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Brian Roberts and the origins of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

Steve Heavens
Steve Heavens*
Affiliation:
West View, Linney, Ludlow SY8 1EE ([email protected])
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Abstract

During his lifetime and beyond, Brian Roberts was often thought to be the éminence grise of the UK's Antarctic policy and also of the founding of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. Documentary evidence of his influence has, however, been conspicuously absent, due in part to the closure of relevant files in the UK's National Archives. Using Roberts’ personal files in the archives of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, files in the UK National Archives that remained closed for 50 years but have recently been released, and the recollections of surviving contemporaries of Roberts, it has been possible to establish the extent of his involvement in the evolution of the treaty and to add new elements that may contribute towards a reconstruction of its complex history. From 1956 Roberts developed a productive relationship with the UK Foreign Office's Head of American Department Henry Hankey that enabled them to influence the UK policy on Antarctica and to make a significant contribution towards the political settlement represented by the treaty. For Roberts and his colleagues in the Foreign Office the main purpose of the treaty was not primarily the promotion of international scientific collaboration but was essentially a means of addressing a political situation that had become otherwise intractable.

Type
Research Article
Information
Polar Record , Volume 52 , Issue 6 , November 2016 , pp. 717 - 729
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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