Berkner Family (Great White South)

The Berkner Family is a prominent British-Antarctic family, members of which have been involved in politics, exploration, the Military, and many other fields.

In the mid-19th Century, the Berkners were an insignificant family of upper-middle class landowners in Lincolnshire; but the unexpected marriage of, the family's eldest son, to an Aristocratic heiress brought them into a wealthier circle. In 1859, Arthur's younger brother was able to fund an expedition to, during which he discovered , which was named for the family.

James later returned to the Bay, established a small colony, and became its unofficial Governor; which made the Berkner family the most powerful authority in the region. In early 1870, James left his colony and returned to England, leaving his nephew in command.

In England, James became a socialite, and gradually squandered his money away. In 1883, he used the last of his wealth to fund a holiday to the USA, to see the "Wild West". There are several rumours about what happened to him on this trip, but he almost certainly died, probably by suicide.

Meanwhile, Frances Berkner was overseeing the small Berkner Bay colony. Tensions were growing between British settlers and the nearby Russians; which were exacerbated by Chilean and Argentine colonists arriving in the 1880s. For a long period, there were many skirmishes between the colonies (known as the ); which culminated with the foundation of by the Chilean and Argentine settlers.

Frances relinquished his family's control over the area, and relocated with most of the other British settlers to the nearby colony of, where he remained a de facto "governor". Following Frances' death, the Berkner Family effectively lost its unofficial governorship; and some of them moved to the comparatively "big City" of. Others went to Australia, or to India, or to Africa. Still others returned to Lincolnshire, where their extended family were still prospering.

The Berkners in Cookstown were the only "branch" of the family to remain influential.

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