John Ross and Bellot Strait: personality versus discovery

Abstract

ABSTRACTDuring his voyage to the North American Arctic in 1829–933 John Ross was twice on the verge of discovering Bellot Strait, once in August 1829 and again in June 1832. The discovery would have done much to redeem his reputation, shattered in his earlier Arctic voyage of 1818, and might have helped him to delineate, or even sail through, a northwest passage. Using previously unpublished material, this article examines the circumstances in which Ross failed to recognize the strait, and suggests that, for reasons of personal rather than physical constraint, he did not take advantage of the two opportunities presented