The Man Who Discovered Antarctica: Edward Bransfield Explained - The First Man to Find and Chart the Antarctic Mainland

by Sheila Bransfield

Overview

Captain Cook claimed the honor of being the first man to sail into the Antarctic Ocean in 1773, which he then circumnavigated the following year. Cook, though, did not see any land, and he declared that there was no such thing as the Southern Continent. Fifty years later, an Irishman who had been impressed into the Royal Navy at the age of eighteen and risen through the ranks to reach the position of master, proved Cook wrong and discovered and charted parts of the shoreline of Antarctica. He also discovered what is now Elephant Island and Clarence Island, claiming them for the British Crown.

Edward Bransfield’s varied naval career included taking part in the Bombardment of Algiers in 1816 onboard the 50-gun warship HMS Severn. Then, in 1817, he was posted to the Royal Navy’s Pacific Squadron off Valparaíso in Chile, and it was while serving there that the owner and skipper of an English whaling ship, the Williams, was driven south by adverse winds and discovered what came to be known as the South Shetland Islands where Cook had said there was no land.

Bransfield’s superior officer, Captain Shirreff, decided to investigate this discovery further. He chartered Williams and sent Bransfield with a Master's Mate, two midshipmen and a ship’s surgeon into the Antarctic – and the Irishman sailed into history.

Despite his achievements, and many parts of Antarctica and an Antarctic survey vessel being named after him, as well as a Royal Mail commemorative stamp being issued in his name in 2000, the full story of this remarkable man and his historic journey, have never been told – until now.

Following decades of research, Sheila Bransfield MA, a member of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, has produced the definitive biography of one of Britain’s greatest maritime explorers. The book has been endorsed by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, whose patron the Princess Royal, has written the Foreword.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526752635
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	10/30/2019
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

As a young girl, SHEILA BRANSFIELD was intrigued to see the Bransfield name on an Antarctic map and first began to inquire about this in the 1980s. Research began in earnest in 1996 with the first of hundreds of visits to The National Archives. She learned that her great-great grandfather was born in Cork around the same time as Edward Bransfield, but further research has proved difficult. Then, in 1998 she was alerted to the location and poor condition of Edward Bransfield’s grave and began raising funds for its renovation. She visited Antarctica in January 1999 and celebrated an unveiling of the grave in June. Sheila subsequently wrote a number of articles for historical journals and magazines before being accepted by the Greenwich Maritime Institute (University of Greenwich) for a Master of Arts in Maritime History due to her research and publications, receiving her award in 2002.

Table of Contents

List of Plates vii

Foreword by HRH The Princess Royal viii

Acknowledgements ix

Why Me? xv

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Chapter 2 Ireland 4

Chapter 3 Kidnapped! 7

Chapter 4 The Best Ship in the Navy, 1803 - Initiation 14

Chapter 5 Blockading Brest, 1804-1806 37

Chapter 6 West Country Wagon, 1806 and 1807 57

Chapter 7 Promotions and New Territory, 1808 72

Chapter 8 Nostalgia for Lord Collingwood, 1809 83

Chapter 9 Collingwood's Final Departure, 1810 94

Chapter 10 Patrolling Enemy Waters, 1811 105

Chapter 11 Shore Leave and Major Promotion, 1812-1813 112

Chapter 12 Mrs Bransfield Welcomed Aboard HMS Goldfinch, 1813 126

Chapter 13 National Celebration and a Personal Disaster, 1814-1815 136

Chapter 14 HMS Phoebe to Ireland and the Equator, 1815 151

Chapter 15 Alceste, Pactolus and Cydnus, 1815-1816 163

Chapter 16 HMS Severn and the Bombardment of Algiers, 1816 169

Chapter 17 The New Mrs Bransfield: Respite in London, 1817 184

Chapter 18 HMS Andromache, 1817-1819 187

Chapter 19 Antarctic Adventure, Merchant Brig Williams, 1819-1820 214

Chapter 20 Bransfield Leaves the Pacific and the Royal Navy, 1820-1821 240

Chapter 21 Merchant Commander and Beyond, 1821-1852 256

Epilogue: The Memory of Edward Bransfield Lives On 268

Notes 275

Bibliography 306

Index 314