The 1845 Franklin Expedition was a British voyage led by Sir John Franklin, an experienced Arctic explorer, in an attempt to navigate the Northwest Passage—a long-sought sea route linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada.
Two ships, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, were used for this expedition. The crew consisted of 129 men, including officers and sailors. Unfortunately, the expedition encountered numerous challenges and ultimately ended in tragedy.
After departing England in 1845, the expedition sailed into the Canadian Arctic but became trapped in ice near King William Island. They spent two winters there, and during this time, the ships were immobilized by the ice, leading to the loss of provisions and ultimately contributing to the demise of the crew.
Both ships and all crew members perished during the expedition, but the exact circumstances of their deaths remained a mystery for several decades. Over the years, several search expeditions were launched to find out what happened to Franklin and his crew. It wasn’t until the late 20th and early 21st centuries that various discoveries, including skeletal remains, artifacts, and Inuit oral histories, shed more light on the fate of the expedition.
Evidence suggests that the crew suffered from exposure, lead poisoning from improperly sealed canned foods, and other harsh Arctic conditions. Inuit accounts also provided details about encounters with the crew, confirming that some men resorted to cannibalism in a desperate attempt to survive.
The Franklin Expedition remains a significant event in polar exploration history, highlighting the dangers and challenges faced by early explorers attempting to navigate the treacherous Arctic waters in search of new trade routes.
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Sources
- https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sir-john-franklin
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Franklin
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- https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-rae
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- Beattie, Owen and Geiger, John. Frozen in Time, The Fate of the Franklin Expedition. 1998. Greystone Books.