Whaling nations laid claim to massive territories across the continent of Antarctica. The countries of Great Britain, Chile, and Argentina have competing territorial claims on the Antarctic Peninsula. Similarly, Norway,, France, and New Zealand also see some of this territory as rightfully theirs.
Even Nazi Germany wanted to have a piece of the Antarctica pie when they planted stakes with 3rd Reich swastikas on them all over the frozen land. Global war soon consumed the world's attention, and the Cold War followed; consequently, Antarctica was forgotten by all except for the whalers. Soon, however, events in space caused scientists to turn back to studying The Ice.
Between 1957 and 1958, sunspot activity hit a peak that drove both scientists and governments around the globe to descend upond Antarctica where they could use its unique view of the southern hole in the Earth's magnetic field to study the earth as it was bombarded by solar radiation from sunspot activity. This movement involved 67 different countries visiting the continent for research purposes. Because all the countries got along so well, a new treaty called the Antarctic Treaty, was formed and marks an amazing feat in international law and agreements.
The compact established Antarctica as a site for strictly peaceful objectives, and it was signed by all countries concerned in 1959. Nuclear experimentation was prohibited, as was the discarding of the radioactive waste generated. All military activity was limited to that of scientific support. Previous land claims were not addressed as a part of this treaty.
Although they maintained the right to assert future claims, none of the superpower entities made any territorial claims, and they did not recognize the claims made by their allies; this kind of international cooperation was extremely unusual during the Cold War. Because of this, this prevented other smaller governments from trying to create a fuss if they didn't get what they wanted.
It was in the 1960's and 1970's that governments and industry started to desiring the oil, gas, and minerals that were known to be in and around Antarctica. The number of national bases multiplied to great numbers and the population increased to its highest point of 5,000 people during the summer. Most of the bases were on the peninsula and area islands. The people lived mainly in the urban areas around the dozens of science stations located here.
By the end of the 1970s, bases from the US, Soviet Union, Britain, Italy and others propped up on King George Island, followed by more bases from China and South Korea in the 80's, among others. True, most of these bases were established to conduct scientific experiments, but it was also a sign of political prowess for a lot of countries. These bases essentially served as notices of the "squatting rights" of these nations.
However, by the 1980's, exploitation began to give way to true science. Antarctica is following in the footsteps of the world's oceans, as they have begun to be known as community property. At this time, a hole in the Earth's atmosphere was discovered. British scientists at the Halley Bay Antarctic base found that due to the industrial advances most super powers had made caused a hole in the Earth's atmosphere which allowed harmful UV rays in.
So, in 1987, an international agreement was put into place to eradicate all ozone-destroying chemicals by the conclusion of the 1990's. This put Antarctica back on the map because the scientific research conducted at this location on Earth gave people a better view of how industry was changing Earth structurally and physically. Anti-whaling sentiment reached a climax during the 1980's, and global movements for a Green planet supported preserving the continent of Antarctica as a world park.
The nations that participated in the Antarctic Treaty put forth a decree in 1991 that all gas and oil exploration would be stopped for the next half century, as well as mining; instead, the environment would be given higher priority. In today's world, Antarctica which once served as a staple for the Industrial Revolution, is assisting people around the world to understand how industrial developments have hurt Earth and its atmosphere. It is also helping to show the world how to prevent any environmental disasters.
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