Topsy-Turvy · Chapter
In Which the Delegates from England, Holland, Sweden, Denmark and Russia Are Presented to the Reader explained
The chapter introduces the European delegates arriving in Baltimore for the auction of the Arctic regions, organized by the North Polar Practical Association.
What happens
The chapter introduces the European delegates arriving in Baltimore for the auction of the Arctic regions, organized by the North Polar Practical Association. Each nation—England, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, and Russia—sends a representative with claims based on historical exploration and territorial proximity. The delegates are rivals, but their common curiosity about the Association's motives draws them together. The chapter highlights the nationalistic and imperialistic tensions underlying the sale, with England and America expected to be the main bidders.
Themes in this chapter
Imperialism and National Rivalry
The chapter showcases intense national competition for the Arctic, with each delegate asserting historical and geographical claims, particularly between England and America.
Capitalism and Speculation
The auction of the polar regions highlights the speculative nature of the venture, with nations bidding on land of uncertain value, driven by potential profit and national pride.
Characters to notice
- Major Donellan
English delegate, tall and meagre, with a Palmerston-like head; fiercely believes the North Pole belongs to England by right of discovery and divine mission.
- Dean Toodrink
Secretary to Major Donellan, talkative and cheerful, with a taste for fairy tales; shares Donellan's conceit about Great Britain.
- Jacques Jansen
Dutch delegate, former Counsellor of Netherlandish India; stout and incredulous about the practical consequences of the undertaking.
- Eric Baldenak
Danish delegate, ex-Sub-Governor of Greenlandish possessions; very shortsighted and fiercely defends Denmark's rights to the polar region.
- Prof. Jan Harald
Swedish-Norwegian delegate, Professor of Cosmography; red-faced with blond hair, regards the polar region as valueless and attends only out of duty.
- Col. Boris Karkof
Russian delegate, semi-military and semi-diplomat; stiff mustache, uncomfortable in civilian clothes, puzzled about the Association's hidden motives.
- William S. Forster
Representative of the North Polar Practical Association in America, mentioned as the sole American representative so far.
Key passages
“One thing was evident to the whole world at once, namely, that if the new association should succeed in buying the Arctic regions, those regions would become absolutely the property of America or rather of the United States, a country which was always trying to acquire something.”
It was immediately clear to everyone that if the association bought the Arctic, it would belong entirely to the United States, a nation perpetually seeking to expand.
Highlights American expansionist ambition as a central concern.
“The North Pole belonged to them; it always belonged to them. It was to them as if the Lord had given the mission to the English people to keep up the rotation of the earth around its axis, and as if it was their duty to prevent it passing into strange hands.”
The English delegates believed the North Pole was inherently theirs, as if divinely appointed to maintain the Earth's rotation and keep it from foreign control.
Illustrates the extreme nationalistic and quasi-religious conviction of the English delegates.