Exploration!
The Human Endeavour to never stop pushing the boundaries of knowledge--in the ultimate
pursuit of finding out just exactly what is over that hill, or how far it’ll take to
cross an entire continent on a camel--or how many sailors you’ll need to chip an entire
boat out of an iceberg.
Throughout history, countless feats of exploration have been beset by calamity, misfortune--and
more tempestuous tornadoes of pure bad luck than any human should be subject to in a lifetime.
In the early days of civilization--up until the turn of the last century, humanity had
to cling to hope from the back of a splintered lifeboat in order to satiate their eternal
thirst for endeavour--and thankfully for us, it made for some pretty damn horrible history.
Hello horror fans--what’s going on, and once again welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube--Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch--as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Scariest Cursed Expeditions In History--Part 2.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that clip was from 2014’s Unbroken--detailing the life
and survival of Louie Zaperini--and whilst that movie it isn’t exactly a cursed expedition
so to speak--the word unbroken is pretty fitting for this particular part two--because trust
me, there are some equally incredible feats of survival throughout this one.
Yeah--Unbroken is a pretty decent film, and Jack O’Connell is awesome--give it a watch.
Anyway--back to the cursed expeditions.
Kicking off at Number 5 - Novaya Zemlya
And we’re starting this list with perhaps one of the most calamitous explorations in
the whole of Dutch History, in their pursuit of the Arctic--that is wrought with equal
parts true naval grit--and equal parts just pure bad decision making.
But hey--that’s why these expeditions are cursed, right?
Let me introduce you to a man named Willem Barentsz--one of the most celebrated Dutch
explorers of the 16th century.
Born in 1550, Barentsz made his name as a cartographer, sailing around the Spanish seas
and most of the mediterranenan, where he pretty much chartered everything and anything.
Like many explorers of his time--he was convinced about the existence of the Northeast passage--out
in the deep depths of the arctic--and so soon turned his sights toward there.
On his first expedition, Barentsz didn’t find much--save for a polar bear out on an
ice sheet.
And what did his crew decide to do?
Well, they tried to capture it of course--stick it on their ship, and sail back home.
However, the polar bear wasn’t too keen on that notion, and whilst on board it went
on a rampage and killed loads of people.
However, during his first voyage--he did discover the coast of Novaya Zemlya, and he suddenly
got the notion that he was onto something.
Barentsz next attempt came in 1595--where this time, pretty much nothing happened--other
than another polar bear attack and more dead crewmen.
On his third attempt, however--Barentsz was convinced that he was on to something, and
in pursuit of the Northeastern Passage--he eventually made his way to Novaya Zemlya once
again.
But this time, his ship and crew quickly wound up trapped in the icebergs and ice floes--and
with nowhere to go, the 16 man crew were stranded with the dead of winter fast approaching.
Crazily enough, Barentsz crew managed to harvest scraps of lumber from their ship, and they
built a cabin on the ice sheet to seek shelter.
They lived there for nearly a YEAR--sleeping next to heated stones and cannonballs just
to stay warm--and by the time their food ran out, the crew resolved their hunger by hunting
Arctic Foxes and straight up killing polar bears with their bare hands.
Eventually, almost 12 months later--with the ship still trapped, the crew decided to peace
out.
They were ridden with scurvy and were days away from eating each other--but incredibly
enough, eventually they made it back to civilization.
Sadly though, Willem Barentsz didn’t.
He died on the journey back--and he never did find the northeastern passage.
Swinging in at Number 4 - The Magellan-Elcano Circumnavigation
And if we’re talking about death and pure misery--there is probably no saltier tale
of the seven seas than the time that Ferdinand Magellan tried to circumnavigate the planet.
Obviously, you’ve probably already heard of The Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation, the
first recorded voyage around the world in human history--often confused with the old
Marco Polo thing.
The voyage itself began under the command of Ferdinand Magellan, a legendary Portugeuse
explorer--but was ultimately concluded by the Spanish navigator, Juan Sebastian Elcano.
Why?
Well… things got pretty bad on the way.
Let me explain.
Magellan’s voyage set sail from Seville in 1519--but his first mistake was failing
to appreciate just how unimaginably *big* the pacific ocean was.
I mean, now we know it’s frickin huge--but Magellan didn’t have the pleasure of hindsight--and
seemingly only packed enough supplies for an average kind of ocean.
After just several months at sea--Magellan’s ship completely ran out of supplies.
After floating around in the middle of the Pacific, at the point of near starvation--his
crew began scraping the rafters for maggot infested crumbs.
Their water supplies had dwindled to mildew--and they were forced to resort to drinking their
own urine to hydrate themselves.
Eventually, the crew became so ravenous with starvation--that they ripped the leather from
the ship’s hull and began chewing on it.
After months of pure misery, Magellan and his crew did finally make landfall on the
island of Guam--with barely a ramshackle crew to keep it together.
A few months later, incredibly enough--Magellan made it to the Philippines--where--they were
then attacked by over a thousand native warriors in the Battle of Mactan, and Magellan was
stabbed in the face with a spear--and then obviously--died.
Pretty much all of the malnourished crew were slaughtered--but another ship managed to survive,
headed by Elcano--and yeah, they voyage was complete.
But--as you can tell--it was pretty damn harrowing.
Next up at Number 3 - The Narvaez Expedition
And talking of death and misery--this particular entry is pretty much unrivalved when it comes
to Cursed Expeditions.
The Spanish Conquistadors of the 16th century have a bloody enough history during their
march through the Americas--but no such journey is as wrought with death and misery as the
Narvaez Expedition.
Alongside Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca--which is a pretty impressive name--Narvaez and 600
men set sail from Spain with an appointment by the Holy Roman Emperor himself, Charles
V--and set about to claim the Gulf Coast.
They made their way toward the coast of Florida in pursuit of the coveted gold of the Americas,
but before they could even make it there--over a hundred men had deserted as the expedition
made port in the Dominican Republic--after fearsome tales of previous expeditions succumbing
to the dangers of the continent made their way through camp.
They had the right idea--because not long afterward, Narvaez’s fleet of ships were
devastated by a hurricane that killed over 60 of his men, and a fifth of their horses.
That’s before they even made it to Florida.
Once they had made landfall though, with diminished supplies and low morale--Narvaez’s expedition
had barely tasted the horror and pain that awaited them.
After several months, and failing to fully anticipate the scale and depth of the natives
that called the land their home--the Spanish forces were quickly attacked by waves upon
waves of native warriors--utilising guerilla tactics in the dense territory of the Apalachee
people.
Eventually, Narvaez’s 600 men had dwindled to less than 250--and after crossing a rancid
swamp in an attempt to escape, the expedition were near enough starving to death--many of
them sick and wounded, Narvaez included.
After considering cannibalism, the remaining crew decided to melt down their weapons and
reforge them into tools--where hopefully they could chop down a few trees and build a ship
to sail back to Mexico.
Incredibly, they crafted five ships over a month--and set sail on September 22nd 1528.
Where--they were then battered by an unholy storm--ripping apart the five ships to splinters,
killing most of the survivors.
Only 80 survived, that were then forced to remain in the Americas, scrapping for survival
against the natives for years.
Eventually--out of 600 men, only 4 survived.
Four.
Coming in at Number 2 - The Burke and Wills Expedition
And if we’re talking about failing to anticipate one's surroundings, then there’s perhaps
no finer example than the Burke and Wills Expedition.
Australia is a pretty huge place--and the vast majority of the unrelenting continent
was unexplored for a good reason--because you’d probably die on the way, unless--of
course, you were an Aboriginal Australian.
That didn’t deter two European Settlers though, Robert O’Hara Burke--and William
John Wills--who were comissed by the Royal Society of Victoria in 1860 to cross inland
Australia.
The expedition set out from Melbourne on August 20th, 1860--with 19 men, a herd of camels
and horses--and a boatload of supplies.
Everything went pretty smoothly up until October of the same year--when the two leaders, Burke
and Wills--started to get competitive with each other, racing to meet checkpoint after
checkpoint--and establishing ill fitting camps on the way, the pair failed to anticipate
the strain that it would put on their return journey home.
Eventually, they split up most of their expedition party, leaving the majority of them at a site
known as Copper Creek, telling them to wait for 13 weeks.
By early 1861--Burke and Wills had made it to the Northern Coastline of Australia, but
couldn’t technically reach the end due to dense swampland.
They’d done their job--and actually made it to their destination, but that’s when
Burke and Wills realised they’d need to make it back home.
On February 9, 1861--after reaching the Gulf of Carpentaria, the expedition began their
long journey back to Victoria.
Obviously, with their supplies dwindled--and the harsh, arid climate of the Australian
Outback reaching fever pitch--the remaining four European settlers descended into a state
of pure misery, as the climate began to take its toll.
Charles Gray was the first of the men to die, after catching dysentery and being near beaten
to death by Burke.
Eventually, the three remaining men made it back to Copper Creek--only to find it abandoned.
The rest of the expedition had given up on them, and returned home.
By June 1861--both Burke and Wills had died in their attempt to reach the appropriately
named Mount Hopeless.
One man survived though, an Irish soldier named John King who had accompanied the men.
He was found near death by the Yandruwandha people, indigenous Australians that had survived
in the harsh deserts for thousands of years.
They cared for him until he was finally rescued--the sole survivor to tell the ill-fated tale of
Burke and Wills.
And finally, coming in at our Number 1 spot -- Shackleton
Because, truth be told--we have to end this particular list on a more than positive note--because
despite cursed expedition after cursed expedition, there is nothing greater than human triumph
in the face of horrifying adversity.
There is perhaps no greater tale of endurance, than with the fated expedition of Sir Ernest
Henry Shackleton--who set sail in 1914--in pursuit of fully mapping the continent of
Antarctica by crossing it entirely from sea to sea.
After leaving Buenos Aires on 8th August 1914 in the aptly named ship, Endurance--the expedition
began steadily, but quickly, the harsh and unforgiving nature of the Antarctic began
to reveal itself.
As they drew closer to the continent, the Endurance and its crew become stuck in the
slowly solidifying pack ice--and were eventually completely entombed by the frozen ocean.
Now, Shackleton was a fantastic Naval Mind--and quickly, he realised that his crew wouldn’t
be able to free the ship until the ice had melted on it’s own accord.
And so--they pitched up camp on the ice--and waited for warmer weather.
They waited for 10 agonising months--ridden with frostbite and pain and misery, and slowly
dwindling with both hope and supplies.
After ten gruelling months--the Endurance sank into the icy depths before their very
eyes--and that's exactly when cracks in the ice started to show across their own camp,
and before they knew it, the ice sheet that they’d called home for 10 months began to
break apart.
And that’s when finally, Shackleton rounded his men up in the last remaining lifeboat,
and headed for the nearest landmass--the barren and bleak, Elephant Island.
And, as you may imagine--during those ten months, Shackleton’s crew had nothing left.
Their supplies had diminished--and the crew faced starvation.
Shackleton knew that the only hope of survival was to try and make it to the nearest outpost
of civilization.
South Georgia Island.
Which---well.
Which was 800 miles away.
And all they had was a lifeboat.
If you know the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and Endurance--you’ll know that somehow,
despite all of the odds--despite sailing through the most dangerous ocean on the planet--somehow,
through sheer dumb luck and determination--the crew made it, and they survived.
Out of 28 men that had left for Antarctica, 25 returned--albeit, three years later, with
a few less fingers than before.
Cursed Expedition aside--Endurance and triumph over adversity, always wins out in the end.
Well, there we have it horror fans--our list for the Top 5 Scariest Cursed Expeditions
in History -- Part 2.
What did you guys think?
Do you agree?
Disagree?
Have any more to add to this list?
Let us know your thoughts down in the comment section below, as well as any choice picks
of your own.
Before we depart from today’s video though, let’s first take a quick look at some of
your more creative comments from over the past few days.
First up-- Shen The Kinkou Master says --
Violets are violet, roses are red, amazing video--I’m too scared to go to bed.
Yeah, that sounds about right Shen.
Good one.
But come on, you’re Shen.
Don’t be too scared--stand united.
Well on that note, I’m gonna have to teleport out of here--cheers for sticking around all
the way until the end.
If you were a fan of this video, or just Top 5 Scary Videos in general, then please--be
a dear and hit that thumbs up button, as well as that subscribe bell, and I’ll be seeing
you in the next one.