CREC 5936 The Northwest Passage Pt I

CREC 5936 Part one - History and geography Canada and the Northwest Passage An introduction to the geography, history and the current and future status of this important trade route. Bob Hillier

This course will be presented in three sections Part One - History and Geography Part Two – Political Issues Part Three - Commercial exploitation Bit about myself. I spent 25 years as a Merchant Naval Officer, sailing in all oceans except the Artic Ocean I spent 10 years with Global Affairs Canada, some of my duties involved supporting diplomatic Negotiations, some involving the area under discussion – I am bound by the Official Secrets Act I am currently retired and reside in Campbell river.

Quick overview of the current situation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcDwtO4RWmo

Exploration history of the region. 1. The Inuit have lived in the region for some 4,500 years 2. Scandinavian presence occurred approx. 980 C.E (Leif Erikson and his group were not looking for a route to China) 3 Marco Polo - (1271 C.E) Travelled to China via an overland route, (he was not the first But was the first to write about it, he also brought back trade goods.) 4. The British, Portuguese, Dutch and others explored and established colonies etc in The region of the sub continent. 5. Columbus – (1492 C.E.) (Genoese) with the novel idea that the earth was a sphere travel west hoping to Reach china and India by a quicker route (not the Cape of Good Hope) he discovered a land mass in his way.(North and South America) 6. John Cabot – 1497 (Venetian) working for Henry VII of England. Claimed all of N.America 6. Subsequent explorers, Vasco de Gama, Magellan, Drake and Cook etc, mapped a large part of the new world. Most were convinced there was a NorthWest passage around the Americas. This was one of Capt Cooks’ briefs. He and the Spaniards were both trying to establish the existence of the passage (Sam Bawlf connection)

•John Cabot (d. 1498?): 1497, 1498 •Sir Martin Frobisher (ca. 1535-1594): 1576, 1577, 1578 •John Davis (1550?-1605): 1585, 1586, 1587 •Henry Hudson (d. 1611): 1607, 1608, 1609, 1610 •William Baffin (d. 1622): 1615, 1616 •Thomas James (1593?-1635?): 1631-1632 •Luke Foxe (1586-1635): 1631 •William Moor and Francis Smith: 1746-1747 •Samuel Hearne (1745-1792): 1769-1772 •James Cook (1728-1779): 1776-1780 •Sir Alexander Mackenzie (d. 1820): 1789 •Sir John Ross (1777-1856): 1818 •Sir William Edward Parry (1790-1855): 1819-1820 •Sir John Franklin (1786-1847): 1819-1822 •Sir John Franklin: 1825-1827 •Sir John Ross and Sir James Clark Ross (1800- 1862): 1829-1833 •Sir John Franklin: 1845-1848

Samuel Champlain defacto Governor of New France 1608 - First European to site the Great Lakes Henry Hudson Considered one of the world's most famous explorers, Henry Hudson, born in England circa 1565, never actually found what he was looking for. He spent his career searching for different routes to Asia, but he ended up opening the door to further exploration and settlement of North America. 1524 founded New York and explored the Hudson River, He was working at the time for the Dutch East Asiatic Company hence New York was originally Nieuw Amsterdam. Final voyage into Hudson’s Bay 1611, Crew mutinied and set him, his son and seven others adrift – never to be seen again. (mention Bligh) The Hudson Bay Company Founded 1670 by Royal Charter. Rupert’s Land Versus the Northwest company from Montreal. Routes of Kelsey,Henday & Hearne https://www.biography.com/people/henry-hudson-9346049

Alexander MacKenzie 1789 Mackenzie River expedition to the Arctic Ocean 1792–93 Peace River expedition to the Pacific Ocean (Note Lewis & Clarke US 1804) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Mackenzie_(explorer)



Sir John Franklins doomed expedition 1845 HMS Erebus and HMS Terrible Australian connection – Sir John had been Lt Governor of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) 1837-43 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/arctic/expe-nf.html

First successful transit of the Northwest Passage 1903-06 Gjøa was the first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage. With a crew of six, Roald Amundsen traversed the passage in a three-year journey, finishing in 1906 Amundsen to the South Pole 14 Dec 1911 https://www.yo utube.com/wat ch?v=aOuFEX1F 1qA http://frammuseum.no/polar_history/expeditions/the_gjoa_expedition__1903-1906_/

RCMP Schooner “St Roch”

Launched Burrard Drydock May 7 1928 as a “northern patrol” craft Completed 4 voyages in the western arctic to 1939. Sailed from Vancouver June 23 1940 Wintered over in Cambridge Bay 40-41 Wintered over in Paisley Bay 41-42 Arrived Halifax Oct 11 1942 (first west to east passage) Went east to west in in 86 days July 26 to Oct 16 1944 Transited the Panama canal 1950 – first ship to circumnavigate N. America Returned to Vancouver via Panama canal 1954. 1958 beached a Haddon Park Vancouver.

The Return In 2000 Nadon was temporarily renamed St. Roch II in order to recreate the 1950 voyage of the RCMP schooner St. Roch around the North American continent. The voyage began at Vancouver on 1 July 2000, and involved navigating the Northwest Passage around the northern coast of Canada as far as Halifax. She was accompanied by the Coast Guard ship Simon Fraser, as a support vessel. [3]



https://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2016/november/safe-navigation-through-the-northwest-passage.html

The Northern Sea Route (NorthEast Passage)

The Arctic and Antarctic Circles are located at ±66.5 degrees latitude. ... This means that on December 21, when the Sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn at noon, it will not be visible from the Arctic Circle. So above the Arctic Circle, there is a period during the winter when the sun remains below the horizon. The North Magnetic Pole moves over time due to magneticchanges in the Earth's core. ... It was situated at83.1°N 117.8°W in 2005. In 2009, while still situated within the Canadian Arctic territorial claim at84.9°N 131.0°W, it was moving toward Russia at between 55 and 60 kilometres (34 and 37 mi) per year. https://gisgeography.com/magnetic-north-vs-geographic-true-pole/

Canadian Geographic Society https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/lessons-northwest-passage-roald-amundsens-experiences-canadian-arctic How to pronounce Gjoa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U12kEQzlzT4

That’s all folks – see you for the next part “Political Issues” on Wednesday 27 Feb. th