The Terror AMC

The Terror: 10 Astonishing Facts About The Franklin Expedition

8. The Terror and the Erebus Were Two of the Most Technologically Advanced Ships of Their Era

8. The Terror and the Erebus Were Two of the Most Technologically Advanced Ships of Their Era

Profile of HMS Terror

Profile of the HMS Terror

John Franklin and his men knew (to some degree) how cold and harsh the Arctic could be, which is why the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror were some of the most technologically advanced ships of their day. Prior to the failed Franklin expedition, the two ships actually sailed to Antarctica under Commander James Clark Ross, proving they could withstand extreme temperatures.

Before the Franklin expedition, the Erebus (built in 1826) and the Terror (built in 1813) were outfitted with steam engines, rare at the time, to help the ships break their way through the ice. According to a Toronto Star article on the excavation of the ship, it also contained “a 3,000-volume library, equipment to print a ship’s newspaper and materials to stage amateur theatricals. It held a Daguerreotype camera — capturing, maybe, images from the voyage.”

7. Ships Only Found Recently Thanks To Inuit Storytelling Traditions

Louie Kamookak

Louie Kamookak (Image via screengrab Louie Kamookak: Lost & Found)

Despite numerous expeditions to find the remains of the Franklin expedition, both in the 19th Century and up to the modern-day, the wrecks of the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror were only discovered by interested parties in recent years. At least in part, this was thanks to an Inuit historian named Louie Kamookak, who was inspired by the Inuit tradition of oral history to explore stories from the region to see if he could pinpoint the actual locations of the ships.

By collaborating with experts in traditional methods of archaeology and history, they eventually discovered the wreck of the HMS Erebus in 2014, off the coast of Nunavut near King William Island. The HMS Terror was discovered off the shore of King William Island in 2016, proving that researchers can learn a lot from traditional Inuit histories.



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