Why did Peary allow his employee Bob Bartlett the “Second Nearest to The North Pole” team position?
Peary did not want him at the Pole because he saw no reason to make any employee his equal as an explorer; it would only benefit Bartlett by forever tying his name to Peary’s great geographic prize. Bartlett was technically a “British subject” even though he lived in Newfoundland which was “…settled by Indians and Eskimos …Viking ruins from circa 1000 AD …found in the North of the island. Englishman John Cabot claimed the island for England in 1497…France and England disputed possession…England retained control with the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, controversies over fishing rights (the famous Grand Banks) continued through the 19th century.
