There is a lively and productive group of Antarctic historians working in the twin cities of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar on Chile's Pacific coast. The latest publication by these scholars is La Antártica y El Año Geofísico Internacional, a collection of Chilean source materials dealing with Antarctica around the time of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957–58. The book was presented at the second SCAR History of Science Workshop, held in Santiago, Chile, in September 2006.
This book is a valuable contribution to understanding the IGY, since it offers a different perspective of this massive international research endeavour. As the introduction states—and as many of the documents attest—Chile often struggled in reconciling its genuine interest in Antarctic science with economic constraints. This relatively small South American country simply could not afford to take part in the IGY on the same scale as several of the other participants. Nevertheless, the Chilean press proudly reported Chile's scientific contributions to the IGY, and kept the public up to date with the country's activities in Antarctica. It was with sadness that, in March 1958, Chilean newspapers had to report that a fire started by a petrol stove had destroyed Base Risopatrón, the only station that Chile constructed specifically for the IGY. La Unión de Valparaiso stoically declared that Chilean scientists would continue their research at the nearby Base O'Higgins. Taken together, the documents leave the impression that there was a growing interest through the period among the Chilean public in Antarctic science for its own sake. Numerous articles triumphantly reported scientific discoveries, without regard for the nationality of the scientists involved.
Despite the genuine interest in Antarctic science, the political aspects of the IGY were never far from the surface. There was an ongoing preoccupation with Soviet activity in Antarctica, and even a worry that the communists might conduct nuclear tests in Antarctica (El Diario Ilustrado 17 February 1956). But even in the fact of these threats, Chilean newspapers maintained a sense of humour. Under the headline ‘Cold Reception for Russians in a Region Untouchable to the Reds,’ La Estrella de Valparaiso reported not the establishment of a communist military submarine base, but the reaction of a colony of king penguins to the presence of photographers from a Russian expedition. As Chilean journalists got caught up in the drama of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1955–58, they seem to have forgotten the lingering hostilities caused by the sovereignty dispute with Great Britain and Argentina. When Fuchs completed his epic traverse of the Antarctic continent, La Estrella proclaimed him the ‘conqueror of Antarctica.’
This book is, in many ways, a continuation of the extremely useful Antarctica: Testimonios Periodísticos 1947–1957, published by Consuelo León and Mauricio Jara in 2003. But whereas the earlier work was limited to newspapers published in Valparaiso, this new book includes newspapers from Santiago, primary documents from the Foreign Ministry and the Navy, an extensive biography, and 10 pages of photos and maps taken from various sources. The inclusion of government documents alongside newspaper reports is a particularly welcome addition to this volume, which will hopefully be continued in any future publications.
The Foreign Ministry documents are taken from various files of diplomatic correspondence. There is a particular focus on letters from Juan Bautista Rossetti, the Chilean Ambassador in Paris, concerning the third IGY planning meeting held in Brussels in 1956. These documents reveal official fears that the IGY might somehow undermine Chilean sovereignty, and they show that Chilean diplomats recognized that they had to defend their country's rights. Correspondence with Chilean diplomats in Australia concerns the threat of continued Russian involvement in Antarctica and the possibility that Russia might be building submarine bases there. Although they took these threats seriously, the Chileans seem to have been a little less concerned by the communist presence in Antarctica than were their Australian colleagues. As the IGY came to an end, it looked increasingly like some form of international solution would be imposed upon Antarctica?. A particularly interesting internal Foreign Ministry circular from February 1958 discusses the Chilean response to internationalisation. Alberto Sepúlveda, the Foreign Minister, formulated a list of objections to these plans, concluding: ‘the Government of Chile must reject any proposition that implies internationalization, or the creation of a condominium, in any part of its national territory, whether in Antarctica, America, or in the Islands of the South Pacific’ (page 191). Such an attitude reveals that the discussions that would lead to the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 were not universally popular.
The handful of documents from the Servicio Hidrógraphico y Oceanográfico de la Armada are particularly? valuable since foreign researchers are not always permitted access to this archive. These documents reinforce the idea that the Chileans struggled to pay for their participation in the IGY. For example, in a letter to the head of the Chilean IGY committee written in May 1957, the Commander in Chief of the Navy presented a detailed list of the debts incurred by IGY personnel on board his ships. Three months later the Naval Commander had to write again to complain that these debts were still unpaid. The naval communications provide valuable insight into the practicalities of sending expeditions to Antarctica, and future volumes might usefully include a greater number of such documents.
Coming on the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of the IGY (as well as the 2007–08 Polar Year), La Antártica y El Año Geofísico Internacional is a timely contribution to the understanding of the history of international science in Antarctica. Above all, it shows that the IGY can be viewed from multiple perspectives, and ought not to be seen as a simple narrative of triumphant science. It is to be hoped that this book will provide a stimulus for further studies of South American participation in the IGY and in the Antarctic Treaty negotiations that followed.
