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The Arctic Rower | Is BBC’s ‘The Terror’ a true story? The tale of Franklin’s Northwest Passage expedition and its legacy

  • John Franklin’s third and final expedition to the Northwest Passage has been made into a book and a 10-part BBC series
  • The expedition leads other explorers to obsesses over the Passage, including a Post reporter attempting to be the first to row it in a single season

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The Northwest Passage, the site of Franklin’s final expedition. Photo: AP

The BBC is airing a 10-part series called The Terror that follows John Franklin as he leads an expedition to find the Northwest Passage in the 19th century. While much of it is fiction, an equal amount is fact. Some of the most unbelievable parts of the show (based on the book by Dan Simmons) are true.

The adventures still capture the imagination of Britons to this day.

The Expedition – True

The expedition did happen. It was Franklin’s third and final expedition to the Northwest Passage, the Arctic route that links the Atlantic and the Pacific. The expedition consisted of two boats – Terror and Erebus – after which the book and series are named. The expedition was lead by Franklin aboard Erebus, and second in command was Irishman Francis Crozier captaining Terror.

The two boats set sail from the UK in 1845, and were last seen entering the Northwest Passage north of Baffin Island. They were never heard from again. The mystery, even once it was solved, has gripped the British imagination ever since, firmly placing the Northwest Passage in the public’s consciences.

The British had been searching for a route over North America since the 16th century. They hoped to find a quicker route to Asia for trade, and one that did not have to pass via the Spanish or Dutch colonies in the south. Expeditions had been fairly sporadic but by the 19th century, at the height of Britain’s colonial ambitions, the hunt for the Northwest Passage had reached fever pitch.

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