Norwegian use of the polar oceans as occupational arenas and exploration routes

Abstract

AbstractThe Norwegian polar heroes Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen, and to a lesser extent Otto Sverdrup, have been profiled and their deeds described in countless publications. They were, however, not the only Norwegians to travel on and use the polar seas. A significant section of the Norwegian population used to make its living in Arctic and/or Antarctic waters, and such activities led both to new discoveries of land and knowledge of natural conditions, and to an extra occupation as support for polar scientists and explorers. Some of these lesser-known individuals and their deeds are described here in an attempt to put the expeditions of the great heroes into a broader context and to give more substance to some names that may perhaps have been noted only ‘in passing.’