The Man Who Discovered Antarctica : Edward Bransfield Explained: The First Man to Find and Chart the Antarctic Mainland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bransfield, Sheila.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Explorers.

Antarctica.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (300 pages)

Place of Publication:

Newburyport : Pen & Sword Books, 2019.

Summary:

The definitive biography of the British naval officer who found the Antarctic shoreline in the early nineteeth century. Captain Cook claimed the honor of being the first man to sail into the Antarctic Ocean in 1773, which he circumnavigated the following year. Cook, though, did not see any land, and declared that there was no such thing as the Southern Continent. Fifty years later, an Irishman who'd been impressed into the Royal Navy at eighteen, and risen through the ranks to the position of master, proved Cook wrong, discovering and charting parts of the Antarctic shoreline. He also discovered Elephant Island and Clarence Island, claiming them for the British Crown. Edward Bransfield's naval career included taking part in the Bombardment of Algiers in 1816 onboard the 50-gun warship HMS Severn. Then, in 1817, he was posted to the Royal Navy's Pacific Squadron off Valparaíso in Chile, and it was while he served there that the skipper of an English whaling ship, the Williams, was driven south by adverse winds and discovered what came to be known as the South Shetland Islands where Cook had said there was no land. Bransfield's superior officer, Captain Sherriff, decided to investigate further. He chartered Williams and sent Bransfield with two midshipmen and a ship's surgeon into the Antarctic-and the Irishman sailed into history. Despite many parts of Antarctica and an Antarctic survey vessel being named after him, and a Royal Mail commemorative stamp issued in his name, the full story of this remarkable man and his historic journey, have never been told-until now. Following decades of research, Sheila Bransfield MA, a member of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, has produced the definitive biography of one of Britain's greatest maritime explorers. The book also includes a foreword by the Trust's patron the Princess Royal. "Bransfield's meticulous research gives us a detailed account of the daily routines of the Navy and the immense amount of maintenance required of a large wooden warship in the Age of Sail." -Historical Novel Society

Contents:

Intro

Title

Copyright

Contents

List of Plates

Foreword by HRH The Princess Royal

Acknowledgements

Why Me

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Ireland

Chapter 3 Kidnapped!

Chapter 4 The Best Ship in the Navy, 1803 - Initiation

Chapter 5 Blockading Brest, 1804-1806

Chapter 6 West Country Wagon, 1806 and 1807

Chapter 7 Promotions and New Territory, 1808

Chapter 8 Nostalgia for Lord Collingwood, 1809

Chapter 9 Collingwood's Final Departure, 1810

Chapter 10 Patrolling Enemy Waters, 1811

Chapter 11 Shore Leave and Major Promotion, 1812-1813

Chapter 12 Mrs Bransfield Welcomed Aboard HMS Goldfinch, 1813

Chapter 13 National Celebration and a Personal Disaster, 1814-1815

Chapter 14 HMS Phoebe to Ireland and the Equator, 1815

Chapter 15 Alceste, Pactolus and Cydnus, 1815-1816

Chapter 16 HMS Severn and the Bombardment of Algiers, 1816

Chapter 17 The New Mrs Bransfield: Respite in London, 1817

Chapter 18 HMS Andromache, 1817-1819

Chapter 19 Antarctic Adventure, Merchant Brig Williams, 1819-1820

Chapter 20 Bransfield Leaves the Pacific and the Royal Navy, 1820-1821

Chapter 21 Merchant Commander and Beyond, 1821-1852

Epilogue: The Memory of Edward Bransfield Lives On

Notes

Bibliography

Plate section.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

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ISBN:

9781526752642

1526752646

OCLC:

1206401018