The Belgica & Beyond


amateur translations, scans, & assorted research by m.w.
actively under construction.

WRITTEN FROM THE BELGICA 1897-1899

  1. Racovitza’s cartoons 
  2. Racovitza’s shipboard diary
  3. Racovitza’s letters home
  4. Lecointe’s meeting notes

CORRESPONDENCE

  1. before
  2. after

    NEWS OF THE BELGICA 1896-1900

    1. coverage in the Belgian press, translated
    2. coverage in the British press
    3. coverage in the American press
    4. scientific lectures, translated
    5. list of Expedition publications
      6.        a) Lecointe on Danco’s contributions

    QUELQUES EXPÉDITIONS SUIVANTES

    1. de Gerlache & Charcot (the Français)
    2. de Gerlache & the Duke of Orléans (the Belgica in the Arctic)
    3. the failed Second Belgian Antarctic Expedition (Arctowski & Lecointe)
    4. the successful Second Belgian Antarctic Expedition (Gaston de Gerlache)
    5.  the Royal Belgian Observatory
    6. Georges Lecointe’s 20th Century

      MARRIAGES & OTHER LIFE EVENTS

      1. Lecointe Family
      2. Arctowski
      3. de Gerlache
      4. Racovitza
      5. van Mirlo
      6. van Rysselberghe

      ASSORTED BELGICA RESOURCES

      1. bibliography
      2. associated persons
      3. contemporary photographs


      the sailors of the Belgica performing a “starlight concert” on Sept. 26, 1897, from Johan Koren’s diary

      contact: packloafertranslations@gmail.com

      About Beyond the Belgica




      To the little family, the officers, the scientific staff, and the crew of the “Belgica,” whose fortunes and misfortunes made the story of the first human experience throughout a south polar year; to these men, whose close companionship and sturdy good-fellowship made life endurable during the storms, the darkness, and the monotony of the Antarctic, this book is dedicated.

      — DR. FREDERICK ALBERT COOK, THROUGH THE FIRST ANTARCTIC NIGHT

       If that expedition proved anything, it’s that we need never resign ourselves to doom.

      — JULIAN SANCTON, MADHOUSE AT THE END OF THE EARTH


      Though the Historic Age of Antarctic Exploration has started to regain interest in recent years, the anglophone world continues to focus on anglophone expeditions. I decided to corral the amateur translations I’ve been doing of Belgica-related material on this website to keep myself organized (and to provide more resources for anyone who might be interested in this expedition). In the course of my research, I’ve run into the men of the Belgica on other polar expeditions, so I’ve also included a section on some of the other francophone expeditions that relate to the First Belgian Antarctic Expedition. If you are entirely new to the Belgica, I would recommend taking a look here or checking your local library for Madhouse at the End of the Earth.

      This website is currently under construction and does not fully represent the research I’ve completeted thus far. The vast majority of the information I have compiled here comes from publicly available resources — everything from the National Library of Belgium’s digitized archives to the footnotes of Jane Arctowska’s Polish-language Wikipedia page — and I will continue to do my best to properly cite each and every one of my very helpful sources. You may contact me at packloafertranslations@gmail.com with any inquiries or information. 

      Site logo is my photograph of the logo printed on the Belgica dishware on display at the Royal Military Museum of Brussels.