Seminar Room A, Coombs Building
 

The Conquest of Nature, In Extremis: the Antarctic Peninsula in the nineteenth century

Dr Adrian Howkins, History Department, Colorado State University
 

Chapter One of my book manuscript on the environmental history of the Antarctic Peninsula considers the imperial context of the history of the Antarctic Peninsula region during the nineteenth century.  Even before the first sighting of the southern continent, the sub-Antarctic sealing industry – with its strong connections to the emerging global economy – was altering the marine ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula region. 

All three of the first recorded sightings of the continent in 1820 had some connection to imperialism or expansive global commerce:  Russia’s Von Bellingshausen was leading a scientific exploring expedition, Britain’s Edward Bransfield was a member of the British Navy stationed in South America, and the United States’ Nathanial Palmer was representative of the resource frontier of the sealing industry.  Somewhat surprisingly, the initial contact with the Antarctic Peninsula region was followed by a substantial interlude in human activity.  By the end of the century, however, human activity returned in the form of the so-called heroic era of Antarctic exploration. 

Heroic era explorers and their patrons had strong connections to the European imperial establishment.  They saw Antarctica as a place to be conquered, and believed that if nature could be conquered in its most extreme form then it could be conquered anywhere.  The nineteenth century history of the Antarctic Peninsula laid the foundations for subsequent imperial assertions of environmental authority in the region, by taking the first steps towards establishing a human presence in this hostile environment.

ALL WELCOME

Please direct enquiries to Gregory.Barton@anu.edu.au