The POPULATION of the polar environment
The Polar regions of the world are the least populated regions. Antarctica has no permanent residents, it is populated temporarily by scientists and tourists. The Arctic has more than 3.7 million inhabitants that have come from, at one stage, thirteen different countries, these countries are:
- Germany
- United States
- Australia
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Denmark
- Sweden
- Finland
- France
- Norway
- Netherlands
- Russia
- Austro-Hungarian Empire {Now Fallen}
Scientist Population
There is approximately one hundred and fifty Australian scientists working at the Polar research stations in both the Arctic and Antarctica, these scientists are employed in research, fieldwork, technical support, and administrative support. They work mainly on the Southern Ocean and Antarctic Ecosystem, examining and observing any environmental changes and devising a plan to protect or repair the Polar atmosphere for future generations.
Arctic Tribes
There are three main Native Arctic Tribes, these are the Inuits, Aleuts, and the Tlingit. The combined tribes are commonly called 'Eskimos' by scientists and tourists. The population of the Native tribes are unknown although it is thought that most of the population was wiped out in the late 1700's, possibly rebuilding their tribes later.
The Aleut
The Aleuts originated in the Aleutian Islands and the Southwest coast of Alaska. They built the majority of their villages around coastal bays where water mammals were most prominent, this meant that they also had access to fresh water streams with thriving salmon population and stones ranging from a few centimetres across to boulders with a metre diameter. The smaller stones were useful for fashioning tools out of and the larger stones for animal traps. The villages all had lookout points overlooking both the sea and the surrounding lands, this was in order to see enemies before they could attack and whales, the most common food source, as well as sea lions, seals, caribou, foxes and various fish species. The shelter the Aleuts lived in were commonly longhouses, long, narrow timber structures generally with one room. Their main form of transportation skin-covered timber boats.
The Aleut population began dying down in around 1750, this was due to Russian fur traders who travelled to Alaska in search of foxes, fur seals, and sea otters. Russian illnesses and diseases spread quickly, killing many of the Aleuts. The Russians then took the opportunity of a shortage of defense to exploit the traditional Aleut hunting skills. This then left the tribes with a lacking in their food supply, which in turn forced them into slavery for the Russians in order to receive the food they needed to survive. In the hundred years that followed this turned out to be a fatal decision for the Aleuts, as their population depleted rapidly from the harsh treatment of the Russians. Russian diseases then began spreading once again, killing off most of the remaining Aleut population.
The Tlingit
The Tlingit lived in the coastal regions of Southern Alaska. Their main food sources were game animals, sea mammals and fish, these provided the tribe not only with food but goods for trade as well. The tribe would hunt and skin the animals in order to trade fur amongst the tribe. They also traded slaves between tribes, they had a complex social system that allowed them to trade between their tribe as if it were a modern town or community. The Tlingit are most well know for their Totem poles, their totem poles had a significant cultural impact on the tribes, it is thought that they represented Gods that the Tlingit believed in.
The Tlingit population was also decreased by the Russians. Fur traders and trappers first discovered the Tlingit in the 1740's. All was civil and almost unacknowledged between the Tlingit and the Russians for several decades until the Russians declared war on the Tlingit in the early 1800's. At this stage the Tlingit were well into fighting with the Russians. In 1867 the United States of America purchased the Alaskan territory that was supposedly owned by the Russians, even then the war did not stop, regardless of the Russians no longer having any right whatsoever to the land. Between 1867 and the mid 1880's the war between the Russians and the Tlingit stopped, the exact date of the war stopping is unknown. During the 1880's the majority of Alaskan land was completely controlled by the United States government. The Tlingit then slowly began to be absorbed into the American population, this was through religious conversion and their forgotten traditional cultures fading as elders died.
The Inuits
The Inuit were the first of all the known Arctic tribes, they lived along the coastal region of Alaska. They survived primarily by hunting for whales, caribou, walruses, and seals, this was done in small, one-person seal skin boats called 'qajait'. The animal skins, bones, teeth, and any other parts that could possibly be optimised in order to create tools, clothing, shelter, transportation and tradeable goods, were always used to create items necessary for survival. The Inuit people were Nomadic, meaning that they moved their camp around often to suit the weather needs. They lived in igloos fashioned from snow during the winter and tents made from animal bone and skins during the summer.
The British built whaling stations in the Inuit territory during the early 1760's. The Inuits allowed them to whale in their territory due to the fact that the Europeans had tradeable goods hidden in their camps. These goods were considered to be able to significantly improve the Inuit lifestyle and so they often raided the foreign trade posts in search of goods. Particularly metals were searched for as machinery was not used in the Inuit territory. The Europeans were the cause of the Inuit population dying out, it is unsure whether this was deliberate or not. European diseases spread amongst the tribe, killing a large number of Inuits, if they were not killed by diseases then most of the survivors were killed by the disruption of their main food source when the European whaling stations began.
- Germany
- United States
- Australia
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Denmark
- Sweden
- Finland
- France
- Norway
- Netherlands
- Russia
- Austro-Hungarian Empire {Now Fallen}
Scientist Population
There is approximately one hundred and fifty Australian scientists working at the Polar research stations in both the Arctic and Antarctica, these scientists are employed in research, fieldwork, technical support, and administrative support. They work mainly on the Southern Ocean and Antarctic Ecosystem, examining and observing any environmental changes and devising a plan to protect or repair the Polar atmosphere for future generations.
Arctic Tribes
There are three main Native Arctic Tribes, these are the Inuits, Aleuts, and the Tlingit. The combined tribes are commonly called 'Eskimos' by scientists and tourists. The population of the Native tribes are unknown although it is thought that most of the population was wiped out in the late 1700's, possibly rebuilding their tribes later.
The Aleut
The Aleuts originated in the Aleutian Islands and the Southwest coast of Alaska. They built the majority of their villages around coastal bays where water mammals were most prominent, this meant that they also had access to fresh water streams with thriving salmon population and stones ranging from a few centimetres across to boulders with a metre diameter. The smaller stones were useful for fashioning tools out of and the larger stones for animal traps. The villages all had lookout points overlooking both the sea and the surrounding lands, this was in order to see enemies before they could attack and whales, the most common food source, as well as sea lions, seals, caribou, foxes and various fish species. The shelter the Aleuts lived in were commonly longhouses, long, narrow timber structures generally with one room. Their main form of transportation skin-covered timber boats.
The Aleut population began dying down in around 1750, this was due to Russian fur traders who travelled to Alaska in search of foxes, fur seals, and sea otters. Russian illnesses and diseases spread quickly, killing many of the Aleuts. The Russians then took the opportunity of a shortage of defense to exploit the traditional Aleut hunting skills. This then left the tribes with a lacking in their food supply, which in turn forced them into slavery for the Russians in order to receive the food they needed to survive. In the hundred years that followed this turned out to be a fatal decision for the Aleuts, as their population depleted rapidly from the harsh treatment of the Russians. Russian diseases then began spreading once again, killing off most of the remaining Aleut population.
The Tlingit
The Tlingit lived in the coastal regions of Southern Alaska. Their main food sources were game animals, sea mammals and fish, these provided the tribe not only with food but goods for trade as well. The tribe would hunt and skin the animals in order to trade fur amongst the tribe. They also traded slaves between tribes, they had a complex social system that allowed them to trade between their tribe as if it were a modern town or community. The Tlingit are most well know for their Totem poles, their totem poles had a significant cultural impact on the tribes, it is thought that they represented Gods that the Tlingit believed in.
The Tlingit population was also decreased by the Russians. Fur traders and trappers first discovered the Tlingit in the 1740's. All was civil and almost unacknowledged between the Tlingit and the Russians for several decades until the Russians declared war on the Tlingit in the early 1800's. At this stage the Tlingit were well into fighting with the Russians. In 1867 the United States of America purchased the Alaskan territory that was supposedly owned by the Russians, even then the war did not stop, regardless of the Russians no longer having any right whatsoever to the land. Between 1867 and the mid 1880's the war between the Russians and the Tlingit stopped, the exact date of the war stopping is unknown. During the 1880's the majority of Alaskan land was completely controlled by the United States government. The Tlingit then slowly began to be absorbed into the American population, this was through religious conversion and their forgotten traditional cultures fading as elders died.
The Inuits
The Inuit were the first of all the known Arctic tribes, they lived along the coastal region of Alaska. They survived primarily by hunting for whales, caribou, walruses, and seals, this was done in small, one-person seal skin boats called 'qajait'. The animal skins, bones, teeth, and any other parts that could possibly be optimised in order to create tools, clothing, shelter, transportation and tradeable goods, were always used to create items necessary for survival. The Inuit people were Nomadic, meaning that they moved their camp around often to suit the weather needs. They lived in igloos fashioned from snow during the winter and tents made from animal bone and skins during the summer.
The British built whaling stations in the Inuit territory during the early 1760's. The Inuits allowed them to whale in their territory due to the fact that the Europeans had tradeable goods hidden in their camps. These goods were considered to be able to significantly improve the Inuit lifestyle and so they often raided the foreign trade posts in search of goods. Particularly metals were searched for as machinery was not used in the Inuit territory. The Europeans were the cause of the Inuit population dying out, it is unsure whether this was deliberate or not. European diseases spread amongst the tribe, killing a large number of Inuits, if they were not killed by diseases then most of the survivors were killed by the disruption of their main food source when the European whaling stations began.