Nimrod Expedition - Promise To Scott

Promise To Scott

Shackleton’s February 1907 announcement that he intended to base his expedition at the old Discovery headquarters was noted by Scott, whose own future Antarctic plans were at that stage unannounced. In a letter to Shackleton Scott claimed priority rights to McMurdo Sound. "I feel I have a sort of right to my own field of work", he wrote, adding: "anyone who has had to do with exploration will regard this region primarily as mine". He concluded by reminding Shackleton of his duty of loyalty towards his former commander.

Shackleton’s initial reply was accommodating: "I would like to fall in with your views as far as possible without creating a position that would be untenable to myself". However, Edward Wilson, asked by Shackleton to mediate, took an even tougher line than Scott. "I think you should retire from McMurdo Sound", he wrote, advising Shackleton not to make any plans to work from anywhere in the entire Ross Sea quarter until Scott decided "what limits he puts on his own rights". To this Shackleton replied: "There is no doubt in my mind that his rights end at the base he asked for I consider I have reached my limit and I go no further".

The matter was unresolved when Scott returned from sea duty in May 1907. Scott pressed for a line of demarcation at 170° W—everything to the west of that line, including Ross Island, McMurdo Sound, and Victoria Land, would be Scott’s preserve. Shackleton, with other concerns pressing on him, felt obliged to concede. On 17 May he signed a declaration stating that "I am leaving the McMurdo base to you", and that he would seek to land further east, either at the Barrier Inlet visited briefly during the Discovery expedition, or at King Edward VII Land. He would not touch the coast of Victoria Land at all. It was a capitulation to Scott and Wilson, and meant forfeiting the expedition's aim of reaching the South Magnetic Pole which was located within Victoria Land. Polar historian Beau Riffenburgh believes this was "a promise that should never ethically have been demanded and one that should never have been given, impacting as it might on the entire safety of Shackleton’s expedition". The dispute soured relations between the two men (who nevertheless maintained public civilities), and led to the complete rupture of Shackleton’s formerly close friendship with Wilson.

In his own account of the expedition Shackleton makes no reference to the wrangle with Scott. He merely states that "before we finally left England I had decided that if possible I would establish my base in King Edward VII Land instead of McMurdo Sound".