The
history of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is relatively recent. When
European explorers found the islands, they were uninhabited, and their hostile climate, mountainous terrain, and remoteness made subsequent settlement difficult. Due to these setbacks, human activity in the islands has largely consisted of
sealing,
whaling, and scientific surveys and research, interrupted by
World War II and the
Falklands War.
Sixteenth to nineteenth century
The
South Atlantic island of South Georgia, situated south of the
Antarctic Convergence, was the first
Antarctic territory ever discovered.
Popular belief holds it that
Amerigo Vespucci might have sighted South Georgia during one of his much publicised voyages. While sailing in the South Atlantic to
52° south latitude (Vespucci's own estimate), in April 1502 they allegedly encountered a high, gloomy and rough land where human life was rendered impossible by severe cold ― a description seemingly fitting South Georgia. However, that belief is refuted by analysis of Vespucci's records. Samuel E. Morison.
The European Discovery of America: The Southern Voyages AD 1492-1616. Oxford University Press, 1974. p. 282. ISBN 9780195018233
Another persistent misconception is that of South Georgia being the mythical
Pepys Island reportedly discovered by the English
buccaneer William Cowley in December 1683. This is wide off mark as according to Cowley's diary, after leaving the coast of
Brazil he...
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