Even with the best intentions, expeditions went fraught with danger. Some, such as those undertaken by Captain Scott or Burke and Wills, are known the world over. Others are less famous, yet their harrowing outcomes could have reshaped entire nations. And sometimes they simply had it coming.
When Expeditions Went Off the Rails
10 Henry Hudson
After a successful career charting the New York coastline, Henry Hudson set his sights on the elusive Northwest Passage in 1610. By August his vessel, the Discovery, had slipped into what would later bear his name—Hudson Bay—only to become trapped in ice for the winter. When spring thaw arrived, Hudson, ever the optimist, pressed his crew to push onward toward the coveted Asian route.
But the crew had other ideas. In a bold mutiny, they shoved Hudson and eight of his men into a small boat and sailed back toward England. Hudson, perhaps hoping to outrun his mutineers, rowed furiously. The mutineers, meanwhile, hoisted more sails to widen the gap, likely humming a jaunty tune. Hudson vanished after that, and five of the thirteen mutineers perished on the return voyage.
9 Panfilo Narvaez
If the lure of untold riches can spark a voyage, few stories illustrate that greed better than the 16th‑century Spanish conquistador Panfilo Narvaez. Fresh off a brutal campaign that saw an entire Cuban village massacred, Narvaez launched a 1527 expedition to Florida with five ships and 600 men, hunting for gold.
Instead, the Floridian interior greeted them with hostile indigenous groups and, predictably, no treasure. In a desperate bid for safety, 245 men fashioned rafts and tried to cross the Gulf of Mexico. During the chaotic escape, Narvaez was swept out to sea and never seen again. Eighty‑six survivors reached Galveston, only to be captured; four managed to escape and trek across what is now the southern United States and Mexico, a journey that took eight years.
8 Abubakari Expedition
In 1310, Mali’s ruler Abubakari II mustered a fleet of 400 ships to explore the western seas. When that first venture failed to return, the king refused to accept defeat and assembled an even larger armada—2,000 ships—personally leading the second expedition after abdicating his throne.
The fleet set sail into the unknown, only to disappear without a trace. Some scholars speculate the expedition may have reached the coast of Brazil, which would pre‑date Columbus by nearly two centuries. If true, it would explain the gold‑tipped spears Columbus later encountered, possibly of West African origin.
7 Gaspar and Miguel Corte‑Real
In 1500, Portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte‑Real, accompanied by his brother Miguel and a crew, set out westward hoping to find a Northwest Passage to Asia. Their first attempt led them to Greenland—mistakenly believed to be “Asia”—where they could not land and turned back.
A year later the brothers tried again, this time steering toward Newfoundland. After landing, they captured 57 indigenous people for slavery; Miguel returned to Portugal with the captives and two ships. Gaspar pressed on, never to be heard from again. The following year, Miguel launched a rescue mission, only to vanish as well.
6 Charles Stoddart and Arthur Conolly
The 19th‑century rivalry known as “The Great Game” pitted Britain against Russia across Central Asia. Britain, eager to protect its Indian jewel, sent Colonel Charles Stoddart to Bukhara in 1838 to negotiate an alliance. Stoddart’s cultural faux pas offended the Emir, landing him in the notorious “Bug Pit” prison.
Three years later, Captain Arthur Conolly attempted a rescue, only to find Stoddart a broken man and the Emir enraged over a missing reply to Queen Victoria. Both men were taken to a city square, forced to dig their own graves, and then beheaded.
5 Russian Winter Expedition to Khiva
During the same “Great Game” era, Imperial Russia dispatched a massive winter campaign in 1839 to the Uzbek city of Khiva. General Perovsky led 5,200 troops and 10,000 camels, ostensibly to free captured Russian citizens but also to expand Russian borders.
By February 1840, a brutal winter forced the expedition to retreat without reaching Khiva, costing about 1,000 lives. Later, the British persuaded the Khan to release the slaves, undercutting Russia’s pretext for further expansion—for a time.
4 Ludwig Leichhardt
In 1842, German‑born explorer Ludwig Leichhardt arrived in Sydney with a dream of mapping Australia’s uncharted interior. By the end of 1845, he’d already completed a grueling 4,800‑kilometre trek from Sydney to Port Essington on the north coast.
Undeterred, Leichhardt set out in 1846 to cross the continent east‑to‑west. After only 800 kilometres, malaria, relentless rain, and dwindling supplies forced a retreat. He tried again in 1848, heading for the west coast, but vanished without a trace, leaving his fate a lingering mystery.
3 Douglas Mawson
By 1910, Antarctic veteran Douglas Mawson had declined an invitation to join Captain Scott’s ill‑fated Terra Nova Expedition. Instead, he led his own 1911 venture, accompanied by Xavier Mertz and Belgrave Ninnis.
Tragedy struck early when Ninnis fell through a snow‑covered crevasse, taking the party’s tent and most of their rations. With supplies dwindling, Mawson and Mertz resorted to eating their sled dogs, unaware that husky liver is packed with toxic vitamin A. Mertz’s health deteriorated rapidly; he even bit off his own finger before dying in 1913. Mawson trudged on for another 100 kilometres before finally reaching his ship, barely alive.
2 Charles Francis Hall
Veteran explorer Charles Francis Hall had already chased the missing Franklin expedition before heading north in 1871 with the Polaris, aiming to be the first to plant a flag at the North Pole. After wintering on northern Greenland, tensions boiled between Hall and ship’s surgeon Emil Bessels.
In October, Hall fell ill, accusing Bessels of poisoning him, and soon died. The remaining crew pressed on with a half‑hearted attempt at the pole before turning back. Decades later, a 1968 exhumation revealed Hall’s death was caused by arsenic poisoning.
1 Saloman August Andree
Swedish adventurer Saloman August Andrée thought a hot‑air balloon would be the perfect vehicle to reach the North Pole. In 1897, he and two companions lifted off above the Svalbard archipelago, covering just 475 kilometres in 65 hours of unguided flight before a storm forced a landing on pack ice.
After two months of hauling supplies and battling polar bears—whom they even shot for food—the trio finally reached White Island east of Svalbard. Within two weeks, all three had perished. One theory blames parasites from bear meat; another points to other hardships. Either way, polar bears are not friendly dinner guests.
These ten ill‑fated journeys remind us that the drive for discovery often walks a thin line between heroism and disaster. The next time someone boasts about “expeditions went” somewhere, remember the cautionary tales above.