famous Terra Australis
imagined for centuries. This belief was denied by numerous navigators
reaching the open sea to the south. Cook made an incredible voyage
in 1773. During 3 years, he crossed the polar circle and rounded the
Antarctic continent without even catching a glimpse of it. But he
thought that a land must exist close to the pole, producing all the
ice he had seen during his navigation.
The reports of the voyages attract the attention of sealer's who come
to look for fortune in the austral seas suffering extremely hard conditions.
They discover numerous Antarctic and subantarctic islands. The most
famous are called Palmer, Weddell, Smith, etc... but the secrecy surrounding
their hunting certainly hides the discoverer's real name in many cases.
The "Jane" and the "Beaufoy"
of James Weddell
Exploration
The Russian Bellinghausen is officially
the first to see the Antarctic continent in 1820. Private or national
expeditions are set up and fantastic human adventures take place against
cold and ice. The "Belgica" is the first sailing ship to winter in
the Bellinghausen sea, drifting in the ice. The Norwegian Borchgrevink
is the first to winter ashore with 10 men in Cape Adare. Then, the
Swedish Nordjensköld spends 2 consecutive winters on Snowhill island,
and the french Charcot spends one in 1904 and one in 1909 on the west
coast of the Peninsula. However, from 1902 attempts to conquest the
South Pole begin, Shackleton and Scott are just two examples. The
Norwegian Amundsen reaches the Pole in December 1911 after a brilliant
expedition, a month before Scott and his men who all die of exhaustion
on their way back.
 The
John Rymill's Penola in Argentine Islands
Today
After the explorer's era comes the era of scientists. The first
aeroplanes appear with Wilkins, Byrd who is the first to reach the
south pole by air in 1929, and John Rymill's interesting expedition
between 1934 and 1937. Then the era of national quarrels, with arguments
over parts of the Antarctic continent. In 1957/58, scientists from
67 countries work together on Antarctica for the Geophysical International
Year and in 1959 the Antarctic Treaty is signed by 12 countries.
It is renewed in 1991 for another 50 years. Proclaiming Antarctica
as an international continent, the Treaty aims to neutralise the
territorial claims and to protect it by prohibiting any exploitation
of its natural richness and any military activity. Let's hope that
the Treaty will be renewed again in 2041...
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