Article on Jose Sobral is out (Antarctic Magazine)

An article on Jose Maria Sobral is out. It was published in the Antarctic Magazine, Vol 38 Nos 1&2, 2020. If you are an Antarctic Society member, than you have seen it already. However, for non-members, I show the article here, please see below. This is the latest version I sent in for publishing, so there might be slightly differences in the text and the photos and map are not included.

José María Sobral – an Argentinian on a Swedish Expedition

Introduction:

José María Sobral (1880–1961) is considered as the “father of the Argentine Antarctic”. He was the first Argentinean who overwintered on the Antarctic Peninsula (figure 1) and who was awarded a doctoral degree in Geology. As a young navy officer, he was chosen to take part in the Swedish Antarctic Expedition (1901–1903) led by Otto Nordenskjöld (1869–1928). This is the story of a man who was a talented officer, scientist, and author, but who hardly received the recognition he deserved during his lifetime. For his entire professional life he felt isolated.

Sobral was a twenty-one year old navy officer (figure 2) when he was chosen to join the Swedish Antarctic expedition. This arrangement was driven by the need for Argentinean support and supplies, which is why Nordenskjöld in exchange accepted the young navy man in his ranks. The Swedish scientists struggled to fully accept Sobral because of his temperament and choice of clothing. It was too “Southern” for their taste. Captured in strong class thinking, the serious scientists from the North had avoided the light hearted “Southerner”. Sobral was quite isolated and the Swedish scientists seem to have failed in integrating him. Nordenskjöld was his only attachment figure for a long time and he even taught him Swedish. From that moment on, he became a bit more accepted but was still not seen as equal. The impression of how much manliness and maleness Sobral as a person made had in impact on the group dynamics and is very well discussed in Lisbeth Lewander’s work on gender differences within the Swedish Antarctic expedition (Lewander, 2001). For some, Sobral was not manly enough compared to the hard working Norwegian grew and the “white” Swedish scientists.

Sobral was part of the overwintering party on Snow Hill Island (figure 3) and it turned out that he had all the ingredients for a great scientist. He also worked hard on the sledge journeys and as a meteorologist and he was a fast learner. When the expedition was rescued after two years (see Antarctic Magazine, issue 245, vol 36, no 3, 2018) Sobral went back to his former navy position. He took courses at Buenos Aires University (School of Exact, Physical, and Natural Sciences) in geology, petrology, and hydrology. As the Navy did not support his decision to become a scientist he had to resign from his position. Sobral went to Uppsala, Sweden, where he was awarded a doctoral degree for his studies in geology and hydrology. In 1906, he married Elna Wilhelmina Klingström in Sweden and with her he had nine children. In 1914, he returned with his family to his homeland Argentina but it turned out that he did not fit in here once again (Tahan, 2017, pp xi-xiii). He travelled through Argentina and studied its geology and held different positions in various state departments, gave public lectures, and became a writer. Publishing books on the Army and Navy, the Argentine-Chilean relations, the peaceful occupation of the Antarctic, geological studies, as well as books on his Antarctic adventures, brought him some publicity. Although Sobral was awarded a “Naval Cross for Distinguished Services” he has not received full acknowledgement for his work as a scientist. He died in the house he was born on 14 April 1961 on his 81^st birthday, coincidentally in the same year the Antarctic Treaty entered into force.

Since then, Sobral is celebrated for his “Argentinean firsts”: overwinterer in the Antarctic and recipient of a PhD in Geology. As a national hero he is exploited to underpin national interests in the Antarctic. Nowadays, a navy boat and a station in the Antarctic is named after him. During his life-time, however, his achievements have been overlooked. Since his Antarctic diaries are published in English he is slowly gaining visibly in the wider Antarctic Community.

References:

Lewander, Lisbeth; (2001) Gender Aspects in the Narratives of Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic Expedition, in: Antarctic Challenges. Historical and current perspectives on Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic expedition 1901–1903. (edit: Elzinga, Aant; et all) Göteborg: Royal Society of Arts and Science, pp 98-120

Nordenskjöld, Otto (edit.); 1910. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolarexpedition 1901–1903, vol 2: Meteorologie. Stockholm: Lithographsiches Institut des Generalstabs

Nordenskjöld, Otto (edit); 1904. Antarctic. Zwei Jahre in Schnee und Eis am Südpol. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer, vol.1

Tahan, Maria; (2017) The life of José María Sobral. Scientist, Diarist, and pioneer in Antarctica. Cham: Springer, ProQuest ebook: https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319672670

credit: Nordenskjoeld, Otto (edit.); 1904. Antarctic. Zwei Jahre in Schee und Eis am Suedpol. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer, vol.1

Antarctic magazine

In the last issue of the Antarctic Magazine (NZAS) is an article published: The Heroic Era and Beyond: an international perspective. (Antarctic, vol 36, NO.3, 2018, pp 46-48)

This is a short article where I focus on one international expedition in 1901-1903. It was part of the “End of Heroic Era Conference” in March 2017 in Auckland. The current magazine is a special issue covering eight contributions from this conference.

 

Heroic Era and Beyond: An International Perspective

By Ursula Rack, Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury

The Heroic Era (1897–1917) is still seen as a very special time in Antarctic exploration and some attitudes are hard to erase or put in a more reflected perspective. The British expeditions dominate the narrative, and other national expeditions from that time are in their shadow or even partly forgotten. However, in the time of these other expeditions, their leaders and some scientists and officers reached a hero-like status in their countries and overseas. Going “South” may be compared to outer space trips today. The pole was remote and had a certain romantic touch. Heroism has many different shades of meaning, which change over time or in cultural context, but some ideas of being a hero are still in people’s minds. What, then, is the concept of the Heroic Era?

Some of the historical aspects of exploring the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic remain today. First is scientific interest. In the nineteenth century, the science disciplines established themselves in the university system and became more differentiated. Technical innovations often went hand in hand with science, and vice versa. However, some disciplines, such as Geography, had an additional, more sophisticated, agenda. It was not only pure science behind their exploration. One motive was nurtured by a strong political agenda in a stronger developing nationalistic context. Colonialism and imperialism were dominant factors in the thinking and acting of some industrial and political groups. Geography had also the task of educating state employees, school children, and the wider public about countries and their peoples and especially of their importance for the mother country. In this sense economic interests had a significant influence in Antarctic exploration, combined with science, technology, and national prestige (Graph 1).

However, in this context the scientific questions on meteorology and magnetism prevailed, to a certain extent, over other interests. From 1901 to 1905 five national expeditions undertook meteorological and magnetic measurements and surveillance in different parts of the Antarctic and the Southern Ocean, guided by the concept of the First International Polar Year in 1882–1883 (Table 1 – red-circled). This idea was encouraged by learned societies, within which were strong-minded individuals who could demonstrate the importance of the proposed programme and overcome national obstacles. Two men led the discussion for several years: Georg von Neumayer (director of the Deutsche Seewarte in Hamburg)[1] and Sir Clements Markham (president of the Royal Geographical Society, UK).[2]

One expedition endured incredible acts of survival but this is hardly known to a wider public: the Swedish Antarctic Expedition.[3] Otto Nordenskjöld was a geologist and he put together an expedition to participate in the international collaboration. The expedition’s captain was Carl Anton Larsen, a Norwegian sealer and whaler. One participant was José María Sobral, an Argentinian naval officer and scientist. The group was therefore international. When Nordenskjöld was set up on an island off the Antarctic Peninsula, the ship Antarctic went to Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia for further research. The time eventually came to pick up the men from Snow Hill Island. However, ice conditions had changed and the ship could not pass. The captain decided to set up three men (Samuel Duse, Toralf Grunden, Johan Gunnar Andersson: picture 1)[4] on Hope Bay to cross over to Snow Hill Island and inform the leader of the situation. The ice changed again and the men on Hope Bay were not able to fulfill their plan and had to prepare for a seven month overwintering with supplies for only three weeks and the marooned expeditioners started to kill seals and birds and erected a stone shelter. In the meantime the captain tried to reach his destination. Unfortunately, the ship was beset by ice, suffered leakage, and sank. Larsen knew the area from previous whaling activities and had now to prepare 21 men for a winter on Paulet Island. They also erected a stone hut and hunted as much food as they could. After the winter, the men at Hope Bay started their march towards Snow Hill Island but before leaving left a note in the hut about their plans. Nordenskjöld met them at Vega Island but hardly recognised them, so terrible was their appearance after seven months overwintering in meagre conditions.[5] In the meantime, Larsen rowed with a few men to Hope Bay to look after the three men left behind but found only the note. On 8 November 1903, two Argentinian navy officers approached the hut at Snow Hill Island. The Argentinian navy had arranged a rescue mission after the expedition had not arrived as scheduled. A few hours later, Captain Larsen and five of his men arrived at the station. The whole group left Snow Hill Island with the Uruguay and sailed towards Hope Bay to pick up the samples the scientists had collected during the seven months and moved on to Paulet Island to take on board the rest of the men. Only one man died, but he already had health issues before the overwintering at Paulet Island began. The stories of these men reflect the better known “heroic endeavours” of other expeditions: hunger, adjusting to an extreme environment, boredom, physical problems, staying sane by keeping up a routine in doing research and accommodating everyday needs. The men of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition were “heroes”. They deserve to be known and included in the Heroic Era narrative.

This is only one example of how these expeditions managed their tasks and circumstances in extreme situations; however, these experiences are not in the common Antarctic narrative. The concept of the Heroic Era could be seen as an Edwardian concept – especially during World War I when the British expeditions were exploited to keep spirits high back in Britain: sacrificing for King and Country as Robert F. Scott and his men did. Another factor was that often other participating nations did not think of the “marketing” of their expeditions. Mainly the British expeditions had official painters and photographers with them and their books and public presentations were included in the expeditions’ financing plans. The pre-eminence of British endeavours was emphasised, even to the detriment of others. Markham, for example, stopped the translation and publication of the Japanese Antarctic expedition (1911–1912) to protect the image of Scott’s heroic death as national tragedy.[6]

The concept of the Heroic Era has many different shades and there is still much research to be done to unveil this time and put it in a more reflected context and thus understand Antarctic exploration in its early days.

 

References

[1] Neumayer was director of the Deutsche Seewarte in Hamburg. In some references it is translated as: The German Hydrographic Office or The Hydrographic Organisation. In more recent use is: The German Naval Meteorological Research Observatory. It describes best the purpose of the research institution and what Neumayer was pushing forward when promoting an international cooperation.

[2] Ursula Rack, “Exploring and Mapping the Antarctic: Histories of Discovery and Knowledge,” in The Routledge Handbook of the Polar Regions, ed. M. Nuttall et al. (in press), 36–46.

[3] Otto Nordenskjöld and J.G. Andersen, Antarctica. Or, Two Years Amongst the Ice of the South Pole (London: Hurst & Blackett, 1905).

[4] Otto Nordenskjöld and J.G. Andersen, Antarctic. Zwei Jahre in Schnee und Eis am Südpol (Berlin: Dietrich Reimer.  1904), vol 1, p 367

[5] Ursula Rack, “Survival and Science: Early Antarctic Explorers and Sealing,” in Historical Antarctic Sealing Industry: Proceedings of an International Conference in Cambridge 16–21 September 2016, ed. R.K. Headland (Cambridge: Scott Polar Research Institute, 2018), 121–131.

[6] Shirase Antarctic Expedition Supporters’ Association, The Japanese South Polar Expedition 1910–12: A Record of Antarctica, trans. L. Dagnall and H. Shibata (Huntington: Bluntingham Books / Norwich: Erskine Press, 2011).

 

Picture 1: Toralf Grunden, Johan Gunnar Andersson, Samuel Duse after seven month overwintering at Hope Bay. They arrived at Snow Hill Island on 16 October 1903 (Reference 4)