Antarctica History, Language and Culture

For centuries, the existence of a great southern land was imagined by geographers but remained unconfirmed. European navigators gradually explored the far southern oceans during the 18th century, with James Cook crossing the Antarctic Circle in 1773 but never sighting the continent itself. The first confirmed sightings of Antarctica occurred in 1820, when expeditions led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Edward Bransfield and Nathaniel Palmer encountered parts of the continent or its surrounding ice.

Sealers were among the first people to work extensively in Antarctic waters, particularly around the South Shetland Islands, and commercial whaling later became a major activity in the Southern Ocean. Exploration intensified around the beginning of the 20th century during what became known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Expeditions led by figures including Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen and Douglas Mawson attempted to explore and map the continent under exceptionally difficult conditions.

The race to reach the South Pole became one of the defining episodes of this period. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team reached the geographic South Pole on 14 December 1911, becoming the first people known to have done so. Robert Falcon Scott's British expedition arrived just over a month later, on 17 January 1912. Scott and his four companions died during their return journey, while Shackleton's later Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-1917 became renowned for the survival and rescue of its entire party after the expedition ship Endurance was trapped and crushed by sea ice.

Scientific activity expanded considerably after the Second World War. During the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958, 12 countries established or operated research stations across Antarctica and cooperated on extensive scientific programmes. This collaboration helped lead to the Antarctic Treaty, signed in Washington in 1959 and entering into force in 1961. The treaty established Antarctica as a region devoted to peaceful purposes and scientific investigation, prohibited military activity and nuclear explosions, and provided for international scientific cooperation.

Scientific research remains the principal permanent human activity in Antarctica, with research stations operated by numerous countries studying subjects ranging from climate and glaciology to astronomy and marine biology. Tourism began on a small scale during the second half of the 20th century and has since grown substantially, particularly around the Antarctic Peninsula. Environmental protection has become an increasingly important part of Antarctic governance, notably through the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, which designates Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science.

Did You Know?

• Roald Amundsen and his team became the first people to reach the South Pole, arriving on 14 December 1911.
• The Antarctic Treaty was signed by 12 countries in 1959 and entered into force in 1961.
• No country owns Antarctica outright: seven countries have made territorial claims, while the Antarctic Treaty preserves the existing positions on those claims without recognising or rejecting them.