Antarctica

From Gothpoodle

For many years, human activity in Antarctica was controlled by the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. This treaty allowed some nations to make territorial claims on the continent, but strictly limited what activities could be performed there. In effect, Antarctica was set aside for scientific research, and all military or resource-development activity was forbidden.

During the 2010s, advanced exploration techniques discovered massive deposits of coal, oil, and natural gas on the Antarctic Peninsula. By the late 2020s, oil-extraction technology had advanced to the point where exploiting the Antarctic reserves was feasible, even while world oil prices were rising rapidly. This made the Antarctic oil fields extremely tempting.

The territorial situation was confused at best. The potential oil fields were located in a region in which Argentina, Chile, and the United Kingdom had made overlapping claims. Argentina and Chile were the closest nations, and arguably needed the oil. Meanwhile, environmental politics led the British to spearhead diplomatic resistance to drilling. The situation grew increasingly tense after 2030, as Argentina and Chile tested the boundaries of the Antarctic Treaty.

The Antarctic War broke out in March of 2033. Certain that the United Kingdom would be politically paralyzed by the fallout of Scottish secession, Argentina unilaterally repudiated the Antarctic Treaty and began openly drilling for oil. When the British threatened to respond with force, Argentine naval and commando forces seized the Falkland Islands in order to deny the U.K. its best forward bases in the area. Three days later, Chile announced political and military cooperation with Argentina.

The war was relatively small, but bitterly fought. Argentine forces were smaller and less sophisticated than the British, but the difference was not as great as in the 1982 confrontation, and the Argentines were operating much closer to their home territory. The British had great difficulty retaking the Falklands. Afterward, they were unable to interdict communications between Argentina and Antarctica. The British were also restrained by the extreme Antarctic climate, and the need to respect world opinion by avoiding all-out warfare on Antarctica itself. The result was months of low-level conflict. The British tried to capture Argentine stations and petroleum facilities on Antarctica, while the Argentines mounted counter-raids against the British stronghold around the Falklands.

The war threatened to escalate in 2034, when New Zealand moved a battalion of troops to its own bases on the Ross Ice Shelf to protect them against possible attack. These forces were well away from the main battle zones, but the New Zealand government openly stated its support for the British position in the war. At this point the United States used its position as a neutral friendly to all combatants, brokering a cease-fire and opening negotiations. In 2035 a new Antarctic Treaty was signed, disallowing all national claims to territory on Antarctica and forbidding further military action. Antarctica was to be held in trust by all signatories as part of the “common heritage of mankind,” and no further exploitation of local resources was to be allowed.

The new treaty was an imperfect compromise, but it held for some time. In the end, before new tensions could arise, a flood of new wealth began to arrive from space. By the mid-2040s, petroleum prices were falling once again as fusion power fueled by lunar helium-3 began to alter the global energy economy. The Antarctic War was thus a pivotal moment in world history: the last major war fought over petroleum, and also the last diplomatic success enjoyed by the United States as the world’s only “superpower.” The end of the petroleum economy and the end of American predominance both ushered in the modern world.

As of 2100, Antarctica still has no permanent residents – at least officially. Debate over the proper use of the continent continues. Today there is little interest in Antarctica’s fossil-fuel or mineral wealth. Instead, Antarctica has been proposed as an ideal place for Isolate communities, using high technology and genetic engineering to survive even in the most inhospitable land on Earth. Persistent rumors claim that such communities (or secret research facilities sponsored by unknown parties) are already in place somewhere on the continent.