As European empires
pushed the boundaries of the known world, they looked not only to the coasts of
Africa or the icy waters north of Russia but also toward the rugged, frozen
heart of Canada. Somewhere beyond Hudson Bay, the jagged edge of Baffin Island,
and the ice-clogged inlets of Lancaster Sound, there had to be a passage that
connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The Northwest Passage,
as it came to be known, offered the same irresistible pull as its eastern
counterpart: a direct maritime corridor to Asia that bypassed the long voyages
around the African and South American capes. But unlike the Northeast Passage,
which hugged most of the Siberian coastline, this route cut through the frozen
maze of northern Canada.
While the idea of a
connection between the two oceans via the Canadian Arctic Archipelago sounded
perfect on paper, in practice, it proved treacherous time and again. Many
daring attempts were made in the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1576, Martin
Frobisher believed he’d found a strait on Baffin Island and returned with what
he thought was gold, though it proved worthless. John Davis, charting the
Arctic in the 1580s, didn’t find a passage either, but he did discover the
Falkland Islands. While in 1610, Henry Hudson sailed into the vast bay that now
bears his name, convinced he was close. The following year, a mutiny left him
cast adrift, and he vanished.
Then, in 1845, Sir John
Franklin set out with two ships and 128 men to finally chart the remaining
gaps. He vanished without a trace, triggering one of the largest search efforts
in naval history, where rescuers became explorers.
Enter Robert McClure,
who, in 1850, aboard HMS Investigator, was sent to search for Franklin and, if
possible, find the Northwest Passage from the west. After sailing around the
Americas, McClure passed through the Bering Strait and ventured deep into the
Arctic before being locked in ice near Banks Island. For three years, his ship
was trapped in ice, the crew on the edge of survival until they were found by
another search expedition looking for Franklin. McClure and his crew sledged
overland for the remainder of the Northwest Passage, making him the first
person to cross the entire passage, even if not all of it by sea. As for the
HMS Investigator, it eventually sunk and was discovered by Parks Canada in
2010, still in an upright position.
McClure’s rescue came
from another vessel, HMS Resolute, commanded by Sir Edward Belcher. Ironically,
Resolute was also trapped in ice and then abandoned. It later drifted free and
was found by Americans, who returned it to Britain. When Resolute was retired,
its salvaged timbers would one day become the Resolute Desk in the White House.
As the 20th century
rolled in, the full Northwest Passage route remained unsailed until Norway’s
most celebrated explorer, Roald Amundsen, came along. Between 1903 and 1906, he
sailed a small fishing vessel, Gjøa, along the entire Northwest Passage with a
crew of no more than six. He wintered on King William Island for two years and
learned valuable survival skills from the local Inuit. As the first person to
sail the whole Northwest Passage, Roald went on to greater fame by being the
first to reach the South Pole, complete the Northeast Passage, and fly over the
North Pole in a dirigible (airship).
So now that the top of
the world had been mapped, the dream was no longer elusive. But amid these
successes, one question lingered.
What really happened to
Sir John Franklin and the 128 souls aboard HMS Erebus and HMS Terror?
No comments:
Post a Comment
It's so good to see you here . . .