Français  Contact Us  Help  Search  Canada Site Volume 1 (1000–1754) Volume 2 (1755-1871) Volume 3 (1872–2000) CHAPTER 1 The Conquest CHAPTER 2 The Revolt of Pontiac and the American Invasion CHAPTER 3 The Coveted Pacific Coast CHAPTER 4 The Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 CHAPTER 5 Demobilization CHAPTER 6 The Royal Navy, Ruler of the Seas A Power Force In Defence From Sail to Steam A Revolution in Artillery Arctic Exploration Franklin's Tragic Expedition Discovery of a Northwest Passage Events in the North West Territories The Red River Volunteers The Pacific Coast The Victoria Voltigeurs The Purported Russian Threat The Gold Rush and the Royal Engineers The Pig War The Royal Navy Patrols the West Coast The Volunteer Corps CHAPTER 7 A Decade of Turbulence APPENDIX A The British Armed Forces APPENDIX B Daily Life of Soldiers and Officers APPENDIX C Uniforms and Arms APPENDIX D Reference      CHAPTER 6 The Royal Navy, Ruler of the Seas           Arctic Exploration ( 2 pages )           1 2      Renewed Search for the Northwest Passage                Another facet of Royal Navy activities during the long period of peace in the first half of the nineteenth century took place in the Arctic, with a renewed interest in discovering a Northwest Passage and in making reliable maps. In 1818 an initial expedition, led by Captain John Ross, explored the coast of Baffin Island.  The following year Lieutenant William Edward Parry, commanding the HMS Hecla and the HMS Griper, sailed westward into the Arctic Ocean with two objectives in mind: to go as far west as possible beyond Lancaster Sound and to spend the winter in the Arctic.  The latter objective was unprecedented.  Parry's expedition had gone some 1,300 kilometres into the Sound and lay between Banks Island and Melville Island when the two ships were locked into the ice in October 1819.  Temporary roofs were built on the bridges, and the interiors of the ships were heated by a kind of central heating system, the pipes generating heat from the kitchen ovens.  Ten months later they were able to free themselves, and the members of the expedition were given a triumphant welcome when they returned to England; they were even awarded £5,000 for having reached 110° longitude west.  Parry had failed by only a small margin.  The Beaufort Sea and the Pacific Ocean lay west of Melville Island, but no one knew it yet.           1 2   Last Updated: 2004-06-20 Important Notices