Passage is a two part documentary which examines the true story of John Rae (1813-1893) – The Hudson’s Bay Company doctor, who solved the two great mysteries of the 19th Century: the fate of the doomed Sir John Franklin expedition, and the location of the last navigable link in the North West Passage. For twelve years after the disappearance of Franklin and his 130 men, the equivalent of 80 million dollars was spent on 40 ships sent in search of them. Using the ways of the Inuit, Rae discovered his fate, but his findings included the tragic news that the Franklin crew had resorted to cannibalism, and it was this truth that was his undoing.
Lady Franklin with her ally Charles Dickens waged a media campaign to discredit John Rae. They restored honour and glory to Sir John, and cast doubt and disgrace upon Rae and the Inuit people. The campaign was successful and John Rae, who was formerly hailed as “a genius of Arctic travel”, remained on the fringe of Arctic history. He had traveled 23,000 miles on foot and in small boats mapping and searching for Franklin and yet he was the only Arctic explorer who never received a knighthood for his accomplishments.
Passage premieres on Wednesday, April 7th on Reel Insights at:
7:30 pm ET on APTN East
7:30 pm MT on APTN West
7:30 pm CT on APTN North
And on Monday, April 5th at:
10:00 am ET on APTN HD
