Read the text below. Match the headings A – H to the paragraphs 1 – 7. There is one more heading than
you need.
FIRST EXPEDITIONS TO THE ANTARCTIC
1) Greek philosophers theorised Earth in a spherical shape identifying the North and
South Polar regions between 600 BC and 300 BC. These theories led to great intrigue,
debate and even deaths at the time. On that same line, there are many scripts and maps
from the 15th and 18th centuries which also inspired the belief in a hypothetical
continent called Terra Australis in the Southern Hemisphere. However, no explorations
had been conducted yet. It was only theory that led physicists and analysts to believe in
the need for balance to the already known and inhabited North Pole.
2) The theory of balancing land inspired many explorers, including, many centuries
later, Captain Cook, to risk their lives in the pursuit of surveying and mapping the
southern hemisphere. Many reports tell us about a curious Polynesian navigator, Ui-te-
Rangiora, who searched the southern seas. He first reported the finding of ice floes and
icebergs in the ocean area of what he called Tai-uka-a-pia – sea foaming like arrowroot.
Polynesians discovered and populated the Auckland Islands in the 13th century
according to archaeological findings conducted later, being these islands the most
southerly Polynesians have ever known to settle.
3) It was Ferdinand Magellan leading a fleet of 5 vessels who first ventured towards
Patagonia lands and connected the two Masses of big Pacific and Atlantic water through
the Strait of Magellan, which he called “Peaceful Sea”. The expedition managed to land
on the Philippine Islands where he lost his life in the battle of Mactan. One of his ships
struggled his way back home to Spain via the Indian Ocean earning the prize of being
the first round sailing of the globe. Not only Magellan’s but many lives were lost in
these early ventures to draw a world map.
4) It was in the 16th and 17th centuries when early mapping and proven observation of
southern seas encouraged many adventurers and sailors onto the quest for both wealth
and glory, leading to the mapping of what we refer to today as Latin America. Among
these heroes we find Francis Drake, Dirk Gerritsz, Gabriel de Castilla, Jacob le Maire,
and William Schouten. Some accounts identify Dirk Gerritsz Pomp as the first
European to sight the Antarctic, though others attribute the privilege to Gabriel de
Castilla. The eagerness for discovery was growing as the land became less and less of a
mystery.
5) Not only were lands new to men, water proved to be surprising as well. What is now
called the Antarctic Convergence or Antarctic Polar Front posed many hardships to
sailors. The Antarctic convergence is a natural curve running round Antarctica, varying
in latitude with the seasons. This circular frontier divides the cold northern Antarctic
waters from the somewhat warmer waters to the Subantarctic. This barrier stands in-
between two distinctive marine environments and climates, posing a stumbling block to
sailors and explorers. It was first crossed by Anthone de la Roché who first reported
landing on South Georgia island.
6) Every sea heavy storm and battle tested the equipment structures and materials with
which our heroes pursued their dreams. Ships were among the most damaged and
challenged goods. As every captain, James Cook had the apple of his eye. He earnestly
coveted on the HMS Resolution, a converted merchant collier, adjusted by the Royal
British Navy, on which he made his second and third voyages of exploration in the
Pacific. He called her “The ship of my choice, and “The fittest for service of any I have
seen”.
7) The 19th century produced a series of first achievements on Antarctica. Mercator
Cooper was the first to be all odds and properly document his setting foot on the icy
mainland of Antarctica, and the HMS Challenger ship was the first steamship to cross
the Antarctic Circle. The first to ski the Antarctica’s slopes was Norwegian Carl Anton
Larsen aboard the Jason. Only a few had attempted it before, but it was Adrien de
Gerlache to first winter in Antarctica. It’s not easy to imagine how these men felt
knowing they would lead a trail of future scientists, researchers, merchants, and settlers
into a once unknown peaceful white divinity of a distant land.