Roald Amundsen was the first man to reach both poles – a very significant achievement considering the technology and knowledge available at the time. There are many aspects that both parties had to consider in preparing for the journey – an analysis of the weather conditions, land, soil type, flora and faunae, and route to be taken, as well as the logistics involved in packing necessary clothing, food, scientific and navigational equipment, and what to pack this on to – since the type of transportation utilized is a very crucial decision in exploration. Through an examination of his two expeditions to the south and north poles – in comparison to the unsuccessful attempt by Scott – we can identify the reasons behind Amundsen’s success, namely his ability to utilize the technologies most capably suited to his task. Although both explorers utilized technology to a high degree, it was Amundsen that, through his understanding of the climate and conditions, made the right choices in his selection of tools and techniques for the trip. It is specifically decisions made in three key categories that allowed for the successful attempt: the transportation technology (and its effectiveness in arctic climates), the technologies employed to sustain life (including nourishment, shelter and clothing), and lastly, the technologies of navigation that made it possible to reach the pole itself.
Through Scott’s documentation of the voyage and preparations, it is known that he went to great lengths to construct and procure a myriad of technologies and enhancements for the expedition (Langner, 2). His primary focus, was the ship itself: it was constructed with both sail and steam power in order to better navigate the narrow, treacherous stretches of w...
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...rasted significantly to Scott’s unwise and at times irrational decisions. Furthermore, contrasts are evident in the two explorers’ food and life sustaining technologies. Amundsen once again demonstrated a superior choice in technologies, which were more appropriate for the environment, at times opting for low-tech, Inuit techniques and technologies. Scott, in his faith in English solutions, was considerably less able to cope with the effects of the climate. Conclusively, Amundsen demonstrated that he had planned the journey remarkably well, calculating for all of the minute details of a first successful expedition to the South Pole.
Works Cited
Amundsen, Roald. The South Pole. New York: New York University Press, 2001.
Langner, Rainier. Scott and Amundsen. City: Haus Publishers Ltd, 2007.
Scott, Robert. Scott’s Last Expedition. City: Kessinger Publishing, 2004.
Swimming to Antarctica, by Lynne Cox, is about Lynne’s adventure to become a great long distance swimmer. Lynne started as a slow swimmer. During practice, she never rested for each instruction the coach gives. She later found out that she wanted to be a long distance swimmer. Her coach told her to join a race on a lake. She went and she loved to swim in the open waters. She then went to a different program that trained her to swim in the open waters.
During the 1840’s and 1850’s America experienced its golden age in shipping and sailing.1 At the front of this era was Donald McKay whose innovative ship designs lead to the numerous sea speed records, some of which stand today. For most of the early 19th century American ship building consisted of merchant and cargo ships. It took a long time for these ships to sail across seas. With the increased speed came decreased time to wait for pay. Another need for increased speed was the California gold rush of 1849. People wanted to make the trip as quickly as possible in order to stake their claims. Donald McKay’s clipper ships enabled people to do that.
Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark took the risk of life, limb, and liberty to bring back the precious and valuable information of the Pacific Northwest of the United States territory. Their accomplishments of surviving the trek and delivering the data to the U.S. government, have altered the course of history, but have some Historian’s and author’s stating, “It produced nothing useful.”, and having “added little to the stock of science and wealth. Lewis and Clark’s expedition is one of the most famous and most unknown adventures of America’s frontier.
Supporters of the Age of Exploration believe James Cook was an example of a great explorer and a navigator. In his text/lecture “Cook’s Third Voyage”, Encyclopedia argues that in Hawaii he fought with the Hawaiians during his third voyage in 1779 and died leaving a legacy. Cook mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii, the great Barrier Reef of Australia, and the Pacific Ocean. He had a superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage and an ability to lead men in many different conditions. Based upon this research, it is clear that James Cook is significant because he’s a great seaman. This evidence supports
"Early Explorers of the Western Hemisphere." World Almanac & Book of Facts 2000, 1999, p456.
In November, 1911, Captain Falcon Robert Scott led a British team across the snows of Antarctica, striving to be the first to attain the South Pole. After marching and hauling over 800 miles, Scott and his four comrades reached the Pole in Jan, 1912, only to find out that Amundsen’s team (five Norwegians) had achieved the goal a month earlier. Scott, Wilson, Oates, Bowers and Evans, all perished in the ice on the return journey, but became national heroes, because of the selfless, sacrifice for the others and their heroic action to the Pole. Their race against the Norwegians to be the first reaches the Pole, laid the foundation of one of Antarctica’s most tragic legends.
Many people think that Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot in America, but this conventional belief is wrong; Leif Erikson, a Norse explorer set foot in Newfoundland almost 500 years before Columbus was even born. This paper will cover everything about Leif Erikson’s life including his grandfather’s banishment from Norway, and Leif’s father’s exile from Iceland. Leif Erikson’s early life, his family, and his visit to Norway to serve under the king. The first recorded European to see North America, Bjarni Herjólfsson, and Leif Erikson’s voyage to America. This paper is also going to talk about Leif Erikson’s brother, Thorvald Erikson’s voyage to Vinland because his tale is interesting. Near the end of this research paper, it will have a paragraph on Leif Erikson’s later life. Finally at the end of this paper it is going to talk about the unknown reason why no other Europeans sailed to Vinland, and Leif’s impact on modern day North America.
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We see initial leadership within Shackleton in his ability to make decisions. With a voyage like this, the decisions made would determine the likelihood of success. From the purchase ...
explorers tried to figure out who was right and who was wrong. They waited the
According to Biography.com, Ernest Shackleton once wrote, “Life to me is the greatest of all games. The danger lies in treating it as a trivial game, a game to be taken lightly, and a game in which the rules don't matter much. The rules matter a great deal. The game has to be played fairly or it is no game at all. And even to win the game is not the chief end. The chief end is to win it honorably and splendidly.” Ernest Shackleton, British explorer, set off on a voyage to be the first to successfully cross the continent of Antarctica over land from west to east. As fate would have it though, they would never make it to Antarctica. However, he successfully brought all 27 men of his expedition crew home alive after his ship sunk by crippling
The Endurance, the vessel carrying the men and the title of the expedition, was named by Shackleton after his family motto?Fortitudine Vincimus (By endurance we conquer) (Perkins 41). To relate the significant factors of Shackleton?s leadership during the Endurance expedition, it is necessary to summarize the timeline of the events. A chronological timeline of the expedition is included at the end of this paper.
Mawson’s Adversities Phineas Gage, Henrietta Lacks, and Douglas Mawson are people who faced many different challenges, some on purpose and some accidentally, to contribute to science. Phineas Gage had an iron rod shoot through his head, Henrietta Lacks who had scientist take cells out of her body without her permission, and Douglas Mawson faced many difficulties on such a brutal journey through Antarctica. Even though all of these people have gone through some incredible things, there is one who faced more adversity and stood out from the rest, and that is Douglas Mawson. One reason why Douglas Mawson faced the most adversity is because he lost a lot on his journey (as seen in “Into the Unknown”).
of men who had lost their lives in their effort to reach it [North Pole], I felt
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