Colonization of Antarctica is the establishing and maintaining of control over Antarctic land for exploitation and possibly settlement.[1]
Antarctica was claimed by several states since the 16th century, culminating in a territorial competition in the first half of the 20th century when its interior was explored and the first Antarctic camps and bases were set up.[2]
Contemporarily territorial claims and activities on Antarctica have been limited since the Antarctic Treaty (1959) by the Antarctic Treaty System and its Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.[3]
At present the population of Antarctica comprises scientists and staff of approximate 4,000 people in summer and 1,000 in winter, from 30 countries staying at about 70 bases (40 year-round and 30 summer-only). Of those bases, two are civilian settlements,[4][5] the Argentinian-administered Esperanza Base and Chilean-administered Villa Las Estrellas.
- ^ Mancilla, Alejandra (2019). "A continent of and for whiteness?: "White" colonialism and the 1959 Antarctic Treaty". Polar Record. 55 (5). Cambridge University Press (CUP): 317–319. doi:10.1017/s003224741900069x. ISSN 0032-2474.
- ^ "Antarctica: A "European Invention"". Encyclopédie d’histoire numérique de l’Europe. 1924-03-27. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Joynerwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Esperanza Base — Antarctica — Atlas Obscura
- ^ Esperanza Base: Antarctic Hospitality