Tip of the Iceberg: Exploring the Arctic

A primary goal of European monarchs in the 1500s was to find an efficient sea route to Asia where spices and gold could be traded for. It was hypothesized that a “Northwest Passage” through the Arctic Ocean existed. English explorers such as Martin Frobisher and Henry Hudson carried out multiple expeditions in search of the wealth promised by the fabled route. However, none of these early expeditions led to the Northwest Passage. Explorers were often blocked by uncharted islands and would inadvertently map out new areas before returning home. This was how Martin Frobisher discovered Baffin Island. Yet, the dream of reaching Asia persisted into the 1800s and as more knowledge of the Arctic was gained, larger expeditions took place. Sir John Franklin’s expedition was one of the most famous of this era. He led an 1845 expedition to seek out the Northwest Passage armed with cutting-edge ships, scientific research instruments and three years’ worth of provisions. His ships entered Baffin Bay on July 26th, 1845 and were never seen again. Following their disappearance, purposes for expeditions changed and about 30 teams went searching for Franklin between 1847 and 1859. He was never found, but archaeologists reconstructed his team’s route and today it is believed that the harsh weather and diseases such as scurvy killed the entire team. Despite the change in focus, the searches for Franklin inadvertently mapped out huge portions of Arctic territory and were instrumental in finally leading to the navigation of the Northwest Passage by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen in 1906.