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this has been credited to the explorer john franklin and is commerated in westminister abbey.
the orkney mp is taking this matter up as explorer john rae [orcadian] had already found and charted it before him and they want the record straight even now tony
Franklin failed in his search for the NW passage, and lost 128 men and his ships in the process. John Rae was the man who discovered their fate and then went on to navigate the NW Passage. See here:-
http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/aol/redir...ion=WebResults
;)
As a side issue, "The Discovery of Slowness" by Sten Nadolny deals with Franklin's expedition. It's an absolutely brilliant book - one of my favourites and highly recommended for anyone interested in the Northwest Passage search. It got me hooked on the subject and now my ears ############### up whenever its mentioned.
PS. a copy is in Wick library on one of the carousels ;)
That sort of reminds me of a pub quiz question that I got asked once. "Who was the first person to sail around the world?". I confidently put Ferdinand Magellan. In the end I was wrong, the first person was a man servant of Magellan's who was picked up from the Indian Ocean on a previous voyage which set off in the other direction.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaldtimer
thanks for site it certainly confirms what the mp is on aboutQuote:
Originally Posted by Rheghead
westminster has a statue or something crediting franklin and it seems they want something for john rae
pity i cant send this site to the orcadian tony
I'm sure the Orcadian MP is well aware of the full facts of the case! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Tighsonas4
Known for being the first man to reach the South Pole, Raold Amundsen is also recognised as the first man to successfully navigate the NW passage, making the journey through the Rae Strait (of course named after John Rae ). This is confirmed in the above link.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaldtimer
As Rheghead says, a bit of a trick quiz question potentially as to navigate and to discover are two different things in this case!!!
I am sure we all agree John Rae certainly deserves proper recognition for what he did discover as it was this that helped Amundsen 50 years later to prove the NW passage was navigatible.
For those who have an interest in Polar exploration, the story of Amundsen's fellow Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen is well worth reading too :).
If I recall correctly, Rae succeeded because he took far fewer men with him and was able to "live off the land" so to speak. King William Island could sustain a small number of people, I think the Inuit said about 25, but was certainly not large enough to sustain the number Franklin had with him one provisions had run out.
In the days of the old sailing ships cannibalism was a fairly normal method of survival when disaster struck. Rae obviously broke the rule that nobody volunteered the information and nobody enquired too closely, the victim having simply "failed to make it" and was therefore "buried at sea".
I watched this Billy Connelly programme he covered this issue well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrSqgQimlNo
Somebody with the Username "Jaws" talking about cannibalism :eek:.Quote:
Originally Posted by JAWS
Seriously though, you are spot on. John Franklin, being a Royal Navy officer, was duty bound to follow his orders. During that time of the British Empire, there were those who believed Britain should conquer rather than explore. So for expeditions like Franklin's last it was crucially important to follow Imperial etiquette which meant being self sufficient even if it put you at a disadvantage. It was therefore important to prove that the Empire had the technology to overcome all adversity.To copy or accept help from the natives was dishonourable.
On the other hand, someone like John Rae was not bound by these constraints which gave Rae the freedom to achieve much.
Similarly in the race to the South Pole, Captain Scott had to follow Navy rules whereas Amundsen chose the best available whether it was men or equipment. With hindsight, Amundsen had a clear advantage.
Scott was extremely unfortunate not to make it safely back because the atrocious weather his team encountered was very exceptional.
Sunday 15th November at 8pm on BBC2,
Ray Mears' documentary on John Rae, looking at Rae's role as an Arctic explorer, is being shown.
Get your hands on "1421: The Year China Discovered the World" by Gavin Menzies.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rheghead
Absolutely fascinating account of an Ming Dynasty expedition fleet that has been largely ignored in the West.
stan rogers san about franklin in northwest passage song