Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Belgian Antarctic Expedition's crew - Photographic Supplement

  1. #1
    Companhia dos Leões da Beira
    Apricity Funding Member
    "Friend of Apricity"

    Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Last Online
    @
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Romance
    Ethnicity
    Portuguese
    Country
    Portugal
    Y-DNA
    R1b-L21
    mtDNA
    H15
    Religion
    Cultural Christian
    Relationship Status
    Married
    Gender
    Posts
    18,363
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 24,023
    Given: 16,803

    2 Not allowed!

    Default Belgian Antarctic Expedition's crew - Photographic Supplement

    I finished recently a nonfictional historical book about the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton) regarding an early polar expedition that went terribly awry with the ship frozen in ice and the crew trapped inside for several sunless Antarctic winters and I thought that the photographic supplement provided with the book was pretty neat and interesting, so I am sharing them with you.

    Some context:

    "In August 1897, thirty-one-year-old commandant Adrien de Gerlache set sail aboard the Belgica, fueled by a profound sense of adventure and dreams of claiming glory for his native Belgium. His destination was the uncharted end of the earth: the icy continent of Antarctica. But the commandant's plans for a three-year expedition to reach the magnetic South Pole would be thwarted at each turn. Before the ship cleared South America, it had already broken down, run aground, and lost several key crew members, leaving behind a group with dubious experience for such an ambitious voyage.

    As the ship progressed into the freezing waters, the captain had to make a choice: turn back and spare his men the potentially devastating consequences of getting stuck, or recklessly sail deeper into the ice pack to chase glory and fame. He sailed on, and the Belgica soon found itself stuck fast in the icy hold of the Antarctic continent. The ship would winter on the ice. Plagued by a mysterious, debilitating illness and besieged by the monotony of their days, the crew deteriorated as their confinement in suffocating close quarters wore on and their hope of escape dwindled daily. As winter approached the days grew shorter, until the sun set on the magnificent polar landscape one last time, condemning the ship's occupants to months of quarantine in an endless night.


    Forged in fire and carved by ice, Antarctica proved a formidable opponent for the motley crew. Among them was Frederick Cook, an American doctor--part scientist, part adventurer, part P.T. Barnum--whose unorthodox methods delivered many of the crew from the gruesome symptoms of scurvy and whose relentless optimism buoyed their spirits through the long, dark polar night. Then there was Roald Amundsen, a young Norwegian who went on to become a storied polar explorer in his own right, exceeding de Gerlache's wildest dreams by leading the first expeditions to traverse the Northwest Passage and reach the South Pole."

    Photos of the expedition and crew members:



    The Belgica anchored at Antwerp, on the River Scheldt, before her August 1897 departure



    Commandant Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery (Belgian)



    Frederick Albert Cook, the expedition’s surgeon, ethnologist, and photographer (American)



    The Belgica’s captain, Georges Lecointe (Belgian)



    First mate Roald Amundsen (Norwegian)



    The equator-crossing ceremony aboard the Belgica, on October 6, 1897. Albert Lemonnier (French), the expedition’s cook, wields a wooden “razor” to shave initiates



    Three Ona women, photographed by Cook in Tierra del Fuego



    Norwegian sailor Carl August Wiencke, age nineteen



    The Belgica anchored in what would come to be known as the Gerlache Strait, in the first few weeks of 1898




    The view from the foremast shows the pack ice tightening around the Belgica in February 1898



    The Belgica caught in the Antarctic pack ice, 1898



    Romanian naturalist Emile Racovitza



    Polish geologist and meteorologist Henryk Arctowski



    Second engineer Max Van Rysselberghe (Belgian) melts snow for drinking water under the shelter built amidships



    Lecointe (Belgian) on wash day


    De Gerlache (Belgian) and an emperor penguin captured on the pack ice
    YDNA: R1b-L21 > DF13 > S1051 > FGC17906 > FGC17907 > FGC17866


  2. #2
    Companhia dos Leões da Beira
    Apricity Funding Member
    "Friend of Apricity"

    Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Last Online
    @
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Romance
    Ethnicity
    Portuguese
    Country
    Portugal
    Y-DNA
    R1b-L21
    mtDNA
    H15
    Religion
    Cultural Christian
    Relationship Status
    Married
    Gender
    Posts
    18,363
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 24,023
    Given: 16,803

    0 Not allowed!

    Default



    Amundsen (Norwegian) on skis, with freshly slaughtered Adélie penguins



    Sailor Johan Koren (Norwegian) dissects an emperor penguin in the wardroom



    An excursion to an iceberg caught in the pack not far from the Belgica



    From left: Engelbret Knudsen, Jan Van Mirlo (looking at camera), Gustave Dufour (far end of table). Ludvig Johansen plays the accordion and Adam Tollefsen (far right) sits at the table. The other three men have been identified as Jules Melaerts, Antoni Dobrowolski, and Johan Koren, though their unkempt, post-wintering appearance makes it difficult to say who is who



    Cook’s “masterpiece,” taken by moonlight on June 3, 1898, with an exposure time of an hour and a half



    Lieutenant Emile Danco (Belgian), de Gerlache’s childhood friend and the expedition’s magnetician



    De Gerlache in his cabin, where he spent much of his time as sickness took hold of him



    Frequent fellow travelers Cook and Amundsen



    Sledging and camping equipment, including Cook’s ingenious design for a wind-deflecting conical tent



    Dinner in the wardroom. From left: Arctowski, Amundsen, Lecointe, Racovitza, and de Gerlache



    The toll of the long winter night. Left: De Gerlache, his face bloated with scurvy. Right: Cook, who refused to cut his hair during the expedition



    The madman Adam Tollefsen (Norwegian). He went mad after two winters trapped in the Antarctic
    YDNA: R1b-L21 > DF13 > S1051 > FGC17906 > FGC17907 > FGC17866


  3. #3
    Galantuomo
    Apricity Funding Member
    "Friend of Apricity"

    Tannhauser's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    In the capital of an empire that never existed.
    Ethnicity
    Noble'oid Gaucho
    Country
    Argentina
    Region
    Campania
    Y-DNA
    Merovingian
    Politics
    Le Droit Divin des Rois.
    Hero
    renaissence12
    Religion
    In God We Trust
    Relationship Status
    Civil Partnership
    Gender
    Posts
    2,196
    Blog Entries
    6
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 3,082
    Given: 3,014

    1 Not allowed!

    Default

    Great content!


    In 2008 a bust was inaugurated in honor of Baron Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery in the capital city of Tierra del Fuego, Usuhuaia.




    Quote Originally Posted by Creoda View Post
    Socks and sandals are respectable though.
    Quote Originally Posted by Richmondbread View Post
    I don't mind being the dumbest, as long as I am the prettiest.
    Quote Originally Posted by Tooting Carmen View Post
    Lo mas interesante e ironico (al menos para un foro como este) es la falta de negros.

  4. #4
    Companhia dos Leões da Beira
    Apricity Funding Member
    "Friend of Apricity"

    Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Last Online
    @
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Romance
    Ethnicity
    Portuguese
    Country
    Portugal
    Y-DNA
    R1b-L21
    mtDNA
    H15
    Religion
    Cultural Christian
    Relationship Status
    Married
    Gender
    Posts
    18,363
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 24,023
    Given: 16,803

    1 Not allowed!

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Tannhauser View Post
    Great content!
    In 2008 a bust was inaugurated in honor of Baron Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery in the capital city of Tierra del Fuego, Usuhuaia.
    Nice. Even though he was the commandant of the Belgica, it was Amundsen (one of his Norwegian crew members) would would be the first man to reach the South Pole, a decade later after the expedition of the Belgica.



    Amundsen and his party at the South Pole, 14th December 1911, Friday, about 3 p.m.
    YDNA: R1b-L21 > DF13 > S1051 > FGC17906 > FGC17907 > FGC17866


  5. #5
    Galantuomo
    Apricity Funding Member
    "Friend of Apricity"

    Tannhauser's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    In the capital of an empire that never existed.
    Ethnicity
    Noble'oid Gaucho
    Country
    Argentina
    Region
    Campania
    Y-DNA
    Merovingian
    Politics
    Le Droit Divin des Rois.
    Hero
    renaissence12
    Religion
    In God We Trust
    Relationship Status
    Civil Partnership
    Gender
    Posts
    2,196
    Blog Entries
    6
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 3,082
    Given: 3,014

    1 Not allowed!

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas View Post
    Nice. Even though he was the commandant of the Belgica, it was Amundsen (one of his Norwegian crew members) would would be the first man to reach the South Pole, a decade later after the expedition of the Belgica.



    Amundsen and his party at the South Pole, 14th December 1911, Friday, about 3 p.m.[/CENTER]
    Did you see his BioPic movie?



    There are several documentals about their expedition.

    Quote Originally Posted by Creoda View Post
    Socks and sandals are respectable though.
    Quote Originally Posted by Richmondbread View Post
    I don't mind being the dumbest, as long as I am the prettiest.
    Quote Originally Posted by Tooting Carmen View Post
    Lo mas interesante e ironico (al menos para un foro como este) es la falta de negros.

  6. #6
    Companhia dos Leões da Beira
    Apricity Funding Member
    "Friend of Apricity"

    Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Last Online
    @
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Romance
    Ethnicity
    Portuguese
    Country
    Portugal
    Y-DNA
    R1b-L21
    mtDNA
    H15
    Religion
    Cultural Christian
    Relationship Status
    Married
    Gender
    Posts
    18,363
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 24,023
    Given: 16,803

    0 Not allowed!

    Default

    No, I haven't seen it but I will add it to my watch list
    YDNA: R1b-L21 > DF13 > S1051 > FGC17906 > FGC17907 > FGC17866


  7. #7
    Companhia dos Leões da Beira
    Apricity Funding Member
    "Friend of Apricity"

    Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Last Online
    @
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Romance
    Ethnicity
    Portuguese
    Country
    Portugal
    Y-DNA
    R1b-L21
    mtDNA
    H15
    Religion
    Cultural Christian
    Relationship Status
    Married
    Gender
    Posts
    18,363
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 24,023
    Given: 16,803

    1 Not allowed!

    Default

    Here's another photo of a Ona man taken by Cook in Tierra del Fuego:



    Photograph shows an Ona man, full length portrait, nude, carrying a fur, taken during Cook's journey to Patagonia as part of the Belgica expedition to the Antarctic

    It is currently archived in the Library of Congress, in the U.S and it is titled as "Ona man, 7 ft. 4 in., standing". If true, it would mean the man had gigantic proportions. Centuries before, Portuguese circumnavigator Fernão de Magalhães had a similar encounter in Tierra del Fuego with presumabily the Ona tribe as described in Antonio Pigafetta diary:

    "In 1520, Ferdinand Magellan took time out of his busy schedule of sailing around the world to stop in what is now Patagonia, where he found a naked giant dancing and singing on the shore. Magellan ordered one of his men to make contact (the unwitting emissary’s no doubt hilarious reaction to this sadly has been lost to history), and to be sure to reciprocate the dancing and singing to demonstrate friendship.

    It worked. The man was able to lead the giant to a small island offshore, where the great captain waited. Describing the scene was a scholar along for the journey, Antonio Pigafetta, who kept a diary of the journey that was later turned into the book Magellan's Voyage: A Narrative Account of the First Circumnavigation: “When he was before us, he began to marvel and to be afraid, and he raised one finger upward, believing that we came from heaven. And he was so tall that the tallest of us only came up to his waist,” and had a big, booming voice."



    Austrian born priest and anthropologist Martin Gusinde who also got in contact with the Ona, was one of the few people to have witnessed and photograph the initiation ceremony of the young men of the Ona tribe:










    What's striking is that they dressed sparingly despite the cold climate of Tierra del Fuego. The warmest month in Tierra del Fuego is January with an average maximum temperature of 13°C (55°F). The coldest month is August with an average maximum temperature of 4°C (39°F).
    YDNA: R1b-L21 > DF13 > S1051 > FGC17906 > FGC17907 > FGC17866


Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Don't take calcium as a supplement, it's crap.
    By Universe in forum Medicines, Drugs and other Pharmaceuticals
    Replies: 33
    Last Post: 07-02-2022, 12:51 PM
  2. The Burnside Expedition
    By The Lawspeaker in forum United States
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 12-26-2018, 02:59 PM
  3. Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-07-2018, 07:11 AM
  4. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 01-19-2017, 12:43 PM
  5. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 05-04-2009, 02:12 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •