History Of South Georgia
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South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = , song = , image_map = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in United Kingdom.svg , map_caption = Location of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Oce ...
is relatively recent. When European explorers discovered the islands, they were uninhabited, and their hostile climate, mountainous terrain, and remoteness made subsequent settlement difficult. Due to these conditions, human activity in the islands has largely consisted of sealing,
whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...
, and scientific surveys and research, interrupted by
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
.


17th to 19th century

The
South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
island of South Georgia, situated south of the
Antarctic Convergence The Antarctic Convergence or Antarctic Polar Front is a marine belt encircling Antarctica, varying in latitude seasonally, where cold, northward-flowing Antarctic waters meet the relatively warmer waters of the sub-Antarctic. Antarctic waters pr ...
, was the first
Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
territory to be discovered.
A concise 1982 version of the book
It was first visited in 1675 by Antoine de la Roché, an English merchant born in London to a French father.L. Ivanov and N. Ivanova. Roché Island / South Georgia. In
''The World of Antarctica''.
Generis Publishing, 2022. pp. 68–70.
He left Hamburg in 1674 as a passenger on a 350-ton vessel bound for Peru. During the return journey, it was en route to Salvador in Brazil around Cape Horn. While trying to navigate through the
Le Maire Strait The Le Maire Strait (''Estrecho de le Maire'') (also the Straits Lemaire) is a sea passage between Isla de los Estados and the eastern extremity of the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego. History Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten disc ...
near
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
, it was driven off course far to the east. In April 1675, the vessel found refuge in a bay of an unknown island where it anchored for 14 days. La Roché published a report of his voyage in London in 1678 in which he described the new land. That report is now lost but shortly afterwards, in 1690, Captain Francisco de Seixas y Lovera, a Spanish mariner, published an account of La Roché's discovery in his ''Descripcion geographica, y derrotero de la region austral Magallanica.''Capt. Francisco de Seixas y Lovera
''Descripcion geographica, y derrotero de la region austral Magallanica. Que se dirige al Rey nuestro señor, gran monarca de España, y sus dominios en Europa, Emperador del Nuevo Mundo Americano, y Rey de los reynos de la Filipinas y Malucas''
Madrid, Antonio de Zafra, 1690. (Narrates the discovery of South Georgia by the Englishman Anthony de la Roché in April 1675 (Capítulo IIII Título XIX page 27 or page 99 of pdf); Relevant fragment.)
After this, cartographers started to depict "Roché Island" on their
map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...
s. Roché Island is almost certainly South Georgia, despite the discrepancies in the coordinates given, which can be accounted for by the navigational difficulties experienced by all sailors at the time. Sir
Edmund Halley Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720. From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, Ha ...
in HMS ''Paramore'' (or ''Paramour'') made a major scientific discovery in what is now the South Georgia EEZ in January 1700, discovering and describing the
Antarctic Convergence The Antarctic Convergence or Antarctic Polar Front is a marine belt encircling Antarctica, varying in latitude seasonally, where cold, northward-flowing Antarctic waters meet the relatively warmer waters of the sub-Antarctic. Antarctic waters pr ...
. In 1756, the island was sighted and named 'San Pedro' by the Spanish vessel ''León'' under Captain Gregorio Jerez sailing in the service of the French company Sieur Duclos of
Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...
, with the merchant and mariner Nicolas Pierre Duclos-Guyot on board. These early visits resulted in no
sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
claims Claim may refer to: * Claim (legal) * Claim of Right Act 1689 * Claims-based identity * Claim (philosophy) * Land claim * A ''main contention'', see conclusion of law * Patent claim * The assertion of a proposition; see Douglas N. Walton * A righ ...
. In particular―unlike the case of the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
―Spain never claimed South Georgia. The latter anyway fell within the 'Portuguese' portion of the world as envisaged by the 1494 Tordesillas Treaty concluded between Spain and Portugal. The mariner Captain
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
in accompanied by made the first
landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...
,
survey Survey may refer to: Statistics and human research * Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population * Survey (human research), including opinion polls Spatial measurement * Surveying, the techniq ...
and mapping of South Georgia. As mandated by the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
, on 17 January 1775 he took possession for
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and renamed the island 'Isle of Georgia' for
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
. German naturalist
Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold ...
, who accompanied Cook during their landings in three separate places at
Possession Bay Possession Bay is a bay wide on the north coast of South Georgia, an island in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It recedes southwest for , and is separated from Cook Bay to the north by Black Head promontory. It is connected to King Haakon Bay b ...
on that day, wrote: "Here Captain Cook displayed the British flag, and performed the ceremony of taking possession of those barren rocks, in the name of his Britannic Majesty, and his heirs forever. A volley of two or three
musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...
s was fired into the air." Nowadays the date of 17 January is celebrated as ''Possession Day'', a public holiday in SGSSI.Public Holidays 2013. Public Holidays 2014.
''
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Gazette The ''South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Gazette'' is the government gazette of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It is published in Stanley in the Falkland Islands. The Gazette is published under provisions contained in ''The S ...
'' No. 2, 13 June 2013. p. 3.
The group of Shag Rocks and Black Rock forming the west extremity of the
British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...
of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is situated 270 km or 150 nmi west by north of the South Georgian mainland. Probably discovered in 1762 by the Spanish ship ''Aurora'', these rocks appeared on early maps as
Aurora Islands The Aurora Islands was a group of three phantom islands first reported in 1762 by the Spanish merchant ship ''Aurora'' while sailing from Lima to Cadiz. The Aurora's officers reported sighting them again in 1774. The Spanish ship ''San Miguel'' ...
, were visited and renamed by the American sealer James Sheffield in the ''Hersilia'' in 1819, and mapped by HMS ''Dartmouth'' in 1920. South Georgia's coast and waters have been surveyed by a number of expeditions since those of Cook and Bellingshausen. In particular, the extensive
oceanographic Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...
investigations carried out by the
Discovery Committee The Discovery Committee was a popular name for the Interdepartmental Committee for the Dependencies of the Falkland Islands established by the British Government to carry out scientific investigations (which became known as ‘Discovery Investigati ...
from 1925 to 1951 yielded an enormous amount of scientific results and data, including the discovery of the Antarctic Convergence. The first land-based scientific expedition on South Georgia was the 1882–83 German Polar Year expedition at Moltke Harbour,
Royal Bay Royal Bay is a bay, wide and indenting , entered between Cape Charlotte and Cape Harcourt along the north coast of South Georgia. Like other parts of the archipelago, many birds breed here, including king penguins, gentoo penguins, and bl ...
. During the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century, South Georgia was inhabited by English and
Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...
sealers, who used to live there for considerable periods of time and sometimes overwintered. The first
fur seals Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family '' Otariidae''. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears (pinnae), relatively lon ...
from the island were taken in 1786 by the English sealing vessel ''Lord Hawkesbury'', while the first commercial visit to the South Sandwich Islands was made in 1816 by another English ship, the ''Ann''. The sealers pursued their trade in a most unsustainable manner, promptly reducing the
fur seal Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family '' Otariidae''. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears (pinnae), relatively lon ...
population to near extermination. As a result, sealing activities on South Georgia had three marked peaks in 1786–1802, 1814–23, and 1869–1913 respectively, decreasing in between and gradually shifting to
elephant seal Elephant seals are very large, oceangoing earless seals in the genus ''Mirounga''. Both species, the northern elephant seal (''M. angustirostris'') and the southern elephant seal (''M. leonina''), were hunted to the brink of extinction for oi ...
s taken for oil. More efficient regulation and management were practised in the second sealing epoch, 1909–64. During the 19th century, the effective, continuous and unchallenged British possession and government for South Georgia was provided for by the British Letters Patent of 1843, revised in 1876, 1892, 1908 and 1917, with the island appearing in the
Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...
Yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually. A yearbook often ...
since 1887. From 1881 on,
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
regulated the economic activities and conservation by administrative acts such as the Sealing Ordinances of 1881 and 1899. South Georgia was governed by Britain as a Falkland Islands Dependency, a distinct entity administered through the Falkland Islands but not part of them in political or financial respect. These constitutional arrangements stayed in place throughout the second half of the 19th century and most of the 20th century, until South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands were incorporated as a distinct British overseas territory in 1985.


20th century

In the early 20th century South Georgia experienced a new rush of economic activity and settlement. Following a 1900 advertisement by the Falklands Government the entire island was leased to a
Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (; historically Sandy Point in English) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. The city was officially renamed as Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to "Punta Aren ...
company, and a subsequent conflict of interests with the
Compañía Argentina de Pesca Compañía Argentina de Pesca ( en, Argentine Fishing Company) was initiated by the British-Norwegian whaler and Antarctic explorer Carl A. Larsen, and established on 29 February 1904 by three foreign residents of Buenos Aires: the Norwegian co ...
which had started whaling at
Grytviken Grytviken ( ) is a settlement on South Georgia in the South Atlantic and formerly a whaling station and the largest settlement on the island. It is located at the head of King Edward Cove within the larger Cumberland East Bay, considered the b ...
since December 1904 was settled by the British authorities with the company applying for and being granted British whaling
lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...
. South Georgia became the world's largest
whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...
centre, with shore bases at Grytviken (operating 1904–64),
Leith Harbour Leith Harbour (), also known as Port Leith, was a whaling station on the northeast coast of South Georgia, established and operated by Christian Salvesen Ltd, Edinburgh. The station was in operation from 1909 until 1965. It was the largest ...
(1909–65),
Ocean Harbour Ocean Harbour ( es, Puerto Nueva Fortuna) is a deeply indented bay on Barff Peninsula on the north coast of South Georgia which is entered west-northwest of Tijuca point. It was a whaling station between 1909 and 1920. At one point, South Ge ...
(1909–20),
Husvik Husvik is a former whaling station on the north-central coast of South Georgia Island. It was one of three such stations in Stromness Bay, the other two being Stromness and Leith Harbour. Husvik initially began as a floating, offshore factory sit ...
(1910–60), Stromness (1912–61) and Prince Olav Harbour (1917–34). The companies involved included Compañía Argentina de Pesca, Christian Salvesen Ltd (UK), Albion Star (South Georgia) Ltd. (Falkland Islands), the Norwegian whaling companies Hvalfangerselskap Ocean, Tønsberg Hvalfangeri and Sandefjord Hvalfangerselskap, as well as the Southern Whaling and Sealing Company (South Africa). The Japanese companies Kokusai Gyogyo Kabushike Kaisha and
Nippon Suisan Kaisha , is a marine products company based in Japan. It had annual revenues of US$5.1 billion in 2014.Until November 30, 2022, the company name will be . The company was established in 1911, and is a commercial fishing and marine product procurement ...
sub-leased respectively Grytviken in 1963–64 and Leith Harbour in 1963–65, the last seasons of South Georgia whaling. The spread of Norwegian whaling industry to Antarctica in the early 20th century motivated Norway, right after its independence from
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
in 1905, to pursue territorial expansion not only in the
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
claiming
Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger nort ...
and Sverdrup Islands, but also in Antarctica. Norway claimed
Bouvet Island Bouvet Island ( ; or ''Bouvetøyen'') is an island claimed by Norway, and declared an uninhabited protected nature reserve. It is a subantarctic volcanic island, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean at the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic R ...
and looked further south, formally inquiring of the British
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...
about the international status of the area between 45° and 65° south latitude and 35° and 80° west longitude. Following a second such diplomatic démarche by the Norwegian Government dated 4 March 1907, Britain replied that the areas were British based on discoveries made in the first half of the 19th century, and issued the 1908 Letters Patent incorporating the British Falkland Islands Dependencies with a permanent local administration in Grytviken established in 1909. Britain's 1908 Letters Patent established constitutional arrangements for its possessions in the South Atlantic, including the formal
annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
of the South Sandwich Islands. The Letters Patent listed these possessions as "the groups of islands known as South Georgia, the South Orkneys, the South Shetlands, and the Sandwich Islands, and the territory known as Graham's Land, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean to the south of the 50th parallel of south latitude, and lying between the 20th and the 80th degrees of west longitude". In 1917 the Letters Patent were modified, applying the "sector principle" used in the Arctic; the new scope of the Falkland Islands Dependencies was extended to comprise "all islands and territories whatsoever between the 20th degree of west longitude and the 50th degree of west longitude which are situated south of the 50th parallel of south latitude; and all islands and territories whatsoever between the 50th degree of west longitude and the 80th degree of west longitude which are situated south of the 58th parallel of south latitude", thus reaching the
South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...
. The 1908 Letters Patent were not disputed by Argentina at the time, but in 1948 Argentina conceived an argument that they were invalid on the grounds that they allegedly encompassed parts of the South American mainland as well as the Falklands, making the latter dependencies of themselves. All whaling stations on South Georgia operated under whaling leases applied for by each company and granted by the
Governor of the Falkland Islands The governor of the Falkland Islands is the representative of the British Crown in the Falkland Islands, acting "in His Majesty's name and on His Majesty's behalf" as the islands' ''de facto'' head of state in the absence of the British monarch ...
and Dependencies. On behalf of the Compañía Argentina de Pesca, the application was filed with the British
Legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...
in Buenos Aires by the company's president Pedro Christophersen and Captain Guillermo Nuñez, a technical advisor and shareholder in the company who was also Director of Armaments of the Argentine Navy. From 1906 on the Argentine company was operating in compliance with its whaling and sealing leases granted by the Falklands Governor. That continued until Grytviken was sold to Albion Star (South Georgia) Ltd. in 1960, closed in 1964, and eventually purchased by Christian Salvesen Ltd.
Carl Anton Larsen Carl Anton Larsen (7 August 1860 – 8 December 1924) was a Norwegian-born whaler and Antarctic explorer who made important contributions to the exploration of Antarctica, the most significant being the first discovery of fossils for which ...
, the founder of Grytviken was a
naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...
Briton British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...
born in
Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...
, Norway. In his application for British
citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
, filed with the British
Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
of South Georgia and granted in 1910, Captain Larsen wrote: "I have given up my Norwegian citizens rights and have resided here since I started whaling in this colony on 16 November 1904 and have no reason to be of any other citizenship than British, as I have had and intend to have my residence here still for a long time." His family in Grytviken included his wife, three daughters and two sons. As the manager of Compañía Argentina de Pesca, Larsen organised the construction of Grytviken ― a remarkable undertaking accomplished by a team of 60 Norwegians since their arrival on 16 November until the newly built
whale oil Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tears, tear" or "drop"). Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the ...
factory commenced production on 24 December 1904. Larsen also established a meteorological observatory at Grytviken, which from 1905 was maintained in cooperation with the Argentine Meteorological Office under the British lease requirements of the whaling station until these changed in 1949. Larsen chose the whaling station's site during his 1902 visit while in command of the ship ''Antarctic'' of the
Swedish Antarctic Expedition The Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903 was a scientific expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld and Carl Anton Larsen. It was the first Swedish endeavour to Antarctica in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Background Otto Nordensk ...
(1901–03) led by
Otto Nordenskjöld Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (6 December 1869 – 2 June 1928) was a Finnish and Swedish geologist, geographer, and polar explorer. Early life Nordenskjöld was born in Hässleby in Småland in eastern Sweden, in a Finland Swedish family th ...
. On that occasion, the name Grytviken ('Pot Cove') was given by the Swedish
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
and geologist
Johan Gunnar Andersson Johan Gunnar Andersson (3 July 1874 – 29 October 1960)"Andersson, Johan Gunnar" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 385. was a Swedish archaeologist, paleontologist and ge ...
who surveyed part of
Thatcher Peninsula Thatcher Peninsula () is a mountainous peninsula in north-central South Georgia. Its total area is approximately , with roughly covered in vegetation. It terminates to the north in Mai Point, rising between Cumberland West Bay to the west, and ...
and found numerous artefacts and
features Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...
from sealers' habitation and industry, including a
shallop Shallop is a name used for several types of boats and small ships (French ''chaloupe'') used for coastal navigation from the seventeenth century. Originally smaller boats based on the chalupa, the watercraft named this ranged from small boats a l ...
and several
try-pot A try pot is a large pot used to remove and render the oil from blubber obtained from cetaceans (whales and dolphins) and pinnipeds (seals), and also to extract oil from penguins. Once a suitable animal such as a whale had been caught and killed ...
s used to boil
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
oil. One of those try-pots, having the inscription 'Johnson and Sons,
Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...
Dock London' is preserved at the
South Georgia Museum The South Georgia Museum is situated in Grytviken, near the administrative centre of the UK overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Polar explorers Ernest Shackleton and Frank Wild are buried in Grytviken's graveyard. ...
in Grytviken. Larsen was also instrumental, with his brother, in introducing Reindeer to South Georgia in 1911 as a resource for hunting for the people employed in the whaling industry. Most of the whalers were Norwegian, with an increasing proportion of Britons. During the whaling era, the population usually varied from over 1000 in the summer (over 2000 in some years) to some 200 in the winter. At the height of the whaling industry about 6000 men, mostly Norwegians and Swedes, worked at the stations and, with the men working on the whale-catchers, factory ships and supply vessels, there could be three times the population when the whaling fleets were at anchor in the harbours. The first census conducted by the British Stipendiary Magistrate James Wilson on 31 December 1909 recorded a total population of 720, including 3 females and 1 child. Of them, 579 were Norwegian, 58 Swedes, 32 Britons, 16 Danes, 15 Finns, 9 Germans, 7 Russians, 2 Dutchmen, 1 Frenchman and 1 Austrian. In subsequent available censuses the population was 1337 (24 April 1921), and 709 (26 April 1931, includes the South Shetland Islands). Managers and other senior officers of the whaling stations often lived together with their families. Among them was Fridthjof Jacobsen whose wife Klara Olette Jacobsen gave birth to two of their children in Grytviken; their daughter Solveig Gunbjörg Jacobsen was the first child ever born in Antarctica, on 8 October 1913. Several more children were born on South Georgia, even recently aboard visiting private yachts. There are some 200 graves on the island dating from 1820 onwards, including that of the famous
Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
explorer Sir
Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...
(died 1922) whose British Antarctic Expedition (1908–09) established the route to the South Pole subsequently followed by Robert Scott. In one of the most remarkable small boat journeys in maritime history (probably rivalled only by that of ''Bounty'''s Lieutenant
William Bligh Vice-Admiral William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The mutiny on the HMS ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command; after being set adrift i ...
), in 1916 Shackleton crossed
Scotia Sea The Scotia Sea is a sea located at the northern edge of the Southern Ocean at its boundary with the South Atlantic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the Drake Passage and on the north, east, and south by the Scotia Arc, an undersea ridge and ...
in the 7 m or 23' '' James Caird'' to reach South Georgia and organise the successful rescue of his expedition team stranded on
Elephant Island Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...
following the loss of their ship ''Endurance''. In the process, Shackleton accompanied by Frank Worsley and
Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to: *Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor *Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer *Tom Crean (basketball) Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...
trekked the island's glaciated and rugged terrain between
King Haakon Bay King Haakon Bay, or King Haakon Sound, is an inlet on the southern coast of the island of South Georgia. The inlet is approximately 13 km (8 miles) long and 4 km (2.5 miles) wide. The inlet was named for King Haakon VII of Norway by ...
and the Stromness whaling station. Another Antarctic explorer with a special place in South Georgia's history was
Duncan Carse Verner Duncan Carse (28 July 1913 – 2 May 2004) was an English explorer and actor known for surveying South Georgia and for the portrayal of Special Agent Dick Barton on BBC Radio. Early life Carse was born on 28 July 1913 in Fulham, London, ...
. His comprehensive 1951–57
South Georgia Survey The South Georgia Survey was a series of expeditions to survey and map the island of South Georgia, led by Duncan Carse between 1951 and 1957. Although South Georgia had been commercially exploited as a whaling station during the first half of ...
resulted in the classical 1:200000
topographic map In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but historic ...
of South Georgia, occasionally updated but never superseded since its first publication by the British
Directorate of Overseas Surveys The Ordnance Survey International or Ordnance Survey Overseas Directorate its predecessors built an archive of air photography, map and survey records for the United Kingdom from 1946 to 1999. The Ordnance Survey International Collection (formerly ...
in 1958. For several months in 1961, Carse experimented on living alone at a remote location,
Ducloz Head Ducloz Head () is a headland which forms the northwest side of the entrance to Undine South Harbour on the south coast of South Georgia. It was first charted in 1819 by a Russian expedition under Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. It was named by ...
on the southwest coast of the island.
Mount Carse Mount Carse is a mountain having several peaks, the highest at , standing north of the head of Drygalski Fjord in the southern part of the Salvesen Range of South Georgia. It was surveyed by the South Georgia Survey (SGS) between 1951 and 195 ...
, the island's third highest peak is named for him. A
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
conducting the local British
administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
has been residing in South Georgia ever since November 1909 (except for 22 days in 1982). The 1908 British Letters Patent was transmitted to the Argentine
Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
and was formally acknowledged on 18 March 1909 without objections.
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
also recognised de facto the British permanent local administration set up in 1909, with commercial and naval Argentine vessels that visited the island in the subsequent years duly complying with normal harbour, customs, immigration and other procedures. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the whaling stations were closed excepting Grytviken and Leith Harbour. Most of the British and Norwegian whaling factories and catchers were destroyed by German raiders, while the rest were called up to serve under
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
command. The resident British Magistrates (W. Barlas and A.I. Fleuret) attended to the island's defence throughout the War. The
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
armed the merchant vessel ''Queen of Bermuda'' to patrol South Georgian and Antarctic waters, and deployed two four-inch (102 mm) guns at key locations protecting the approaches to
Cumberland Bay Cumberland Bay is a bay, wide at its entrance between Larsen Point and Barff Point, which separates into two extensive arms, Cumberland West Bay and Cumberland East Bay, which recede inland along the northern coast of South Georgia. It ...
and
Stromness Bay Stromness Bay is a bay wide, entered between Cape Saunders and Busen Point on the north coast of South Georgia. Stromness Bay, like Leith Harbour takes its name from a location in Scotland, Stromness, on the Orkney Mainland. This is partiall ...
, i.e. to Grytviken and Leith Harbour respectively. These batteries (still present) were manned by
volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
from among the Norwegian whalers who were trained for the purpose.


Sovereignty dispute, and Falklands War

According to the Papal Bull ''
Inter caetera ''Inter caetera'' ('Among other orks) was a papal bull issued by Pope Alexander VI on the 4 May () 1493, which granted to the Catholic Monarchs King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile all lands to the "west and south" of ...
'', issued by Pope Alexander VI on 4 May 1493, the dividing line between the crowns of Spain and Portugal had found the longitude 36 º 8'O, cutting South Georgia (according to other sources in longitude 35 º W). But with the entry into force of the
Treaty of Tordesillas The Treaty of Tordesillas, ; pt, Tratado de Tordesilhas . signed in Tordesillas, Spain on 7 June 1494, and authenticated in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Emp ...
in 1494, the island was in the Portuguese hemisphere. Regarding the South Sandwich Islands, both the bull and the Treaty were within the Portuguese hemisphere. The first official announcement of an Argentine claim of South Georgia was made in 1927 at the International Postal Bureau in Bern. The first definitive Argentine claim of sovereignty over the South Sandwich Islands was made in 1938, when the
President of Argentina The president of Argentina ( es, Presidente de Argentina), officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation ( es, Presidente de la Nación Argentina), is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Ar ...
ratified the 1934 Cairo Postal Convention. Since then, Argentina has maintained her claims of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands but repeatedly (in 1947, 1951, 1953, 1954 and 1955) refused to have them resolved by the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
or by an independent
arbitral tribunal An arbitral tribunal or arbitration tribunal, also arbitration commission, arbitration committee or arbitration council is a panel of unbiased adjudicators which is convened and sits to resolve a dispute by way of arbitration. The tribunal may c ...
. The Argentine naval station Corbeta Uruguay was clandestinely built on
Thule Island Thule Island, also called Morrell Island, is one of the southernmost of the South Sandwich Islands, part of the grouping known as Southern Thule. It is named, on account of its remote location, after the mythical land of Thule, said by ancient ...
, in the South Sandwich Islands on 7 November 1976 and was subject to a number of official British protests, the first of them on 19 January 1977. Arrangements to legitimise the station were discussed in 1978 but failed. At an early stage of the
Falklands Conflict The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland I ...
, 32
special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
troops from Corbeta Uruguay were brought by the Argentine Navy ship ''Bahía Paraíso'' to South Georgia and landed at Leith Harbour on 25 March 1982. Joined by the corvette ARA ''Guerrico'', on 3 April the ''Bahía Paraiso'' attacked the
platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...
of 22
Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
deployed at Grytviken. The two-hour battle resulted in the ''Guerrico'' being damaged and an Argentine
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
shot down. The Argentine forces sustained three men killed and a number of wounded, with one wounded on the British side. The British commanding officer Lieutenant
Keith Mills Sir Keith Edward Mills, (born 15 May, 1950) is an English entrepreneur and deputy chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Early life Mills was born in Brentwood. He attended St Martin's School, Br ...
was awarded a
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...
for the defence of South Georgia. While the British Magistrate and other civilians and military present in Grytviken were removed from South Georgia, another 15 Britons remained beyond Argentine reach. The losses suffered at Grytviken prevented Argentina from occupying the rest of the island, with Bird Island base, and field camps at Schlieper Bay,
Lyell Glacier Lyell Glacier is in the Sierra Nevada of California. The glacier was discovered by John Muir in 1871, and was the largest glacier in Yosemite National Park. It lies on the northern slopes of Mount Lyell. The glacier has retreated since the end ...
and St. Andrews Bay remaining under British control. On 25 April 1982 the Royal Navy damaged and captured the Argentine
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
''Santa Fe'' at South Georgia. The Argentine
garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
in Grytviken under Lieut.-Commander Luis Lagos surrendered without returning fire, as did the detachment in
Leith Harbour Leith Harbour (), also known as Port Leith, was a whaling station on the northeast coast of South Georgia, established and operated by Christian Salvesen Ltd, Edinburgh. The station was in operation from 1909 until 1965. It was the largest ...
commanded by Captain
Alfredo Astiz Alfredo Ignacio Astiz (born 8 November 1951) is an Argentine former military commander, intelligence officer, and naval commando who served in the Argentine Navy during the military dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla during the Proceso de Reorg ...
on the following day. Nowadays the date of 26 April is celebrated as ''Liberation Day'', a public holiday in SGSSI. One of the most famous and legendary signals of the entire
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
was made by the British forces' commander after the Argentine surrender at Grytviken: "Be pleased to inform Her Majesty that the White Ensign flies alongside the Union Jack in South Georgia. God save the Queen." Finally, the Argentine personnel were removed from the South Sandwich Islands by on 20 June 1982. The recapture of South Georgia, even more remote than the Falkland Islands, and in foul weather conditions proved a major boost to British ambitions in the Falklands War, and a blow to those of Argentina. Due to evidence of an unauthorised visit to Thule Island, the closed station Corbeta Uruguay was destroyed in January 1983. Since the Falklands War, Britain maintained a small garrison of
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
on South Georgia until March 2001, when the island reverted to civilian rule. However, Argentina continues to claim South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.


Recent history

In 1985, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ceased to be
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
dependencies and became a separate
British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...
. Due to its remote location and harsh
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...
, South Georgia had no
indigenous population Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
when first discovered. While the island has been inhabited during the last two centuries, with some settlers residing for decades there and children being born and raised, no families have become established for more than one generation so far. The present permanent centres of population include Grytviken,
King Edward Point King Edward Point (also known as KEP) is a permanent British Antarctic Survey research station on South Georgia island and is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It is situated in Cumberl ...
and Bird Island. King Edward Point is the
port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internati ...
, and residence of the British Magistrate and harbour, customs, immigration,
fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
, and postal authorities; it is commonly referred to as 'Grytviken' in association with the derelict whaling station situated just 800 m away. The government of the islands maintains field huts at
Sörling Valley Sörling Valley is an ice-free valley between Cumberland East Bay and Hound Bay on the north side of South Georgia. Surveyed by the SGS in the period 1951–57. Named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) for Erik Sörlin ...
, Dartmouth Point, Maiviken, St. Andrews Bay, Corral Bay, Carlita Bay,
Jason Harbour Jason Harbour is a bay wide, lying west of Allen Bay in the north side of Cumberland West Bay, South Georgia. It was charted and named by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04, under Otto Nordenskiöld. The bay was previously visited by the ...
,
Ocean Harbour Ocean Harbour ( es, Puerto Nueva Fortuna) is a deeply indented bay on Barff Peninsula on the north coast of South Georgia which is entered west-northwest of Tijuca point. It was a whaling station between 1909 and 1920. At one point, South Ge ...
, and
Lyell Glacier Lyell Glacier is in the Sierra Nevada of California. The glacier was discovered by John Muir in 1871, and was the largest glacier in Yosemite National Park. It lies on the northern slopes of Mount Lyell. The glacier has retreated since the end ...
. Since the 1990s, the islands have become a popular tourist destination, with cruise ships visiting on a fairly regular basis. To protect the territory's unique environment, on 23 February 2012 its government created the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Marine Protection Area, one of the world's largest marine reserves, comprising .


South Sandwich Islands

The uninhabited South Sandwich Islands are even less hospitable than the main island of South Georgia, affected by
volcanic activity Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called a ...
as well. Since 1995 the South African Weather Bureau maintains two
automatic weather station An automatic weather station (AWS) is an automated version of the traditional weather station, either to save human labour or to enable measurements from remote areas. An AWS will typically consist of a weather-proof enclosure containing the data ...
s on the islands of Zavodovski and
Thule Thule ( grc-gre, Θούλη, Thoúlē; la, Thūlē) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek and Latin literature, Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shet ...
. The southern eight islands of the Sandwich Islands Group were discovered by
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
in 1775; the northern three by
Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen Fabian Gottlieb Thaddeus von Bellingshausen (russian: Фадде́й Фадде́евич Беллинсга́узен, translit=Faddéy Faddéevich Bellinsgáuzen; – ) was a Russian naval officer, cartographer and explorer, who ultimatel ...
in 1819.[ clarification needed] Departing from South Georgia, Captain Cook sailed to the southeast to discover
Clerke Rocks The Clerke Rocks are a group of small rocky islands some southeast of South Georgia that extend from east to west. The Clerke Rocks include The Office Boys () at the northeastern end and Nobby (Spanish: ''Islote Llamativo'' or ''Roca Notable ...
and a group of islands which he named "Sandwich Land" in honour of
Lord Sandwich Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu ...
, then
First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...
. The word "South" was later added to distinguish them from the "Sandwich Islands", now known as
Hawai'i Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...
. The
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
of the
South Sandwich Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = , song = , image_map = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in United Kingdom.svg , map_caption = Location of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Oce ...
comprises Candlemas, Vindication,
Saunders Saunders is a surname of English and Scottish patronymic origin derived from Sander, a mediaeval form of Alexander.See also: Sander (name) People * Ab Saunders (1851–1883), American cowboy and gunman * Al Saunders (born 1947), American footb ...
, Montagu,
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
Bellingshausen Bellingshausen may refer to: * Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen (1778–1852), Baltic German explorer and officer in the Russian navy, after whom are named: ** Bellingshausen Plate, a tectonic plate ** Bellingshausen Sea, off the Antarctic Penins ...
,
Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...
and
Thule Thule ( grc-gre, Θούλη, Thoúlē; la, Thūlē) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek and Latin literature, Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shet ...
discovered by Cook, and the
Traversay Islands The Traversay Islands ( es, Archipiélago Marqués de Traverse) are a group of three islands— Zavodovski, Leskov and Visokoi—at the northern end of the South Sandwich Islands. History The group was discovered in November 1819 by a Russian ...
( Zavodovski, Leskov and Visokoi) discovered by the
Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a ...
expedition of
Bellingshausen Bellingshausen may refer to: * Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen (1778–1852), Baltic German explorer and officer in the Russian navy, after whom are named: ** Bellingshausen Plate, a tectonic plate ** Bellingshausen Sea, off the Antarctic Penins ...
and Lazarev in the ships ''Vostok'' and ''Mirny'' in 1819. The United Kingdom formally annexed the South Sandwich Islands through the 1908 Letters Patent, grouping them with other British-held territory in Antarctica as the Falkland Islands Dependencies. Argentina claimed the South Sandwich Islands in 1938, and challenged British sovereignty in the Islands on several occasions. From 25 January 1955 through summer of 1956
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
maintained the summer station Teniente Esquivel at Ferguson Bay on the southeastern coast of
Thule Island Thule Island, also called Morrell Island, is one of the southernmost of the South Sandwich Islands, part of the grouping known as Southern Thule. It is named, on account of its remote location, after the mythical land of Thule, said by ancient ...
. From 1976 to 1982, Argentina maintained a naval base named Corbeta Uruguay in the lee (southern East coast) of the same island. Although the British discovered the presence of the Argentine base in 1976, protested and tried to resolve the issue by diplomatic means, no effort was made to remove them by force until after the
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
. The base was eventually removed on 20 June 1982 and the installations demolished in December. On 10 February 2008 an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 on the
Richter Scale The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...
had its epicentre 205 km south-southeast of
Bristol Island Bristol Island ( es, Isla Blanco or ''Isla Blanca'') is an island lying midway between Montagu Island and Thule Island in the South Sandwich Islands. Its features include Harker Point, Fryer Point, Turmoil Point, Havfruen Peak, Trulla Bluff ...
. On 30 June 2008, an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck the region. Its epicentre was at east-northeast (73 degrees) of Bristol Island.National Earthquake Information Center.
U.S. Geological Survey.


Old maps

* L'Isle, Guillaume de & Henry A. Chatelain. (1705/19)

Paris. (Map featuring Roché Island.) * Seale, Richard W. (ca. 1745)

London. (Map featuring Roché Island.) * Jefferys, Thomas. (1768)

London. (Map featuring Roché Island.) * Joseph Gilbert. (1775)

Plan with panorama. In: Charts, and views of headlands, taken during Captain Cook's Second Voyage, 1772–1774. British Library. * Cook, James. (1777)

W. Strahan and T. Cadel, London. * A. Arrowsmith. (1794). [http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~908~50001:Map-of-the-World-on-a-Globular-Proj Map of the World on a Globular Projection, Exhibiting Particularly the Nautical Researches of Capn. James Cook, F.R.S. with all the Recent Discoveries to the Present Time.] London.


See also

* Anthony de la Roché * History of the Falkland Islands


Notes


References

* Capt. Francisco de Seixas y Lovera
''Descripcion geographica, y derrotero de la region austral Magallanica. Que se dirige al Rey nuestro señor, gran monarca de España, y sus dominios en Europa, Emperador del Nuevo Mundo Americano, y Rey de los reynos de la Filipinas y Malucas''
Madrid, Antonio de Zafra, 1690. (Narrates the discovery of South Georgia by the Englishman Anthony de la Roché in April 1675 (Capítulo IIII Título XIX page 27 or page 99 of pdf); Relevant fragment.) * William Ambrosia Cowley, ''Cowley's Voyage Round the Globe'', in ''Collection of Original Voyages'', ed. William Hacke, James Knapton, London, 1699. * George Forster, ''A Voyage Round the World in His Britannic Majesty's Sloop Resolution Commanded by Capt. James Cook, during the Years 1772, 3, 4 and 5 (2 vols.)'', London, 1777. * James Cook
''A Voyage Towards the South Pole, and Round the World. Performed in His Majesty's Ships the Resolution and Adventure, In the Years 1772, 1773, 1774, and 1775. In which is included, Captain Furneaux's Narrative of his Proceedings in the Adventure during the Separation of the Ships''
Volume II. London: Printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1777. ( Relevant fragment) * Capt. Isaac Pendleton, ''South Georgia; Southatlantic Ocean: Discovered by the Frenchman La Roche in the year 1675'', 1802, reproduced by A. Faustini, Rome, 1906. (The second map of South Georgia; Pendleton was misled about the nationality of la Roché who, being an Englishman born in London, had a French father.) * ''South Georgia,'' Topographic map, 1:200000, DOS 610 Series,
Directorate of Overseas Surveys The Ordnance Survey International or Ordnance Survey Overseas Directorate its predecessors built an archive of air photography, map and survey records for the United Kingdom from 1946 to 1999. The Ordnance Survey International Collection (formerly ...
, Tolworth, UK, 1958. * Otto Nordenskjöld, Johan G. Andersson, Carl A. Larsen, ''Antarctica, or Two Years Among the Ice of the South Pole'', London, Hurst & Blackett, 1905. * R.K. Headland
South Georgia: A Concise Account.
Cambridge: British Antarctic Survey, 1982. 30 pp. * R.K. Headland
''The Island of South Georgia''
Cambridge University Press, 1984. * Roger Perkins, ''Operation Paraquat'', Picton (Chippenham), 1986, (Describes the Argentine invasion and defeat of 1982) *
Sally Poncet Sally Poncet (born 1954) is an Australian-born scientist and adventurer who has explored and studied the Antarctic region since 1977. Her specialty is birds and she made extensive studies of albatross and their habitats for the British Antarc ...
and
Kim Crosbie Kim Crosbie is a former Executive Director of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and has been working in the polar regions since 1991. Early life and education Crosbie is from Edinburgh, Scotland, and she co ...
, '' A Visitor's Guide to South Georgia'', Wildguides 2005,
Historia de las Relaciones Exteriores Argentinas, Obra dirigida por Carlos Escudé y Andrés Cisneros, desarrollada y publicada bajo los auspicios del Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales (CARI), GEL/Nuevohacer (Buenos Aires), 2000.
* Capt. Hernán Ferrer Fougá
El hito austral del confín de América. El cabo de Hornos. (Siglos XVI-XVII-XVIII). (Primera parte)
''Revista de Marina'', Valparaíso, 2003, No. 6.


External links




South Georgia Heritage Trust

King Edward Point Base

Bird Island Base

Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
{{History of South America Falkland Islands in World War II Whaling in Antarctica