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LET’S PUT OUR ARCTIC PLANS ON ICE.

In the 16th Century English navigators found themselves cut off from the riches of the West Indies by the growing Spanish and Portuguese empires. As a result, they sought another route and tried to reach Asia by sailing via the Arctic Ocean close to the North Pole. However, their attempts were a failure because so much of the route was frozen with thick polar ice and their wooden ships were unable to force a way through.