Heart of Darkness 2

• “It had borne all the ships whose names are like jewels flashing in the night of time, from the Golden Hind returning with her round flanks full of treasure, to be visited by the Queen’s Highness and thus pass out of the gigantic tale, to the Erebus and Terror, bound on other conquests - and that never returned.” (p. 38-39)

Conrad introduces The Golden Hind and the Erebus and Terror into the novel to provide a better understanding of the setting for the reader. The Golden Hind was an English galleon, known for its global circumnavigation. The ship was commanded by Sir Francis Drake. Queen Elizabeth gave full approval for Drake to benefit himself and the queen, and to also cause damage to the Spaniards. Upon meeting the Spanish galleon, the ship with the largest amount of treasure, known to date, the Golden Hind transported six tons of treasure in six days back to the queen. Erebus and Terror were ships led by Sir John Franklin that were built to go where no ships had gone before. The ships were in search of the Northwest Passage, but were blocked in by ice. Neither of the ships or crew members have ever been found.

(Works Cited)
"Erebus and Terror, Ships of the Antartic." Cool Antarctica. Web. 19 Aug. 2009. http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/antarctic_ships/erebus_terror_Franklin.htm.
"Golden Hind." Wikipedia. Web. 19 Aug. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Hind.

(Photo Credit)
Francis-drake-galleon-southwark-london-uk. Photograph. Wikipedia. Web. 13 Sept. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Francis-drake-galleon-southwark-london-uk.jpg.