Who Discovered the Northwest Passage?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic4733Keywords:
Northwest Passage, John Franklin, Robert McClure, John Rae, Roald AmundsenAbstract
In 1855 a parliamentary committee concluded that Robert McClure deserved to be rewarded as the discoverer of a Northwest Passage. Since then, various writers have put forward rival claims on behalf of Sir John Franklin, John Rae, and Roald Amundsen. This article examines the process of 19th-century European exploration in the Arctic Archipelago, the definition of discovering a passage that prevailed at the time, and the arguments for and against the various contenders. It concludes that while no one explorer was “the” discoverer, McClure’s achievement deserves reconsideration.
