Shackleton's Endurance

“But skilled and loyal assistants on other polar ventures, however famous the expedition and it’d leader, are seldom remembered and really celebrate.” (pg 3)

Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent. He survived shipwreck and disaster only to be imprisoned for violating the terms of his scientific passport by changing ships and carrying prohibited papers.

First, all of his buddies died and he had to walk 300 miles through Antarctica (with his feet falling off). Most people would not be able to walk 300 miles through Antarctica with feet. Second, He did not bring back many scientific discoveries during his journey. He had to throw out his camera among other things to conserve weight. (Into the Unknown) Phineas Gage suffered almost as much as Douglas Mawson did.

In Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World, Jennifer Armstrong demonstrates difficulties that Shackleton and 2 of his men have to face. To begin, Shackleton and 2 of his men went on a 2 week journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia island. Facing many difficulties of the ocean, they finally reached the South Georgia Island. However, they felt like they werent the only 3 people on the island. But they also werent the only people who have felt this fourth presence.

Chris McCandless’s journey in Alaska was very grueling and difficult. He only took the basic necessities and ended up dying. Some things Chris took were books, hunting weapons, and a camera. He froze to death on the tundra. Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen skied across Antarctica and became the first women to do so. The weather could get down to -100 degrees fahrenheit and was so windy they had to use a radio to talk to each other. The two carried technology that helped them communicate. For example, they used a camera to take pictures and then used a computer to upload them. J. Michael Fay was an explorer and conservationist. Fay traveled through dense forests and remote villages in Africa to make aware the animals and plants being destroyed.

4.Henry Hudson- As an English explorer, Hudson made two voyages to find an icefree passage to Asia which were successful. On his third voyage he was sent by the Dutch East India Company to the river in the New World that would be named after him; his fourth

In Endurance Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, Alfred Lansing recounts the tale of one of the greatest successes of the Twentieth Century. Ironically, Lansing's detailed account of the 1915 Trans-Antarctic Expedition illuminates the stark reality that Sir Ernest Shackleton's expedition did not fulfill its goal. In fact, the expedition never even set foot upon the continent that they had intended to cross. The outstanding success of that motley crew of adventurers was in their ability to endure the harsh Antarctic climate. Despite having their ship crushed by an ice cap, spending the dark Antarctic winter hopelessly alone, suffering through a stormy voyage in

Matthew Henson was the first African-American to reach the North Pole. Matthew Alexander Henson was born on August 8, 1868. When he was a child, his parents passed away. In his young life he worked as a cabin boy, clerk and a personal assistant. Through the trial of his life he still achieved greatness.

One thing about Ernest Shackleton is that he is a gutsy man, he went on three expeditions across the seas all the way to the Antarctic. Arguably, someone could say that one of his personalities could be described as Dauntless. Dauntless means that he is very confident in himself or even the bottom of the barrel and that he shows no fear in what he does. When he goes down to the south he encounters various different challenges to conquer and

St. Petersburg, Russia. He is hiring a crew for his ship. He intends to sail to the North Pole and discover magnetism.

Shackleton was the most essential part to the whole expedition. He is also often called “the Boss.” This just shows how much the men look up to him, because what the Boss says, goes. Shackleton is constantly trying to look after his men, after

Shackleton?s yearning to explore the Antarctic was born out of his desires to achieve the improbable and attain fame and notoriety (Morrell and Capparell 32). Both the Artic and the Antarctic remained unexplored in the first decade of the twentieth century, and the promises of celebrity, honor for one?s country, and possible wealth were the romantic rewards for the explorers of the day (28, 55).

Due to his father’s death at a young age he and his mother moved from Pennsylvania to Maine. As a result of his father’s death he spend a large amount of time alone hiking, canoeing in Casco Bay, and exploring unknown parts of Eagle Island. He preferred solitude and had few close friends. Self reliance was an important skill that he learned because he didn’t have his father. He later enrolled in Bowdoin College, where he received the Brown Memorial Scholarship. One of Peary’s professors wondered how someone would reach the North Pole, nobody knew that his dream was get to the North Pole.

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the Worldvividly recreates one of the most extraordinary adventure stories in history. In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton and 27 men sailed from England in an attempt to become the first team of explorers to cross the Antarctic continent from one side to the other. Five months later and still 100 miles from land, their ship,Endurance, became trapped. The expedition survived an Antarctic winter in the icebound ship, then, afterEndurancesank, five months camped on the ice followed by a perilous boat journey through storms and icebergs to remote and unvisited Elephnat Island, 600 miles from Cape Horn. From there, their only hope was for someone to fetch help. In a dramatic climax to this amazing survival story, Shackleton

Ernest Shackleton, a man with heart, vision and a dream. He had all the skill for success; yet never achieve the fame and fortune he desired. Looking over his life, his character and his experiences give us an insight to who he really was. I will show that he had the skills necessary to be consider one of the great leaders of his time.