Ice islands under the fog The reports of James Eights and Jeremiah N. Reynolds about the South Shetland Islands [1830]
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Abstract
In January 1830, an American fleet arrived at the South Shetland Islands, consisting of the brig Annawan, Captain B. Pendleton, the brig Seraph, Captain N. Palmer, and the schooner Penguin, Captain A. Palmer, with the aim of locating and exploiting colonies of sea lions in the far south of America and to improve scientific knowledge of Antarctica. On board the Annawan were the “scientists” Jeremiah N. Reynolds and James Eights, who wrote reports on their experiences on the islands. Eights ‘report is a “natural history of the islands,” in which he reviews their climatic, geomorphological, geological, zoological, and botanical characteristics. Reynolds’ writing is, on the other hand, a “log of a segment of the voyage” in which events experienced on a daily basis by the explorers are noted and narrated. The writings are little known and we think it is pertinent to present them together as a small contribution to the history of the construction of the South Shetland Islands and Antarctica in the Western imagination.
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FUENTES DE PRENSA Y ARCHIVO
Periódicos
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