One hundred years ago, the whaling ship "Antarctic" sailed to the wind-battered, volcanic coast of Antarctica. She sent her longboats on the treacherous journey across the Ross Sea to the rugged shore. On January 24, 1895, Captain Leonard Kristensen and the landing party of the "Antarctic" left the first trace of human kind on the frozen continent in their quest to slaughter whales in these, as yet, unclaimed waters.
It was in blood that Antarctica was christened. Countless animals were killed for the money that could be made off of them. For example, seals were murdered for their fur, whales and penguin were slaughtered for the oil they produce which was used to grease the machinery during the Industrial Revolution. Many more hundreds of thousands of confused penguins form Macquarie Island were shepherded into large, boiling vats of oil and were subsequently reduced to oils themselves.
This Frozen Continent was used for years by humankind to make easy kills and a quick dollar. However, It has now been set aside as a preserve for both nature and science. Recently, there have even been discussions about starting a world park in this region. For science, Antarctica serves as a base for studying pollutant threats that affect the whole world, including ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect. Considering the short and experimental nature of mankind's occupancy in Antarctica, the reversal has been astoundingly quick. The degree of exploration was limited to a small fraction of coastline and islands, and included only a few routes to the South Pole up until the 1957-1958 International Geophysical Year.
From the very first, the appearance of men on this continent has resulted in a convoluted story of nationalism, aggression, idealism, and unchecked slaughter, with sporadic, cavalier attempts toward scientific research. Whaling was stepped up in World War I, as refined oil was used to make glycerin for artillery shells. Then, after World War II, America and the Soviet Union made voyages to this area to kill sperm whales so that their extra-fine oil could be used as a jet engine lubricant. Prior to the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958, Antarctica was identified as the "Terra Australia Incognita," by medieval mapmakers.
The birth of the first individual in Antarctica was a witness to dutiful conceit. That person has not yet reached adulthood. Emilio Marcus Palmer's birth was highly calculated as Argentina flew his mother to Argentina's Esperanza Base to give birth, with the sole goal of securing Argentina's right to much of Antarctica's territory.
This took place just nine years after Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong took their steps on the moon and planted the American flag there for the whole world to marvel at. The most unique and successful attempt at this type of patriotic feet was when Roald Amundsen raced to the South Pole in 1911 in honor of Norway's King Haakon VII. Although Robert F. Scott and his team also made that trip for the British, they spent a great deal more time on their voyage so that they could collect rock and fossil samples - the weight of which only slowed them down further.
After discovering that despite all their hard work, Amundsen had beaten them to the Pole by an entire month, Scott's party perished in Antarctica due to a combination of bad luck, the pain of hauling massive amounts of rock, and poor diet. This made them the first team of martyrs for the cause of science in Antarctica. America staked their claim to the South Pole when Richard Byrd took a flight over it in 1929 using a Ford Trimotor. The Soviets utilized Russian Admiral Thaddeus Bellingshausen's voyage, which took him past the Antarctic Peninsula back in 1821, to justify their claims on the continent.
