In 1829, Thomas Simpson (1808–1840), born in Dingwall, Scotland, joined the fur-trading Hudson's Bay Company. Under its auspices, he was the junior officer of a successful survey expedition along the North-West Passage, beyond the limits of Franklin's disastrous 1819–22 attempt. The Royal Geographical Society awarded Simpson their Founder's Medal; however the Company refused his request immediately to lead an expedition further east along the coast. Simpson, ambitious and furious, set out for London, hoping to secure approval there, but before he reached the Atlantic, he was shot in the head. The men who had accompanied him alleged that he went mad, and killed two of them before committing suicide. Simpson's own account of his explorations was edited by his brother, Alexander, and published in 1843 in an attempt to restore his reputation. It sheds light on Simpson's difficult character and also on the contribution of trade interests to exploration.
By:
Thomas Simpson
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 140mm,
Spine: 25mm
Weight: 560g
ISBN: 9781108041362
ISBN 10: 1108041361
Series: Cambridge Library Collection - Polar Exploration
Pages: 446
Publication Date: 22 December 2011
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Memoir of Thomas Simpson, A. M. Alexander Simpson; 1. Introduction; 2. Description of a winter journey from Red River to Athabasca; 3. Occurrences at Fort Chipewyan, Spring 1837; 4. Descent from Athabasca to the Polar Sea; 5. Voyage from Mackenzie River to Franklin's Return Reef; 6. Discoveries on the coast from Return Reef up to Boat Extreme; 7. Journey on foot, and in an Esquimaux canoe, to Point Barrow; 8. Return of the expedition from Boat Extreme to the Mackenzie; 9. Transactions at Fort Confidence, Winter 1837–8; 10. Ascent of Dease River; 11. Second sea voyage; 12. Journey on foot and important discoveries to the eastward; 13. Transactions at Fort Confidence, Winter 1838–9; 14. Second descent of the Coppermine; 15. Stupendous bay, broken into minor bays, and bordered by countless islands; 16. Wintry return to Fort Confidence; Appendix. List of the plants collected during the Arctic journey of Messrs Simpson and Dease W. J. Hooker; Table of the magnetic variation and dip observed by Mr Simpson.
