Category Voyages

            Sir John Franklin was a naval officer and Arctic explorer. He was born on 16th April 1786 in Spilsby, England. Franklin entered the Royal Navy at the age of fourteen.

            In 1821, Franklin was ordered to chart the northern shoreline of Canada. It became the first expedition to map large sections of the Arctic seaboard.

            He led another expedition in 1825. The expedition took two routes from Mackenzie Delta. One ventured east to map as far as the Coppermine River while Franklin led the other west toward Alaska.

            He is best known for leading his third, the tragic 1845 expedition, to find the North-West Passage. It was in the year 1844 British Admiralty planned an expedition to the North-West Passage. Although Franklin was in his late fifties, he campaigned hard to lead the expedition. The Admiralty gave him command in February 1845. It is said to be the most technologically advanced polar expedition at that time.

            This expedition is remembered in history as one of the most tragic expeditions ever. All the sailors perished on that voyage, including Sir John Franklin despite being close to discovering the elusive sea route through the Canadian north. 

               The mapping of the world was almost finished before 1800. Almost every nook and corner of the world had been discovered and charted, except for some of the most inhospitable parts of the world.

               In the 18th and 19th centuries, both the British and Dutch remained curious about the North-West Passage. They tried to find out the lands across the North-West Passage. In 1741, Christopher Middleton attempted to find the Passage with two ships, but the expedition was a failure.

               In 1773, under the leadership of Horatio Nelson, a British, an expedition reached much nearer to North Pole.

               In the 18th century, the last serious attempt was James Cook’s abortive expedition of 1778 when he successfully passed through the Bering Straits. Unfortunately, he had to reroute due to sea ice.

               Throughout the 19th century, polar exploration dominated popular culture in Europe and America. The major goals of the 19th century exploration were the discovery of the North-West Passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via a northern route and reaching the North Pole. 

               The flora and fauna of the Galapagos Island gave Darwin crucial information about the evolution of life.

               The Galapagos Island was home to an amazing array of animal species. The Galapagos Island had a special kind of tortoise, which came to be known as the giant tortoise. Interestingly, the appearance of these tortoises varied from island to island. Darwin observed that the tortoises living on more arid islands had to stretch their necks to reach branches of cactus and other vegetation. Consequently, they had longer necks, and a high peak to the front edges of their shells.

               Then he studied finches, a type of birds, known for their remarkable diversity in beak form and function. The food supplies differed on each island, and the beaks of the finches were adapted to the islands on which they lived. These were the key pieces of information that helped Darwin to formulate his theory of adaptation.

               On his return journey, Darwin started to write ‘The Origin of Species’. It introduced the scientific theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection.

               During the first two years of the expedition, Darwin collected several fossil mammals from Argentina and Uruguay. It was in the cliffs near Punta Alta, that Darwin recovered his first fossil bones. It was of a large extinct mammal. He sent all the specimens to his mentor, John Stevens Henslow.

               A fossil tooth helped Darwin to identify the little-known Megatherium. Megatherium was a genus of elephant-sized ground sloths, endemic to South America. These findings later helped Darwin in formulating the theories about evolution of life.

               Darwin was interested in geology too and he studied volcanic rock formations intently. He was surprised to find the fossils of sea creatures at high altitudes, or thousands of metres above sea level. This led to his exploring further into the realities of natural disaster.

               During this voyage Darwin was witness to a severe earthquake in Chile on 20th February, 1835 which was claimed to be the largest earthquake ever recorded in Chile. Thus the voyage was eventful as well as significant. 

               The British admiralty decided to chart the islands around Cape Horn. Captain Robert FitzRoy was ordered to command the voyage. Charles Darwin was offered the chance to join Robert FitzRoy.

               The fleet set sail from Plymouth in Southern England, with a crew of 73, on 27th December 1831 on HMS Beagle. As the ship’s naturalist, he thoroughly enjoyed every occasion for exploration. He studied natural history, and discovered many new life forms.

               As the ship proceeded to Tierra del Fuego, the main object of the expedition commenced- charting of the islands around Cape Horn. The expedition rounded the Cape Horn to discover a new passage, which was later named ‘Beagle Passage’. It was a picturesque long straight channel that offered an alternative, but slower route from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

               Darwin explored the glorious mountainous region around the passage. Interestingly, he never thought that he would make iconic scientific discoveries during the voyage.

               Interestingly, Darwin became seriously ill on the way, as he suffered from seasickness.

               James Cook was an intelligent and skilful navigator, and his maps and charts were so well prepared and exemplary that some of them were used even after his death. His wise and amiable character endeared him to everyone, including his crew members, and the natives of the lands he visited.

               He was the first captain to know his position on the surface of the globe within a few nautical miles. He was an excellent disciplinarian, and always commanded respect from his men.

               He always had a great appetite for knowledge. He was much more scientific than many explorers of his time. He was the first sailor to use a nautical almanac and chronometer during an expedition. He even took a professional astronomer to enable him to calculate his longitude from the observations of the Moon. Cook is also remembered for navigating by latitude and longitude.

               Cook was the first sailor to find an apt remedy for scurvy. He knew that shortage of vitamin-rich food was the main reason behind scurvy. He stocked up fresh fruits and vegetables in his ship, and collected more from the islands he visited on the way. 

            James Cook’s third and last voyage was to find the North-West Passage around the American continent. The Passage which was supposed to open more convenient trade routes was believed to link the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

            Cook commanded the HMS Resolution, while another Captain Charles Clerke, commanded the HMS Discovery. Cook travelled north, and in 1778, became the first European to explore the Hawaiian Islands. After making his initial landfall on the island Kauai, Cook named the islands the Sandwich Islands, after the Earl of Sandwich, because at the time, the Earl was the acting First Lord of the Admiralty.

            Cook made his next landfall on what is today the Oregon coast. Then he sailed on to Vancouver Island and did trading with the natives. In a single visit, Cook charted the majority of the North American north-west coastline.

            By August 1778, Cook was through the Bering Strait, sailing into the Chukchi Sea. Later, he sailed further to reach Alaska, but couldn’t continue due to sea ice. Cook returned to Hawaii in 1779. Cook was killed in Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island of Hawaii on 14th February 1779, in a dispute with the natives.

               Captain Cook’s second voyage was to find out whether Terra Australis really existed or not.

               On his first voyage, he discovered the southeast coast of Australia. On the same trip, he also mapped them. However, the ‘hypothetical’ Terra Australis still remained an unsolved mystery. Shortly after his return from the first voyage, Cook was promoted to the rank of commander.

               Later he was commissioned for a second voyage. Cook commanded the HMS Resolution on this voyage. During this voyage, he became the first explorer to sail into the Antarctic Circle. He circumnavigated Antarctica at the very limits of the ice shelf. But he did not make a landfall on the mainland of Antarctica, as he had to sail towards Tahiti to resupply his ship.

               Cook visited Easter Island, the Marquesas, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, and the Tonga Isles. Cook was able to find these comparatively smaller lands in the Pacific, and to map them. After sailing through all its likely locations, Cook confirmed that there was no land called Terra Australis.

               Thus, Cook became the first to officially prove that the existence of Terra Australis was a myth. 

            The main purpose of Captain James Cook’s first voyage was to observe the transit of Venus across the Sun. It was at the behest of the Royal Society.

            Captain Cook set on this expedition from England on 26th August 1768. Those on board included the astronomer Charles Green and botanist Joseph Banks.

            The expedition rounded Cape Horn, and arrived at Tahiti on 13th April 1769, where Charles Green observed the transit of Venus across the Sun.

            Captain Cook then reached the south-eastern coast of Australia. Thus, he became the first recorded European to explore the coastline of Australia.

            He made his first recorded direct observation of indigenous Australians. The fleet made its first landfall at Kurnell Peninsula. Cook called the land ‘Stingray Bay’, which was later, renamed the Botany Bay. However, on the return journey, Cook’s ship ran aground on a shoal of the Great Barrier Reef, and became badly damaged.

               James Cook or Captain Cook was a British navigator, who mapped much of the South Pacific. He made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he became the first recorded European to explore the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands.

               James Cook was born on 7th November 1728 in Marton, United Kingdom. His father was a Scottish farmer. Cook did his schooling in the village school. Young Cook used to help his father with farm work. During his teenage days, Cook began to get lured to the sea. At the age of 17, Cook moved to the coast, settled in Whitby, and found work with a coal merchant. He worked in the North Sea coal trade for John Whitby, and he proved himself to be an exceptional sailor. In 1755, Cook enlisted in the Royal Navy. He served in North America where he learnt to survey and chart coastal waters.

               He was a very fine seaman, and an excellent commander. In 1768, the British admiralty sent out an expedition, choosing Cook as the commander.

               The expedition was to witness a rare event, visible only in the southern hemisphere -the transit of Venus across the Sun.