Class and Colonialism in Antarctic Exploration, 1750-1920

260 Pages·2014·1.62 MB·English

by  Ben Maddison

Empires in Perspective
Class and Colonialism in
Antarctic Exploration,
1750–1920
Ben Maddison
Number 24
CLASS AND COLONIALISM IN ANTARCTIC
EXPLORATION, 1750–1920
Empires in Perspective
Series Editor: Durba Ghosh
Advisory Editor: Masaie Matsumura
Titles in this Series
1 Between Empire and Revolution: A Life of Sidney Bunting, 1873–1936
Allison Drew
2 A Wider Patriotism: Alfred Milner and the British Empire
J. Lee Th ompson
3 Missionary Education and Empire in Late Colonial India, 1860–1920
Hayden J. A. Bellenoit
4 Transoceanic Radical, William Duane: National
Identity and Empire, 1760–1835
Nigel Little
5 Natural Science and the Origins of the British Empire
Sarah Irving
6 Empire of Political Th ought: Indigenous Australians
and the Language of Colonial Government
Bruce Buchan
7 Th e English Empire in America, 1602–1658: Beyond Jamestown
L. H. Roper
8 India in the French Imagination: Peripheral Voices, 1754–1815
Kate Marsh
9 British Narratives of Exploration: Case Studies on the Self and Other
Frédéric Regard (ed.)
10 Law and Imperialism: Criminality and Constitution in
Colonial India and Victorian England
Preeti Nijhar
11 Slaveholders in Jamaica: Colonial Society and Culture during the
Era of Abolition
Christer Petley
12 Australian Between Empires: Th e Life of Percy Spender
David Lowe
13 Th e Th eatre of Empire: Frontier Performances in America, 1750–1860
Douglas S. Harvey
14 Anglo-Spanish Rivalry in Colonial South-East America, 1650–1725
Timothy Paul Grady
15 Royal Patronage, Power and Aesthetics in Princely India
Angma Dey Jhala
16 British Engineers and Africa, 1875–1914
Casper Andersen
17 Ireland and Empire, 1692–1770
Charles Ivar McGrath
18 Race and Identity in the Tasman World, 1769–1840
Rachel Standfi eld
19 Th e Quest for the Northwest Passage: Knowledge, Nation and Empire,
1576–1806
Frédéric Regard (ed.)
20 Arctic Exploration in the Nineteenth Century:
Discovering the Northwest Passage
Frédéric Regard (ed.)
21 Baudin, Napoleon and the Exploration of Australia
Nicole Starbuck
22 Medicine and Colonialism: Historical Perspectives in India and
South Africa
Poonam Bala (ed.)
23 Mercurino di Gattinara and the Creation of the Spanish Empire
Rebecca Ard Boone
www.pickeringchatto.com/empires

CLASS AND COLONIALISM IN ANTARCTIC
EXPLORATION, 1750–1920
by
Ben Maddison
PICKERING & CHATTO
2014
Published by Pickering & Chatto (Publishers) Limited
21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH
2252 Ridge Road, Brookfi eld, Vermont 05036-9704, USA
www.pickeringchatto.com
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise
without prior permission of the publisher.
© Pickering & Chatto (Publishers) Ltd 2014
© Ben Maddison 2014
To the best of the Publisher’s knowledge every eff ort has been made to contact
relevant copyright holders and to clear any relevant copyright issues. 
Any omissions that come to their attention will be remedied in future editions.
british library cataloguing in publication data
Maddison, Ben, author.
Class and colonialism in Antarctic exploration, 1750–1920. – (Empires in
perspective)
1. Antarctica – Discovery and exploration. 2. Explorers – History – 18th
century. 3. Explorers – History – 19th century. 4. Explorers – History – 20th
century. 5. Social status – History – 18th century. 6. Social status – History –
19th century. 7. Social status – History – 20th century.
I. Title II. Series
919.8’9’04-dc23
ISBN-13: 9781848934184
e: 9781781440445
∞

Th is publication is printed on acid-free paper that conforms to the American
National Standard for the Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Typeset by Pickering & Chatto (Publishers) Limited
Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by CPI Books
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
List of Figures xi
Introduction 1
Part I: Colonialism, Capitalism and the Discovery of Antarctica 9
1 Colonialism and the Discovery of Antarctica 11
2 Antarctic Exploration, Colonial Capitalism and Circuits of
Necessity, 1776–1850 33
Part II: Class and Antarctic Exploration, 1750–1850 55
3 Th e First Antarctic Working Class 57
4 Exploration as Labour 79
5 Labour as Exploration: Th e Fur Frontier 101
6 Antarctic Exploration and the Dialectics of Power 123
Part III: Imperialism and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration,
1890–1920 147
7 New Colonialism in Antarctica 149
8 Work and Class in the ‘Heroic Age’ 167
Concluding Refl ections 193
Notes 199
Works Cited 223
Index 231
For Amanda, who got me started,
and Bess, who let me fi nish
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Bradley Bowden, Sharon Crozier-de Rosa, Clive Curzon,
Peter Dodson, Miff Fry, Louise Headon, Deborah Lawson, Julia Martinez, Peter
Mills, Greg Mortimer, Peter Morris, Larissa Nasmyth, Penny Rossiter, Louise
Shepherd, Deb Simmons, SJW, Lorraine Stacey, Frances Steel, Andrew Wells
and Penelope Wells for their ongoing support.
– ix –