On September 7th, Prime Minister Harper announced the discovery of one of the two ships of the famed Franklin Expedition, lost at sea more than 150 years ago. Since then, the team of Parks Canada archaeologists who found the wreck have made their first dive down into the depths to discover which of Franklin’s ships they have found: the Erebus or the Terror. The Canadian government has been very quick with its press releases, since the discovery could tip the scales when it comes to affirming Canada’s sovereignty over Arctic waters.
So essentially, if you haven’t yet heard of this story, it’s probably because you live under the sea yourself. If you’re like most other people, however, and have some vague idea about some ship someone found in the Arctic, never fear: the Iron Warrior is here to elucidate the story of the Expedition and its recent discovery.
Back in the good ol’ days of Victorian England (basically all the 1800’s), there was an obsession to find the fabled “Northwest Passage”, a theoretical passage that ran north of Canada that would link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and make trading with Asia much more cost-effective. The Admiralty sent Sir John Franklin, a 45-year naval veteran as well as a three time Arctic explorer, to find the Passage. He didn’t have the greatest track record – on his first expedition to Canada more than half of his men died of starvation and the rest of his party resorted to trying to eat their boots – and he was chosen mostly because all the first choices of the Admiralty politely refused.
The Erebus and the Terror set sail in May 1845, and though the expedition was well-provisioned, it is clear that things eventually went wrong. However, clues as to what actually happened are hard to come by. Since 1848, explorers and archaeologists have found artifacts including a note saying that Franklin had died in June 1847 and that the remaining 105 men would try to head south, the graves of three crew members who had died early on, whose bones exhibited signs of lead poisoning, and later more bones with knife cut-marks on them, meaning that the men probably had resorted to cannibalism.
However, the find of the shipwreck could be the most telling. To find the wreck, the archaeologists relied on a combination of high-tech robots, archaeological techniques, environmental knowledge such as the science of ice formation (headed by a Waterloo Environment alumnus, Thomas Zagon), and more than a little luck. (The team of archaeologists is made up of alumni from many Canadian universities, and even Laurier has managed to pull its own weight – the name of the research vessel is the CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier!)
As opposed to PM Harper’s geopolitical designs on the Arctic, the academic community is excited because the wreck will definitely provide more clues about the Expedition’s last days. The team even thinks they might find the intact Captain’s Log, since the frigid Arctic water could have preserved it perfectly. Whatever they find down there, it is sure to keep the media occupied for quite some time.
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