Abstract
Perhaps more than anywhere else in the world, science has been inextricably linked with exploration and development in Antarctica. Many of the earliest voyages of discovery were government-sponsored, though often primarily undertaken with hopes of commercial reward. Scientific research was a normal part of their programmes. When Captain Cook set off on his voyages of discovery that were to climax in his first crossing of the Antarctic Circle in 1773, he carried with him the famous German naturalists Johan and Georg Forster who made and described some fascinating collections of scientific curiosities. Charles Wilkes, leading the United States Exploring Expedition in 1838–42, took with him no fewer than seven scientists (and two artists) to conduct a broad scientific programme, though only one of these actually accompanied the Antarctic portion of the cruise. Commercial sealing voyages, such as those of James Weddell between 1819 and 1827, also made valuable scientific contributions.
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